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National
Finance Center
Information
Update
Avalon
representatives recently met with the National Finance
Center (NFC) to discuss current concerns regarding bond
centralization. The following information is available as a
result of the meeting.
1. New Address Information:
Customs and Border Protection
Revenue Division, Bond Team
6650 Telecom Drive
Indianapolis, IN 46278
2. Bond
Terminations: If the original bond was not filed at port
9900 the following sentence is required if you want the Bond
Team to terminate the bond, “We are requesting the Revenue
Division terminate this bond that was originally filed with
port ( ).”
3. A
Power of Attorney will be required for a bond
termination if the broker on the original bond is not the
broker requesting the termination. Importers have filed
complaints with the Revenue Division stating that they had
not given authority to the broker to terminate and replace
the bond.
4. Bond
Applications and Coversheets must contain the
Filer Code of the filer if available. The coversheet
needs to include the contact information for where the
correspondence should be returned. The specific mentioning
of the application being sent (importer name) must be
included in all bond submissions to NFC.
5.
Subject Lines in emails need to indicate one of the
following: “Status”, “New Bond”, “Reject”
or “Question”. The routing of the email is determined
by the contents of the subject line and the response could
be delayed if the incorrect information is in the subject
line.
6.
All Status Requests should be directed to the general
voice mailbox, at 317-614-4880 or via email. The bond team
will not respond to status requests sent by fax.
7. Bond
Submissions that are emailed with a single attachment
are the Bond Team’s preference, as the quality is better
than if it was sent via fax. If you do not receive an
auto-reply to a bond submission sent via email, please
send a “Status” email request indicating that
you did not receive the auto-reply and that you are
requesting its receipt by the Revenue Division.
8. Bond
Processing is currently taking about 8 to 10 business
days, but the goal is to reduce processing to 3 to 5
business days. If you email your bond application, you will
receive an email notification with the current application
processing date.
9.
Process & Review: The Bond Team currently has
four processors and eight reviewers. The processors set up
the file when the bond application is received. The
reviewers pull the files on a first-in-first-out basis. If
the bond is rejected, the reviewer will fax the filer to
notify them and forward to the reject team for handling.
10. The
Reject Rate is down 18% to 19% and most rejects
are due to incorrect addresses. Please verify the address
against a query and include a CF5106 if a change is
required.
11. Bond Sufficiency:
·
Reviewed monthly on all bonds filed at Port
9900.
·
Reviewed monthly on bond files transferred to
the NFC, currently Chicago and St. Albans.
·
Reviewed monthly on bond files transferred
when cancelled and replaced with 30 days prior notice at NFC.
·
Insufficiency letters only being sent to the
principal, not the broker, and the surety should receive
copies in their weekly mailings.
·
Customs thinks that the importer, as importer
of record, should monitor their own bond sufficiency,
therefore, they will not consider extensions if the importer
has not increased their bond in 30 days of notice.
·
Customs has advised that a bond will not be
deemed insufficient if the new bond application is received
prior to the 30-day deadline.
Avalon’s
Bond Merlin™ software will assist you in
complying with the NFC’s requirements, including the ability
to email all bond documents. In order to assist with the
NFC’s focus on bond sufficiency, Avalon will release Web
Merlin™ this fall.
Web Merlin™
provides access to real-time account information, reports,
and will notify you via email if a bond appears to be
potentially insufficient. Watch for future announcements on
Web Merlin™ and its upcoming launch.
For further information, please contact your local Avalon
office or Gale Lawton, Surety Manager at Avalon’s
corporate headquarters. Gale Lawton can be reached at her
direct line: 847-700-8070 or via email at
glawton@avalonrisk.com. To view a directory of Avalon’s
office locations, please visit our website at
www.avalonrisk.com.
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