Some Entry Type 86 Filers Filing 'Junk Data,' Pricing Out Other Brokers, CBP's Miller Says

FORT LAUDERDALE -- While CBP's Entry Type 86 pilot has allowed customs brokers to handle low value shipments, the agency also is seeing filers "abusing" the test by filing unverified data and pricing out other brokers who can't compete with the low fees the bad actors are charging, said CBP acting Commissioner Troy Miller in remarks at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America annual conference April 17.

The pilot has “created new business opportunities for parties including customs brokers who were previously not utilizing the de minimis entry process,” but CBP also has seen “many instances” during the pilot where “filers aren't doing their part to validate the data that they are submitting,” Miller said. “We continue to see weight and value ratios that don't make sense, vague cargo descriptions like ‘freight of all kinds’ or ‘daily necessities.’”

For example, a “few weeks ago” CBP seized two shipments that contained xylazine, a horse tranquilizer that, when added to fentanyl, is resistant to the anti-overdose drug Narcan. Both were entered under Entry Type 86, were misclassified and had “vague, one-word” cargo descriptions, Miller said.

“We know that there are filers abusing the Entry Type 86 test by filing entries as quickly as possible and providing junk data,” Miller said. “These individuals can file entries for more than several thousand dollars a day without any vetting of the data to ensure accuracy.”

These fraudulent filers “are charging as little as 10 cents for Entry Type 86 transactions,” and honest brokers “simply cannot compete with these prices,” Miller said. “This is creating an unlevel playing field with the Entry Type 86 test environment,” Miller said. “Put simply, these bad actors are potentially harming us all and are making us less safe.”

In response, CBP is “increasing our enforcement efforts to ensure that compliant, responsible customs brokers are participating the Entry Type 86 test,” Miller said. “We are taking actions to tighten the guardrails around Entry Type 86,” including “suspending participants from the test when necessary,” he said.

Meanwhile, CBP’s long-awaited proposal on low value shipments is currently in “interagency review,” and while CBP doesn’t know when it will be published in the Federal Register, it “will continue to do everything possible to expedite the process,” Miller said. The proposal, which builds on lessons learned from CBP’s Section 321 and Entry Type 86 pilots, will allow “CBP to target high-risk shipments more effectively, including those containing synthetic drugs such as fentanyl,” Miller said.