10 + 2 Enforcement Gets Serious

Tuesday’s (26th Jan 2010) launch of security program lays groundwork for severe penalties

Customs spent more than two years exposing the trade to the rule, which requires importers and carriers to submit data that Customs uses to identify high-risk shipments. Most importers are making a good-faith effort to comply, but Richard DiNucci, director of the Secure Freight Initiative, said some still don’t get it.

“Some folks still think we’re still delaying enforcement. We’re not. The data you submit is being viewed with an enforcement mindset. If it’s not accurate, if it’s not filed at all, or if it’s truly not timely, that’s going to be held against you,” DiNucci said. “This is a baseline for us, so that if it comes to liquidated damages, we’ve got the record to say here’s why we’re doing it.”
DiNucci said some importers may face liquidated damages for noncompliance by mid-summer.
Before the beginning of the third quarter 2010, violators will get stern warnings from Customs. For most importers, the onset of enforcement was a non-event, but DiNucci said his staff spent Tuesday fielding “a lot of very basic questions, which is kind of disturbing, but it’s not unexpected. We’ve been over this ground 1,001 times.”

The number of ISF filings, already in the millions, took a sharp uptick in the last few weeks, DiNucci said. The timeliness of filing, potentially one of importers’ biggest stumbling blocks, is also improving. Under ISF, importers and carriers are required to give Customs data about a shipment’s origin, content and handling to help the agency find high-risk shipments that require closer inspection. Importers have a deadline that’s 24 hours before their containers are loaded aboard ship. Customs can penalize importers that file too late.
The good news is that timeliness is improving, DiNucci said. In the weeks before Jan. 26, timeliness by the strictest measure was 70 percent.
DiNucci said 70 percent indicates the number of importers that file 24 hours before the carrier transmits its cargo manifest. Measure timeliness as 24 hours before the vessel sails, and the rate goes higher.

- Source from The Journal of Commerce