U.S. CUSTOMS WORKS TO SPEED ONLINE ACCESS TO RULINGS
The U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection has slipped from its commitment to post rulings on claims, fines, penalties and forfeitures on its Web site within two weeks of a decision, a top regulator told an advisory panel composed of industry representatives.
Assistant Commissioner Michael Schmitz, who heads the Office of Regulations and Rulings, told industry representatives of the Treasury Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) April 4 that programmers have corrected a software glitch that caused the delay. He added that a new cross-search engine is proving a helpful tool for finding rulings online.
Schmidtz said it takes about 64 days to issue decisions, even though his office is down five attorneys from the 95 who worked there last summer.
