CBP launches simplified entry pilot for air

  U.S. Customs and Border Protection has been working for more than a year on a way to simplify the customs entry process and is now ready to test its concept with private sector volunteers that ship goods by air. Instead of filing the customs entry when all 27 pieces of required data are in hand, an importer or broker will be able to submit 12 required data elements and three optional data elements at any time prior to arrival of the shipment at a U.S. port of entry.
   The agency will begin a pilot program towards the end of the year with nine trusted shippers that have achieved Tier 2 or Tier 3 status in the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, according to a notice in Wednesday’s Federal Register. More companies may be allowed to join the test as the program unfolds.
    The new process is being designed to reduce the number of customs holds that delay release of the cargo and improve predictability about when shippers can take possession of their goods. Under the current system for processing air cargo, CBP can make a release decision no sooner than take off from a foreign airport.
   Under the pilot program, companies will transmit the best available data they have as early as possible so that CBP can begin automated risk analysis for security and trade compliance. CBP will quickly respond with a release status message indicating that the shipment meets all criteria and can be picked up or that it needs further vetting. Communication early in the transportation process will allow companies to quickly submit any missing data sought by CBP and resolve the matter or make arrangements to its logistics operation to compensate for the product delay, Brenda Brockman Smith, executive director of trade policy and programs, said in a conference call with reporters.
   Parties interested in participating in the CBP simplified entry pilot have five days to apply.      
   During the two-year demonstration other modes of transportation will be incorporated into the program, Smith said. See also.   — Eric Kulisch