CBP is expected to begin to test a program that would allow importers of branded merchandise to send information to the agency through the Document Image System (DIS), said Karen Kenney of Liberty International, who is current co-chair of the Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) Trade Enforcement and Revenue Collection Subcommittee. Kenney, who is also chairman of the Coalition of New England Companies for Trade (CONECT) discussed COAC's ongoing work during a CONECT conference in Newport, R.I. on April 1. While not definite, a Federal Notice for the pilot may be out in early summer, she said.
Licensed Customs Broker
Customs brokers are entities who assist importers in meeting federal requirements governing imports into the United States. Brokers can be private individuals, partnerships, associations or corporations licensed, regulated and empowered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Customs brokers oversee transactions related to customs entry and admissibility of merchandise, product classification, customs valuation, payment of duties, taxes, or other charges such as refunds, rebates, and duty drawbacks. To obtain a customs broker license, an individual must pass the U.S. Customs Broker License Exam. Customs brokers are not government employees and should not be confused with CBP officials. There are approximately 11,000 active licensed customs brokers in the United States.
Mexico's Diario Oficial of April 1 lists notices from the Secretary of the Economy and Secretary of Finance as follows:
A relocation service that brings household goods into the U.S. cannot serve as the importer of record for the goods because it lacks "sufficient financial interest," CBP headquarters said in a Feb. 6 ruling. The company, Masterpiece International, provides moving services for employees of multinational companies moving into the U.S. The company claimed that "the services offered give Masterpiece an interest in the imported household goods that goes beyond a mere nominal consignee," said CBP in HQ H242069.
Mexico's Diario Oficial of March 20 lists notices from the Secretary of the Economy and Secretary of Finance as follows:
Mexico's Diario Oficial of March 17 lists notices from the Secretary of the Economy and Secretary of Finance as follows:
CBP is extending the comment period to April 10 for an existing information collections related to customs brokers. CBP proposes to extend the expiration date of this information collection with no change to the burden hours.
CBP said the following customs broker licenses have been reinstated and are currently active:
CBP should be careful in considering the changes to broker permitting and take into account the individual brokers that would be affected, said Kuehne + Nagel Import Compliance Officer Ken Bargteil while speaking at the Feb. 20 Advisory Committee on the Commercial Operations of CBP (COAC) meeting. Bargteil, a longtime member of the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) Customs Committee, said he was speaking for himself as an individually licensed broker and on behalf of Darrell Sekin, president of the NCBFAA, during the public comment period. The COAC "Role of the Broker" working group is developing recommendations to CBP for how to go about modernizing the current district permitting regulations for customs brokers.
CBP again reminded brokers and importers in a CSMS message that all imports of steel mill products need a steel import license for each entry. "During the government shutdown in October 2013, the U.S. Department of Commerce temporarily stopped issuing entry specific steel license numbers on imports of steel mill products, and permitted importers to use two non-entry specific steel license numbers on entry summaries," said CBP. "Those two temporary steel license numbers were only valid for use from October 1 -- 16, 2013 and not beyond. It has come to our attention that some Customs brokers and importers are incorrectly continuing to use the temporary steel license numbers on entry summaries for imports of steel mill products. This practice must cease immediately." The steel import license number obtained for each shipment needs to be reported on the corresponding entry summary, the agency said. Steel import licenses come from the Department of Commerce International Trade Administration.
CBP's official notice beginning a pilot program that would test a combined Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) and Importer Self Assessment (ISA) was delayed in order to include information on participation by other government agencies, said CBP in a document released ahead of the Feb. 20 Advisory Committee on the Commercial Operations of CBP (COAC) meeting. CBP said in November it planned to officially request pilot participants for the program, known as "Trusted Trader," by the end of 2013 (see 13111920). Another COAC working group said it is working to develop recommendations for customs broker permitting updates by May.