CBP Announces Phased Enforcement of Mandatory e-Manifest: Truck for Advance Cargo Information Purposes in California, New Mexico, and Texas Beginning April 19, 2007

(See ITT's Online Archives or 01/19/07 news, 07011905, for BP summary of the Federal Register announcement regarding the mandatory requirement for these ports.)

Enforcement of e-Manifest: Truck for Advance Cargo Information to be Phased-in

CBP states that e-Manifest: Truck enforcement discretion for advance cargo information purposes will take place in California, New Mexico, and Texas in the following phases:

Phase 1 - Informed Compliance (April 19, 2007). Beginning April 19, 2007, CBP will begin to exercise enforcement discretion in the form of an informed compliance period of at least 60 days. This period may be extended based on system performance issues and operational readiness. During this period, CBP officers working in primary lanes will provide an informed compliance notice to the driver of any conveyance that fails to meet the requirement.

Phase 2 - Denial of Permit if no ACE e-Manifest Attempt (June 19, 2007). Beginning no earlier than June 19, 2007, CBP will deny a permit to proceed into the U.S. to any carrier required to submit an e-Manifest which arrives without submitting or attempting an e-Manifest. CBP officers may accept the ACE e-Manifest cover sheet as initial proof of this attempt.

CBP notes that prior to the beginning of this phase, CBP officers will also be provided with a process they can use to check for transmission attempts by carriers. CBP adds that validation of e-Manifest participation should ideally take place in a secondary inspection environment.

Phase 3 - Denial of Permit if no ACE e-Manifest (July 19, 2007). Beginning no earlier than July 19, 2007 and continuing as ongoing Trade Act enforcement, CBP will deny a permit to proceed into the U.S. for any truck required to submit an e-Manifest that arrives at one of the ports requiring mandatory use of the e-Manifest without first successfully transmitting an e-Manifest for that trip.

For egregious violations, a monetary penalty ($5,000 for the first offense and $10,000 for subsequent offenses) may be issued to the driver in care of the carrier under 19 USC 1436 (penalties for violations of arrival, reporting, entry, and clearance requirements). CBP explains that egregious violators are defined as those carriers that make no attempt to comply with the requirements.

Additional Phases for Timeliness, Accuracy, Etc. Once CBP achieves substantial compliance with the requirements to file e-Manifests, additional phases will be announced for enforcement of other Trade Act elements including timeliness of submission, accuracy of data, and completeness of e-Manifests.

Shipments Exempt from e-Manifest: Truck for Advance Cargo Information Purposes

CBP states that the following shipments are currently exempt from the advance electronic filing requirement for incoming cargo:

Cargo in transit from point to point in the U.S. after transiting Canada or Mexico

Certain informal entries:

• Merchandise which may be informally entered on CBP Form 368 or 368A (cash collection or receipt);
• Merchandise unconditionally or conditionally free, not exceeding $2,000 in value, eligible for entry on CBP Form 7523; and
• Products of the U.S. being returned, for which entry is prescribed on CBP Form 3311.

Shipment Types not Specifically Exempted, but Use of e-Manifest: Truck for Advance Cargo Information Purposes Not Required

According to CBP, the following shipment types are not specifically exempted by the regulation, but use of e-Manifest is not currently required:

Merchandise that is subject to the provisions of 19 USC 1321 (Section 321 of the Tariff Act of 1930)

Empty trucks and truck cabs

Shipments consisting solely of Instruments of International Traffic eligible for release under 19 CFR 10.41(a)

All other shipments are required to provide advance electronic cargo information via an e-Manifest, including personal effects using CBP Form 3299.

(See ITT's Online Archives 01/19/07 news, 07011905, for BP summary of the Federal Register announcement on mandatory requirement for these ports, which states that, among other things, advance cargo information must be provided to CBP one hour (30 minutes for Free and Secure Trade (FAST) participants), prior to arrival of the conveyance at the first U.S. port of arrival.

See ITT's Online Archives or 09/17/04 news, 04091715, for BP summary of CBP's FAQ on mandatory advance electronic information requirements for truck carriers. See ITT's Online Archives or 12/15/03 news, 03121525, for BP summary of CBP's final rule on the requirements of advance electronic transmission of truck cargo information.

See ITT's Online Archives or 02/08/07 news, 07020805, for BP summary of updated FAQ on ACE e-Manifest. See ITT's Online Archives or 01/29/07 news, 07012905, for BP summary of CBP's list of the order in which mandatory e-Manifest: truck will be implemented for the remaining groups of ports.)

CBP states that questions regarding this notice may be directed to the local port.

CBP enforcement plan (undated), available at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/toolbox/about/modernization/carrier_info/electronic_truck_manifest_info/ace_cluster_2.xml