CBP's Final Rule on the Advance Electronic Presentation of Cargo Information (Part XVIII - CBP Responds to Comments)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has published a final rule which amends the Customs Regulations effective January 5, 2004 regarding the advance electronic presentation of information pertaining to cargo (sea, air, rail, or truck) prior to its being brought into, or sent from, the U.S. (See final rule for compliance dates for each transportation mode.)
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This is Part XVIII of a multi-part series of summaries of this final rule, and highlights some of CBP's responses to comments on the proposed rule, as follows:
Pre-departure reports for outbound cargo not having an export license. In response to a commenter wanting to know whether there could be a pre-departure report for cargo that did not have an export license, CBP states that there may be pre-departure reporting for shipments without an export license. CBP indicates that general export reporting requirements may be found in the Bureau of Census (Census) Regulations (15 CFR 30.1-30.2).
24-hour advance notice for outgoing vessel cargo including perishable goods. According to one commenter, the proposed twenty-four hour advance notification for outgoing vessel cargo in proposed 19 CFR 192.14(b)(1)(i) would considerably add to transit time, with adverse impact especially upon perishable goods.
CBP responds that since the responsibility rests with the U.S. Principal Party in Interest (USPPI), and not the ocean carrier, to provide the advance data to CBP, there should be no undue burden placed upon the carrier. CBP notes that the Option 4 post-departure filing program will remain and will be available to exporters of perishables that meet requirements for volume, low-risk commodity, and compliance with export regulations.
Export exemption list & citation format, low value outbound shipments & shipments to Canada. CBP states that a commenter sought information about the export exemption list, and whether there was any reason to standardize the format of the citation which the USPPI furnished to the outbound carrier. According to CBP, the commenter also states that exemptions for low value shipments and shipments to Canada should remain the same.
CBP responds that Census already publishes export reporting exemptions in its regulations (see 15 CFR 30.50-30.58). According to CBP, exemptions for low value shipments and shipments to Canada do remain the same. In addition, the citation format is already standardized and available to the trade in Census Foreign Trade Statistics Regulations (FTSR) Letter 168, Amendment 2, a copy of which may be obtained from Census. Additionally, CBP states that it is understood that information required to be submitted under Census regulations for exports made through the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) will not be subject to being reported within the advance filing time frames of 19 CFR 192.14(b) (Presentation of data).
Outbound shipments to U.S. territories & Puerto Rico. In response to inquiries about the reporting status of shipments to U.S. territories and Puerto Rico, CBP states that the reporting requirements for shipments to U.S. territories and to Puerto Rico also remain unchanged. CBP states that such requirements are outlined in the Census Regulations (see 15 CFR 30.1).
(See ITT's Online Archives or 01/09/04 news, 04010915, for Part XVII of this series. See ITT's Online Archives or 12/09/03 news, 03120915, for Part II, which includes a list of CBP contacts.)
CBP final rule (CBP Dec. 03-32), FR Pub 12/05/03, available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2003/pdf/03-29798.pdf