CBP Notice on Requesting a Change to the "Census Parameters" for HTS Numbers
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued an administrative message to ABI brokers stating that the contact names for requesting a change in Census parameters have changed.
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Email requests should be sent to carolyn.t.francis@census.gov and victoria.k.harvey@census.gov with a CC: to teiko.griffin@dhs.gov.
Form to Request a Change in Census Parameters Must Be Emailed or Faxed
CBP states that a request for a change in Census parameters may be made by filling out a blank "Request for Change in Census Parameters" form and either emailing it back or faxing it with any information necessary.
The Census Bureau's (Census') Commodity Analysis Branch will then research the request and send an email back to whomever initiated the inquiry.
(According to Appendix H (Census Warning Messages) of the Customs and Trade Automated Interface Requirements (CATAIR), CBP has incorporated Census' import parameters, or statistical averages for commodity price ranges, charges, origin countries, quantity-to-quantity ratios, and more into the Automated Commercial System (ACS) entry summary programs.
Census warning messages result when discrepancies occur between what Census usually finds for a particular commodity and the data given on an individual entry summary.
(For example, an improbable country warning occurs when a country is unlikely to produce, mine or manufacture certain commodities - the Netherlands Antilles and the Bahamas are often misreported as the country of origin for crude oil, even though these countries do not produce crude oil, but only store it.)
Census warnings do not always mean an entry summary is in error, but rather that the information given is unlikely to be true. If the warnings do indicate errors, the entry summary information must be corrected. If, however, the "unlikely" information is true, no changes need to be made to the entry summary.
According to Census sources, if a company/broker experiences Census warnings over a period of time, they can request a parameter change, which is forwarded to Census' Commodity Analysis Branch where an analyst will research and make a determination if anything needs to be changed. Any needed changes are then made in ACS.)
Email version of the "Request for Change in Census Parameters" form is available by emailing documents@brokerpower.com
CBP Adm: 04-2343 (dated 11/01/04) available at http://www.brokerpower.com/cgi-bin/adminsearch/admmsg.view.pl?article=2004/2004-2343.ADM