A 60-day “cushion” CBP is giving customs brokers to re-execute existing powers of attorney directly with importers of record and drawback claimants will “allow the brokers time to contact the appropriate party with whom they need to re-execute the power of attorney,” Jeannine Delgado of CBP’s broker management branch said during a Dec. 1 webinar held by CBP.
Customs brokers must restructure by Feb. 17 any powers of attorney they had previously executed with freight forwarders or other third parties to satisfy a new requirement that the POAs be directly executed with the importer of record or drawback claimant, CBP said in a CSMS message Dec. 1.
At least one broker on a CBP webinar on how new Part 111 broker regulations will be implemented continued to be confused about how to determine if the company has a "sufficient" number of licensed customs brokers to supervise employees who file customs entries.
CBP released a new “job aid” for customs brokers Oct. 20 on powers of attorney, as part of its broader effort to inform brokers of changes to the Part 111 regulations published two days prior (see 2210170027). The document includes a checklist of requirements for how brokers should execute a POA, and notes that the broker modernization final rule changed POA requirements by mandating that brokers execute POAs directly with an importer or drawback claimant, without going through a third party, such as a forwarder. The final rule also says compensation agreements between forwarders and brokers cannot forbid or prevent direct communication between an importer or claimant and the broker.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
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CORONADO, Calif. -- CBP is still about 1,800 officers short of a full cohort, and with more staffing needs on the horizon, the agency is looking to efficiency gains to make up for the shortfall, said Pete Flores, executive assistant commissioner of CBP’s Office of Field Operations, in Oct. 8 remarks at the Western Cargo Conference.
Imported jewelry that is held on consignment by retailers but never sold is eligible for substitution unused merchandise drawback, CBP said in a ruling released Oct. 3. Though customers of the retailers may try on the jewelry, that doesn’t constitute use of the jewelry for its intended purpose, and the importer retains title to the unsold jewelry unless sold, CBP said in ruling HQ H292054.
African Growth and Opportunity Act benefits for Kenya need to continue as any trade partnership is formed, commenters said, especially the third-country fabric rule of origin.
The Part 111 broker regulations in the works for five years are about to be released (see 2209140051) and National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America Customs Committee Chair Mary Jo Muoio that said there are aspects of the rules that the group welcomes, and others that it dreads.