U.S. CUSTOMS TAKES COMMENTS ON REVISED COMPLIANCE ASSESSMENT PROCESS

   U.S. Customs has proposed changes to its compliance assessment process for importers and is now waiting for industry feedback.
   The agency’s Regulatory Audit Division proposed its changes to a group of 15 large importers, known as the Trade Compliance Work Group, on Nov. 18.
   Customs’ compliance assessment process started in 1996. The agency modified the program this year by reducing its sampling size for audited areas from 220 items to 100 items. Customs said the smaller sample size would help to reduce audit times.
   Based on the results of the compliance assessment, an importer would
fall into one of three categories: high risk, moderate risk and low risk.
The higher the risk the more scrutiny the importer faces from Customs. By November, the agency reported that 44 percent of 246 importers audited were labeled as high risk.
   Customs’ recent proposal would allow importers up to five errors per
audited area to be considered low-risk, instead of a failing score based on one error. Importers with one or no error would be placed in a new risk category, called "minimal risk."
   The agency will give failing importers the chance to complete a
compliance improvement plan — a status quo category called "standard
risk." Customs will then take another compliance measurement before placing the importer into a risk category. In addition, importers that have already been placed in a risk category will have the chance to conduct a compliance improvement plan to better their positions.
   The agency says that the import industry has shown improvement since its compliance assessment program was implemented. In fiscal 1998, the average industry compliance rate was 89 percent and the result for fiscal 1999 was 91 percent.
   Customs will take comments from the industry regarding its proposed
revisions until Dec. 17. Comments may be e-mailed the agency at
comments.regaudit@customs.treas.gov .