Reminder: CBP to Begin Phased Enforcement of Mandatory e-Manifest: Truck for Advance Cargo Information Purposes in California, New Mexico, and Texas on 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, which notes that CBP has previously stated that advance electronic cargo information for inbound truck cargo must be received at least one hour prior to the carrier's reaching the first port of arrival in the U.S., or no later than 30 minutes prior to the carrier's reaching the first port of arrival in the U.S. for shipments qualified for clearance under the Free and Secure Trade (FAST) program (with exceptions for cargo in transit from point to point in the U.S. and certain informal entries).)

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

CBP has stated 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 has noted 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.

(See ITT's Online Archives or 02/23/07 news, 07022305, for BP summary of CBP's announcement of the phased enforcement plan for California, New Mexico, and Texas.)

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