Some Customs broker licenses were inadvertently revoked on November 18, 2011, said U.S. Customs and Border Protection in a notice a the Federal Register notice May 1, 2012.
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.
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. -- The rewrite of Part 111 of U.S. Customs and Border Protection regulations will focus on improving the regulations for 2020, rather than the near future, said Brenda Smith, executive director of trade Policy and Programs at CBP, speaking at the National Customs Brokers and Forwards Association of America conference April 25, 2012. The development of the new regs has been helped along with a partnership with NCBFAA, she said. Smith said there has been a lot of feedback from importers seeking to participate as clients and as employers of people with brokers licenses, she said.
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. -- Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Richard Lidinsky said the FMC will begin improving NVOCC regulations next month. Lidinsky spoke at the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America conference April 24, 2012. Lidinsky mentioned a recent FMC notice of inquiry seeking comments on its rules that exempt non-vessel-operating common carriers (NVOCCs) that enter service arrangements from certain tariff filing requirements of the Shipping Act of 1984. At the May FMC meeting, the commission will begin the process of modernizing regulations for NVOCC and Freight Forwarder licensing, registration, and proof of financial responsibility, Lidinsky said.
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. -- Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Richard Lidinsky said the FMC will begin improving NVOCC regulations next month. Lidinsky spoke at the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America conference April 24, 2012. Lidinsky mentioned a recent FMC notice of inquiry seeking comments on its rules that exempt non-vessel-operating common carriers (NVOCCs) that enter service arrangements from certain tariff filing requirements of the Shipping Act of 1984.
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. -- Industry can expect a revision to ocean transportation intermediaries (OTI) regulation and a request for comments on a Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) market rate index, said FMC General Counsel Rebecca Fenneman, speaking at the National Customs Brokers and Forwards Association of America convention April 24, 2012. Fenneman didn’t go into detail on the potential changes but noted they were items the FMC was considering.
A recently released U.S. Customs and Border Protection February 23 Implementation Guide for Messaging Interface between International Trade Data System Trade Partners and the CBP Document Image System (DIS) for importers and brokers provides extensive technical details on the messaging processes. The document, numbered ITDS-DIS-IG-1.2.6, says For Official Use Only. CBP recently began the first phase of DIS testing for Importers and Brokers using ACE.
Broker Power is providing readers with some of the top stories for March 26 - March 30, 2012 in case they were missed last week.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has announced that the following individual Customs broker licenses and any and all associated permits have been canceled due to the death of the broker:
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has announced that the following Customs broker licenses and all associated permits are canceled without prejudice:
At the February 21, 2012 COAC meeting, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials discussed ongoing work on the Centers of Excellence and Expertise (CEEs). They provided information on the post-entry processing CEEs would do for "trusted partners" and the benefits they would receive. CBP officials also stated that CEEs would be virtual ports and that the agency's regulations may need to be amended to "line up" with what the CEEs will do. COAC's Trade Facilitation Subcommittee also listed certain metrics that could be used to measure the success of the CEEs.