COAC WORKS ON ADVANCE MANIFESTS

COAC WORKS ON ADVANCE MANIFESTS    The Treasury Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of the U.S. Customs Service (COAC) will continue to provide recommendations on the development of advance manifest regulations for all modes of transport.
   When Customs implemented its advance manifest regulation for inbound ocean shipments on Dec. 2, it asked COAC to set up a special subcommittee to assess the impact of the rule’s implementation on the shipping industry.
   COAC includes 20 Treasury-picked industry executives. These executives gathered input from representatives of leading trade association and provided Customs with a list of concerns regarding the industry’s compliance with the 24-hour rule and offered some recommendations.
   COAC’s report and recommendations to Customs was publicly released at a meeting in Washington, Jan. 24. The report covered 22 aspects of the 24-hour rule, such as seals, confidentiality, Automated Manifest System reliability, freight remaining on board, legal liability, manifest amendments, perishable commodities, in-bond coordination and enforcement implementation. Customs officials at the COAC meeting said they would take the recommendations into serious consideration.
   COAC also moved forward to create three additional subcommittees to provide input for the proposed advance inbound and outbound manifest regulations for truck, air and rail, which are required under the 2002 Trade Act by Oct. 1. COAC received Customs’ approval to create separate subcommittees at the meeting.
   “We welcome that. We accept that. We embrace that,” said Customs Commissioner Robert C. Bonner. “I think this (process) has been very effective and important. Let’s do that.”
   “We welcome dialogue and support from the trade,” added Jayson Ahern, assistant commissioner for Customs’ Office of Field Operations.
   The COAC subcommittees will work closely with Customs during the next 60 days. The agency wants to have a firm direction for its proposed export and import manifest requirements in the next several months.
   With Customs moving over to the new Homeland Security Department in March, there has been some concern in the industry that COAC may be dissolved. Bonner assured industry attendees at the meeting that COAC is “an institution that will continue (to have value) in this new department.”
   Some industry officials also expressed concern that trade facilitation may take a backseat to border security initiatives with Customs operating under the Homeland Security Department. “I can assure you that it won’t,” Bonner said.