U.S. CUSTOMS’ ISA PROGRAM OPEN TO QUALIFIED IMPORTERS

U.S. CUSTOMS’ ISA PROGRAM OPEN TO QUALIFIED IMPORTERS    The U.S. Customs Service on Monday said that the Importer Self-Assessment program is now open to all importers who wish to assess their own compliance with Customs laws and regulations.
   Participation in the program entitles importers to receive entry summary trade data and exemptions from all comprehensive compliance audits.
   In order to participate in the ISA program, an importer must be a member of another government-industry initiative, the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism. All importers who are members of C-TPAT may apply for ISA by signing an ISA memorandum of understanding and completing an ISA questionnaire.
   “The ISA program is a joint government-business initiative designed to build cooperative relationships that strengthen trade compliance,” Customs said. ISA is the replacement program for the Importer Compliance Monitoring Program, a test that was announced in 1998 to promote importer compliance with Customs laws and regulations as they apply to cargo processing. A Customs official said the ICMP was phased out due to lackluster industry participation.
   Customs said that detailed information about ISA program benefits and application to the program'may be obtained in the ISA handbook on the Web at: https://www.customs.gov/imp-exp1/comply/isa.htm.