Licensed Customs Broker

Broker Power is providing readers with some of the top stories for October 17-21, 2011 in case they were missed last week.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is announcing that the following Customs broker licenses, as well as all associated permits, have been revoked with prejudice:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is announcing that the following Customs broker licenses and all associated permits are cancelled without prejudice:

The Court of International Trade has ruled that licensed customs broker Guillermo Lizarraga is entitled to reimbursement of attorney fees and other expenses after successfully challenging U.S. Customs and Border Protection's 2008 deactivation and suspension of his entry filer code for alleged misuse. The CIT states Lizarraga is entitled to reimbursement as CBP's¹ position was not substantially justified and because there are no special circumstances that make such an award unjust.

The CBP-NCBFAA "Role of the Broker-Broker Regulatory Revision Workgroup" has updated its proposed options for revising the role of licensed customs brokers and the Part 111 regulations. The Workgroup continues to propose a continuing education requirement to maintain an “active” broker's license¹ and that Customs business be conducted within the U.S. Customs Territory. It is also proposing that broker status reports be submitted every six months via the ACE Portal, that a web-based exam application process be implemented, and that a review of the broker penalty regime occur. It is no longer proposing an apprenticeship prerequisite to licensing.

On September 20, 2011, Senator McCaskill (D-MO) introduced S. 1581¹, a bill to address unfair trade practices such as duty evasion. The bill would create “know your customer” rules for customs brokers, implement improvements to the importer of record database, and permanently eliminate the AD “bonding-in-lieu” provision for new shippers.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a new document entitled “Guidance on Entry Deletion and Entry or Entry Summary Cancellation” in order to provide uniform national procedures for requesting such actions in ACS and ACE, and for requesting entry substitutions for EIP/RLF and at land border ports. The Guidance includes a deletion/cancellation worksheet and also discusses liquidated damages.

At the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America’s Government Affairs Conference on September 19, 2011, representatives from U.S. Customs and Border Protection and NCBFAA’s Customs Committee discussed the “Role of the Broker,” including the possibility of requiring continuing education for all licensed customs brokers and an experience requirement for permit holders. A larger role for brokers in trusted trade programs is also being contemplated, etc.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted input provided by licensed customs brokers (who do not work for brokerage companies) on the professionalism component of CBP's broker revision project, which was discussed at the August 18, 2011 COAC meeting. Among other things, commenters state that stricter rules to require work experience before sitting for the customs broker exam and for continuing education should be for permit holders, and separate from the changes planned for individual licensed brokers.

On August 31, 2011, the Bureau of Industry and Security published a new set of “best practices,” developed in cooperation with U.S. industry to help guard against the diversion of dual-use items shipped to a transshipment "hub" or to any intermediate country before being shipped to the country of ultimate destination. Recommendations include using only those forwarders that have sound compliance programs and avoiding routed transactions for dual-use exports.