CBP to Begin Rejecting Filings That Don't Comply With Organic Import Regs

CBP will soon begin rejecting ACE filings for products that fail to comply with certain organic import filing requirements under the USDA’s Strengthening Organic Enforcement final rule, which requires electronic National Organic Program import certificates for organic agricultural products (see 2403190066 and 2301180051). CBP has been issuing warnings for those filings since new USDA organic enforcement regulations became effective March 19, but the agency said in a June 24 CSMS message that the warning will change to a reject in ACE’s certification environment on June 28 and in ACE’s production environment on Sept. 19.

CBP said it will reject filings with the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service AM8 tariff flag, which signals that the Harmonized Tariff Schedule code entered is for an organic product and the filer must file an NOP Import Certificate in the system, according to USDA. AM7 flags, which signal that HTS code entered may be subject to the AMS organic import certificate filing, “will continue to be enforced with a warning severity,” CBP said.