CUSTOMS TO TEST ELIMINATION OF PAPER MASTER AIR WAYBILLS

CUSTOMS TO TEST ELIMINATION OF PAPER MASTER AIR WAYBILLS    The U.S. Customs Service is soliciting air carriers to participate in a one-year test to electronically transmit master air waybill data prior to arrival on U.S. soil.
   The notice published this week in the Federal Register said the test is part of an ongoing automation program designed to eventually make Customs clearance a paperless process.
   The carrier will submit the data through Custom's existing Air Automated Manifest System and will not have to submit a copy of the master air waybill as an attachment to the air cargo manifest.
   The test, to begin no earlier than March 3, will coincide with a rulemaking process in which Customs intends to require carriers and freight forwarders to electronically submit air manifest data prior to arrival. How the two notification requirements will eventually link up is unclear as Custom's is still at a very early stage developing the advance manifest reporting requirements.
   For further information, contact David King, Manifest and Conveyance Branch (202) 927-1133.