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Intermediaries face host of customs issues

Automated filings, 10+2 rule top of mind for government, tradeBy Peter A. Buxbaum, AJOTImporters, freight forwarders, and customs brokers may not be aware of this, but they are eligible to participate in their own, self-actuated economic stimulus plan. By setting up an account within Customs and Border Protection’s Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) they are able to make monthly payments on their account instead of more frequent payments on a transaction- by-transaction basis. How does this relate to economic stimulus? When CBP first started rolling out the account management features of ACE a few years ago, it proposed that payments of duty on monthly summary accounts would have interest tacked on, since some of those payments will be made well after they would otherwise be due under the previous system. Importers argued against that proposal and eventually won: CBP dropped the interest-charging scheme, leaving the difference in the pockets of private businesses. The purpose of ACE was to establish an automated trade compliance process. In fact, importers have saved $110 million dollars using the ACE account system, according to Louis Samenfink, CBP’s head of cargo systems, and he hastens to add, the government does not begrudge the loss of money. “Yes, the government has taken a hit,” he said. “We had to get the Treasury Department to agree not to collect interest. “It has cost the government revenue but it has also pumped revenue into the private sector,” Samenfink added. “In a way, it has been an economic stimulus activity for the trade. It has been better for business than having Uncle Sam taking all that money.” Yet, Samenfink hinted, the monthly account arrangement is not as popular as might be expected. “During some months, we collect half our monthly fees on a monthly basis,” he said. Customs and Border Protection has also been busy with other matters that affect the trade. Earlier this year, CBP published the interim rules for its Importer Security Filing, also known as the 10+2 rule because of the additional data sets importers and carriers must provide. CBP’s interim rule took effect on January 26, and enforcement will begin one year later. The 10 additional data elements from importers and two from carriers are those that appeared in the proposed rule early this year: the seller, buyer, manufacturer or supplier; the location where the container is stuffed; the party to whom the goods are shipped; and the container consolidator or stuffer. The rule also will require the importer of record number, consignee number, 10-digit harmonized tariff number, and country of origin. According to Customs, these four elements are identical to the ones that importers currently report on entry statements. Carriers will be required to file the vessel stow plan, and carrier-status messages. The good news for the trade is that CBP is allowing flexibility in what importers report in six of the data elements: manufacturer, consolidator, stuffing location, country of origin, tariff commodity number, and the “ship to” party. “Customs has basically indicated that there were four data elements absolutely mandatory,” said Peter Powell, Sr., CEO of the freight forwarder C.H. Powell & Co. and senior counselor to the National Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA). “The second set could be amended or changed after the initial reporting and two data elements, the consolidator and the place of consolidation could be posted as late as prior to the arrival of vessel.” Powell