Importers Can Obtain ITRAC Data on Their Imports
For over six years, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has provided import data for a specific time period to companies who submit Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to the Office of Strategic Trade (OST). This collection of data is called Importer Trade Activity (ITRAC) and is comprised of about 20 elements of company-specific import data. CBP states that the information is only provided to the Importer of Record or those authorized by the Importer of Record to submit the FOIA request on its behalf. 1
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According to CBP, the requested information is provided on a CD-Rom in a Microsoft Access 97 database called an ITRAC Tracker and is processed for a fee that generally ranges from $250-$300. Among other company-specific import data, the ITRAC Tracker includes: Country of Export, Country of Origin, Entered Value, Entry Date, Entry Number, Entry Type, Estimated Duty/Rate, Exams, Export Date, Filer, HTS Number/Description, Liquidation Date, Manufacturer ID, Mode of Transportation, Port of Lading/Unlading, Related Party Status, Special Program Indicator, and Ultimate Consignee.
CBP states that ITRAC requests must be submitted in writing or by email and should include the importer number(s), the time period desired, a statement that the request is being made under FOIA regulations, agreement to pay for costs of getting the import data, and the name and address of any third party authorized to receive the data. CBP states that processing time for these requests is usually 6-8 weeks.
1 CBP sources explain that any employees of the Importer of Record or any outside parties (e.g. attorneys or auditors) may request ITRAC information as long as they submit a letter on the requesting company's letterhead indicating that they have the power of attorney to seek the information on behalf of that company.
CBP ITRAC information and request sample available at: http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/PrintMe.xml?xml=$/content/foia/itrac.ctt&location=/admin/
BP Note
As part of CBP's October/November 2006 Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Exchange II Conference, CBP noted that it was working on merging the ITRAC data with ACE so that the data matches, and this would probably take about two years. (See ITT's Online Archives or 01/16/07 news, 07011610, for BP summary).