CUSTOMS SUSPENDS WEB-POSTING OF IMPORTER PENALTIES

CUSTOMS SUSPENDS WEB-POSTING OF IMPORTER PENALTIES    U.S. Customs has suspended its policy of publishing names of importers that violate the country's import rules and the amount of penalties assessed and collected from these firms.
   The policy drew complaints from the industry last week — and pointed letters from the leaders of the American Association of Exporters and Importers and the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America.
   The list provided the violator's name, initial penalty amounts and the amount collected.
   In a statement Wednesday, Customs Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said “E-policies for Customs and the entire organization are a work in process. We are withdrawing the list of companies penalized by Customs from our Web site, to both remove the names of the companies whose penalties were the result of a prior disclosure and to reevaluate the policy.”
   Michael D. Laden, AAEI's chairman, and Peter Powell Sr., president of the NCBFAA, said in separate letters that the policy infringed on Customs' confidentiality obligations and punished those companies that voluntarily paid through prior disclosure. Other complaints included listing of companies for minor penalty cases of less than $5,000, and that the industry was not allowed to comment on the policy before it was implemented.