U.S. CUSTOMS SEES RESULTS OF AUTOMATED DUTY-PAYMENT PROGRAM

   U.S. Customs is beginning to see the results of a new automated
duty-payment program which started a year ago today.
   The program, called the reconciliation prototype, allows importers to
pay duties on the estimated value of goods at the time of entry, and then
follow up 12 to 15 months later with a more accurate figure.
   Customs has so far received about 60 reconciliation entries, accounting for about 5,000 entry summaries or about $209 million worth in imports. Most of these reconciliations received are making claims under the North America Free Trade Agreement.
   "We can’t say that we haven’t had some difficulties," Don Luther,
program officer for U.S. Customs in Washington. "It’s still a new system
for both Customs and the industry. We’re working through the problems as they come up."
   Since the program started last year, more than a million entry summaries were flagged for reconciliation. More than half of the importers in the prototype have given their customs brokers power of attorney to reconcile entries.
   The prototype will be tested for one more year. Then Customs will decide whether to make the program a permanent part of its duty-payment process.