Some participants in Customs and Border Protection’s proof of concept (POC) for blockchain using North American Free Trade Agreement and Central America Free Trade Agreement certificates like the results. Some in the trade business say it complicated things (see 1903070014). There's consensus the POC showed the technology deserves further consideration, said Emily Beline, senior attorney at FedEx. The trade industry gave "universal support" for CBP to continue in the blockchain realm, she told a Georgetown University law school event Friday. Vincent Annunziato, director of CBP’s Business Transformation and Innovation Division, said uploading some forms makes it instantaneous to later review them: "If we put out a request" to Walmart, for example, and "Walmart sends us the information, guess who's notified? The government, the broker, Walmart, they're all notified." That’s better than a document that requires someone to "look at it," he said. "I don't have to look at anything when I have digital data." Blockchain should cut times the data needs to be re-entered, Annunziato said. The moderator, Barnes Richardson lawyer Lawrence Friedman, agreed with an audience member there's some concern "as I think about my clients" on the blockchain creating new requirements that aren’t legally mandated. CBP is still examining how to go forward when weighing the "efficiencies gained," Annunziato said. "There may be scenarios where what we can do is keep it in a situation where it's not required but it's optional if available." Data in the blockchain isn't necessarily better because it’s there, said Christine McDaniel, senior research fellow at George Mason University's Mercatus Center. "The integrity of the data is as strong as the weakest link of the participants."
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Some participants in Customs and Border Protection’s proof of concept (POC) for blockchain using North American Free Trade Agreement and Central America Free Trade Agreement certificates like the results. Some in the trade business say it complicated things (see 1903070014). There's consensus the POC showed the technology deserves further consideration, said Emily Beline, senior attorney at FedEx. The trade industry gave "universal support" for CBP to continue in the blockchain realm, she told a Georgetown University law school event Friday. Vincent Annunziato, director of CBP’s Business Transformation and Innovation Division, said uploading some forms makes it instantaneous to later review them: "If we put out a request" to Walmart, for example, and "Walmart sends us the information, guess who's notified? The government, the broker, Walmart, they're all notified." That’s better than a document that requires someone to "look at it," he said. "I don't have to look at anything when I have digital data." Blockchain should cut times the data needs to be re-entered, Annunziato said. The moderator, Barnes Richardson lawyer Lawrence Friedman, agreed with an audience member there's some concern "as I think about my clients" on the blockchain creating new requirements that aren’t legally mandated. CBP is still examining how to go forward when weighing the "efficiencies gained," Annunziato said. "There may be scenarios where what we can do is keep it in a situation where it's not required but it's optional if available." Data in the blockchain isn't necessarily better because it’s there, said Christine McDaniel, senior research fellow at George Mason University's Mercatus Center. "The integrity of the data is as strong as the weakest link of the participants."
The Transition Engine Annual Report (TEAR) is due on March 31 for transition engines imported or manufactured during the 2018 calendar year, Environment and Climate Change Canada said in an emailed notice. "The purpose of this notice is to raise awareness amongst customs brokers and their clients (importers of off-road diesel engines)" of the deadline, the agency said. "If you import transition engines or machines containing a transition engine into Canada, or are a Canadian manufacturer of transition engines or machines containing a transition engine, you must submit" a TEAR, the agency said in an attached presentation.
CBP would like even more public feedback on how to modernize the agency's processes and regulations, CBP said in a notice. CBP said it is reopening the comment period until April 11 to allow for new input after it held a March 1 meeting to discuss a wide range of ideas for updates. The March 1 meeting included few mentions of exports, but the docket of the original request for comments includes multiple suggestions and criticisms on the export side.
CBP will in the coming days be issuing contingency plans and a frequently asked questions document related to its upcoming deployment of its new Form 5106 in ACE, said Randy Mitchell, director-commercial operations, revenue and entry at CBP, in an interview March 11. The transition effort follows CBP’s decision to stick to its March 16 deadline but significantly reduce the length of an outage related to the deployment in response to concerns from the trade community.
There's a consensus that CBP's Proof of Concept (POC) for blockchain using NAFTA and CAFTA certificates of origin showed that the technology deserves further consideration, said Emily Beline, senior attorney at FedEx, which participated in CBP's test through the company's customs brokerage, FedEx Trade Networks. Despite the enthusiasm, it's clear there are also many regulatory and legal issues that will need exploration, some of which were discussed in CBP's assessment of the POC (see 1903060043). Beline and others discussed blockchain as part of a March 8 panel at the International Trade Update at the Georgetown University law school (see 1903070025).
CBP’s planned deployment of its new electronic Form 5106 on March 16 will cause “unnecessary hardship for the trade” as a result of a lack of testing and training and some issues surrounding the planned hard cut-off for the old process, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said in a letter to CBP dated March 8. Announced by CBP in February (see 1902200040), the new deadline does not leave adequate time for programming, testing and training, and a gap in availability could make life difficult for brokers, especially on the northern border, the NCBFAA said.
As part of its Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, the Philippines’ Department of Finance has created post clearance audit functions for the country's Bureau of Customs and announced a new prior disclosure program, which allows companies to minimize their penalties for errors and omissions on import documentation, according to a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers alert. Post-clearance audits can include audits of importers, customs brokers, agents and “all other parties engaged in the customs clearance and processing functions,” according to the notice. Auditors can also review all export- and import-related records “required to be kept by law,” the notice said. The prior disclosure program, the notice said, allows the Philippines’ Bureau of Customs commissioner to consider previous disclosures of errors and omissions in goods declarations by importers “as a potential mitigating factor in determining penalties.” All disclosures must contain "the errors and payment of deficient amounts of duties, taxes and penalties."
Failure to provide the Canada Border Services Agency with proof of origin upon request, corrections to origin declarations, or reports of diverted goods are among customs compliance violations that will face steeper penalties starting in April, the CBSA said in a March 5 notice. The CBSA previously said it planned to increase the Administrative Monetary Penalties for trade compliance violations (see 1903040034), but had not provided details on the changes.
Mexico’s Tax Administration Service’s legal support office recently clarified that, for advance clearance ocean shipments, the identifiers “DA” and “FR” should be declared to SAT, the Latin American Confederation of Customs Brokers (CLAA) said in a March 1 circular to its members. That last identifier is for operations for which the exchange rate date is prior to arrival, which is the case for advance clearance shipments because SAT requires advance duty payment, CLAA said.