The president and part-owner of a jewelry importer will pay $415,000 to settle a False Claims Act lawsuit that alleged his company undervalued entries in an effort to avoid paying duties, the Department of Justice said in an Aug. 3 news release. Anshul Gandhi, resident of New Jersey, admitted as part of the settlement that he knew of the customs fraud, avoiding a more than $7 million judgment entered in New York Southern District federal court that same day.
Full compliance with the CBP proposal to revamp multiple government standards customs brokers are required to meet (see 2006040037) would likely take at least a year to complete, and potentially more, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said in comments filed Aug. 4. The updates would require dramatic changes during an already especially complex time in the industry and the broader economy, it said. Comments in the docket are due Aug. 4.
Some of CBP's proposed changes for the regulations that govern customs brokers (see 2006040037) appear likely result in unexpected problems if not addressed by the agency before the rules are finalized, the Florida Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association said in recently filed comments. “We feel strongly against the concept of a customs broker being a 'force multiplier' from an enforcement perspective and, while we do want to ensure there is 'enhanced compliance,' deputizing brokers, as some of these proposed changes demand, can lead to an unnecessarily conflictive, non-productive broker-importer as well as broker-CBP client relationship,” the trade group said. Comments in the docket are due Aug. 4.
CBP will increase Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) fees by 8.933 percent to adjust for inflation in fiscal year 2021, the agency said in a notice. Affected fees include the merchandise processing fee, vessel and truck arrival fees and the customs broker permit user fee. The Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act, passed in 2015, required that CBP make inflation adjustments and fee limitations when deemed necessary (see 1512040024). CBP increased the fees by 7.167 percent last year (see 1908010021). The fees are effective Oct. 1.
A determination for “whether promulgating new regulations is necessary to better define and enforce Section 321 provisions” is expected this month, the Department of Homeland Security said in a recently released report on the effort to fight intellectual property rights violations. The DHS progress report, released July 16, lists milestones and estimated timing for implementing the broader DHS strategy (see 2001240043). The milestones “focus on immediate actions and short-term deliverables that will create the building blocks for more time-intensive action that may require legislative or regulatory changes,” DHS said.
Following the cancellation of the April customs broker exam, “there are a lot of people that are very interested in taking this broker exam in October” and CBP “is going to try and accommodate everyone possible,” said John Van Wallaghen, vice president at UPS Public Affairs, during the July 15 Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) meeting. The agency is planning on having a “split session on a single day” that will include morning and afternoon sessions, he said. Due to gathering restrictions, additional testing space will likely be necessary in order to hold the exams, he said.
The Treasury Department published its spring 2020 regulatory agenda for CBP. The agenda doesn't include any new actions related to Treasury's customs revenue functions. The agenda lists Treasury's CBP rulemakings that are pending at the proposed, interim final, final and completed stages, as well as rulemakings that are long-term actions. The agenda lists the regulation title; past regulation(s), if any; the time frame for the next regulatory action(s), if any; a brief description of the regulation; and a contact party name and telephone number.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published its spring 2020 regulatory agenda for CBP. Among the few trade-related changes to the agenda from the fall (see 1911220038) is the return of continuing education requirements for customs brokers. The possible regulatory action was previously listed on CBP's agenda but relegated in recent years to the agency's list of "Long-Term Actions."
Companies affected by the Bureau of Industry and Security's recent rule on military-related exports (see 2004270027) were frustrated by the lack of a comment period before the rule was finalized and BIS’s decision not to postpone the effective date, industry officials said in interviews. Some officials said they were disappointed the new requirements were not first issued as a proposed rule, adding that smaller businesses with fewer compliance department employees have struggled to adjust.
CBP should “exercise discretion” when using its withhold release order (WRO) authority to address forced labor violations, leaving space for importers to use their leverage to get suppliers to change their illegal practices, the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) Intelligent Enforcement subcommittee said in draft recommendations released ahead of the July 15 COAC meeting.