APHIS to Issue More Instructions on Lacey Act Line Release/BRASS Pilot
The Lacey Act Declaration requirement is currently being enforced for nine Harmonized Tariff Schedule Chapter 44 headings (wood and articles of wood), except where such goods are cleared using Automated Line Release (ALR)/Border Release Advance Screening and Selectivity Program (BRASS)1.
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Where ALR/BRASS is used for these nine Chapter 44 headings (mostly rail shipments), enforcement of the declaration is delayed until June 1, 2009, to give participants the option of participating in a Blanket Declaration Pilot Program.
The pilot program will test the feasibility of collecting the declaration information through the use of an initially monthly, estimated paper PPQ 505 (Plant and Plant Product Declaration form), with subsequent monthly reconciliation reports. Those not utilizing the pilot will be removed from ALR/BRASS, and will have their C4 code deactivated on June 1, 2009, according to notices posted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
(Enforcement of the declaration requirement for non-ALR/BRASS shipments of these products began May 1, 20092.)
ALR/BRASS Participants Must Notify APHIS of Intent to Participate in Pilot
According to APHIS instructions, ALR/BRASS participants who import products covered by these nine HTS Chapter 44 headings and who intend to remain in ALR/BRASS and participate in the pilot, must notify APHIS and agree to provide information as required by the pilot3.
APHIS sources state that this notification should be mailed in letter form to: The Lacey Act; c/o U.S. Department of Agriculture; Box 10; 4700 River Road; Riverdale, Maryland 20737 (also the address for the paper PPQ 505).
Monthly Shipment Quantity Should be Overestimated
The advance monthly quantity of Chapter 44 shipments that is expected to be shipped should be overestimated, to avoid importing merchandise that is not declared, APHIS sources advise.
Advance estimates should be submitted on the paper PPQ 505. To facilitate APHIS review of the advance estimate, the fact that the quantity is "Estimated for the (monthly date)" should be noted in the description of merchandise field, Item 10 of the form.
Note that APHIS' instructions currently state that the first estimated PPQ 505 for the pilot is due May 15, 2009, covering expedited release shipments planned for the month of June 2009.
APHIS Expected to Post Form for Reconciliation Report Soon
An Excel spreadsheet to be used for the monthly reconciliation will soon be posted to the APHIS Lacey Act Web page, according to APHIS sources. APHIS instructions currently state that the first reconciliation, for the month of June 2009, is due on July 15, 2009, 15 days after the end of the month that is being reconciled.
1Though some still use the term Line Release, CBP states that the BRASS system replaced the former Line Release system. BRASS tracks and releases repetitive shipments at land border locations.
2In February 2009, APHIS published a revised, phased-in enforcement plan for the Lacey Act declaration. Under this plan, the first phase of enforcement would have begun on April 1, 2009 for certain headings of HTS Chapter 44. However, enforcement of the declaration requirement for HTS Chapter 44 was delayed until May 1. CBP then further delayed enforcement of the declaration for ALR/BRASS participants until June 1, 2009, to give these participants the option to participate in a Blanket Declaration Pilot Program. Note that acceptance of the electronic declaration began on April 1 as scheduled. In addition, the prohibition of violative imports took effect on May 22, 2008.
(The 2008 Farm Bill (the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008), effective May 22, 2008, amended the Lacey Act to make it unlawful to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase in interstate or foreign commerce a broader range of plants, with some limited exceptions, taken or traded in violation of the laws of the United States, a U.S. State, or other countries. It also made it unlawful to make or submit any false record, account or label for any false identification of, this broader group of plants covered by the Act. Finally, it introduced the requirement for an import declaration for plants entering the United States and provides for both civil and criminal penalties for failure to comply.)
3Note that APHIS' instructions on the pilot used to say that CBP must also be notified of the intent to participate in the pilot. (APHIS updates its instructions without providing any indication that they are updated. One must check their posted instructions against a print-out of an earlier version to learn if there are any changes.)
(See ITT's Online Archives or 05/06/09 news, 09050600, for BP summary of CBP's revised instructions on additional enforcement delay until June 1, 2009. See ITT's Online Archives or 05/01/09 news, 09050105, for BP summary of CBP's prior instructions.)
APHIS Lacey Act Web page (contains most recent instructions on blanket pilot and delayed enforcement for Chapter 44 items) available at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/lacey_act/index.shtml
CBPs instructions on blanket pilot and delayed enforcement for Chapter 44 items (most current version dated 05/05/09) available at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/trade/trade_programs/entry_summary/laws/food_energy/amended_lacey_act/guidance_lacey_act.xml