CBP postpones effective date for in-bond regulatory changes

U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Automated Commercial Environment in-bond reporting will become mandatory for all carriers in August.    U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is postponing the initial implementation of changes to its in-bond regulations for several months, after it had planned to end a “flexible enforcement” period for enforcement of the new regulations on Feb. 25, the agency said last Thursday in a Cargo Systems Messaging Service (CSMS) message.
   The agency is also indefinitely postponing the implementation of a provision in the Nov. 27 final in-bond rule to require the inclusion of the six-digit HTS number on Immediate Transportation (IT) in-bond transportation entries. IT entries allow merchandise, upon U.S. arrival, to be transported to another U.S. port, where a subsequent entry will be filed.
   On July 2, CBP will no longer accept paper CBP Form 7512 (Transportation Entry and Manifest of Goods Subject to CBP Inspection and Permit), the CSMS message says.
   “Electronic filing of new in-bond transactions will be the responsibility of the trade,” CBP said in the message. “Paper forms or other paper alternatives (screen prints or plain paper documents etc.) will be accepted as part of enforcement processes at the border or verification/audit operations such as warehouse withdrawals, FTZ exports and transfers or vessel/aircraft supply operations where additional information is required on paper forms that is not provided for electronically.”
   On Aug. 6, electronic reporting of all transactions will be mandatory for carriers, and CBP will not accept paper copies of CBP Form 7512 to “perform arrival and export functionality,” the message says.
   Further, on that date, electronic reporting of bonded cargo location (FIRMS code), and of diversion to a port “other than reported on the original in-bond” will be required. The Automated Commercial Environment will reject arrival if either of these reporting actions aren’t performed, CBP said.
   The original “effective date” of the new regulations was Nov. 27, though CBP was allowing an initial “flexible enforcement” period until Feb. 25. CBP’s announcement extends the period of leniency.
   CBP is updating a frequently asked questions document to reflect the updates announced last Thursday.