CBP to Ditch Plans for Revisions to ICP on First Sale, Says NCBFAA
CBP has decided against going forward with a controversial update to an Informed Compliance Publication (ICP) that would have spelled out the first sale verification measures available to the agency, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said. According to the NCBFAA, the CBP decision was made in response to industry comments, most of which were highly critical of the agency's effort (see 14080624, 14081416 and 14082926). Although CBP has not made any official communication that the ICP revisions will be scuttled, there have been some indications to that effect, said Thomas Travis, managing partner at Sandler Travis, a law firm that has advocated strongly against the ICP updates.
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While CBP may not revise the ICP as planned, the agency may take another route on the issue. "Most commenters, including the NCBFAA, felt that the proposed changes would significantly limit the use of first sale and that the ICP was not the appropriate vehicle for making those changes," said the trade group. "CBP has informally indicated that they may consider changes to the audit program to address this issue." Industry observers have said that CBP's work on the ICP indicates plans to increase scrutiny of such claims, even if the agency doesn't adopt the entirety of the revisions (see 14071421). Travis said that while he's encouraged by the apparent change in direction, he's still looking forward to an official CBP statement on the subject. CBP didn't comment.
Much of the controversy surrounding the proposed ICP revisions involved the addition of a list of documents that CBP said it "may" ask for in order to verify a first sale claim (see 14071025). Critics said that the list created a de facto recordkeeping requirement, without going through the necessary regulatory or legislative processes. Although CBP Acting Assistant Commissioner for International Trade Rich DiNucci previously said that the ICP revisions would not amount to a policy change, CBP has now "indicated that it was not their intention to change the legal requirements for importers to utilize the first sale method of appraisement but instead to clarify the audit requirements," said the NCBFAA.