The Quest | Avalon Risk Management, Inc.

Mar 2009 | Issue 63

Clarification on early bond submission guidelines

Through open dialogue with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Avalon Risk Management strives to make business more efficient for our customers. We would like to share the following update on early bond submissions:

The earliest date to submit new bond submissions, termination and replace submissions, and riders is 60 days prior to the desired effective date. Termination requests may be filed as far in advance of the desired termination effective date. The Revenue Division would prefer to not have an “open window” but CBP may not have any right to “refuse” a valid termination request regardless of when it is filed. The date submissions are received do not necessarily establish the date or order in which they will be processed.

Avalon remains committed to providing the highest level of local service and will keep you aware of any government updates impacting your business. The Revenue Division receives hundreds of documents each day: bonds, riders, termination requests, etc., with about a 20 percent bond rejection rate. Established in 2005, Avalon’s Centralized Bond Unit (CBU) has a rejection rate of less than 4 percent, significantly better than the Revenue Division’s rate. Activity managed by CBU can be monitored through Web Merlin™.

Web Merlin’s newest release incorporates the ability to process single entry bonds and provides a complete Web portal to manage the entire bond process. The portal completes and compiles the appropriate documents for bond riders and the CBP Form 5106 to be filed directly with the Revenue Division using Avalon’s “SureFile” submission protocol to avoid rejections. To obtain a secure Web Merlin login and password, contact your Avalon representative or request a login at www.avalonrisk.com/WebMerlinRequest.aspx.

For more information, please contact your local Avalon office or Andriana Davis, Product Manager at (847) 700-8087 or at adavis@avalonrisk.com. A list of our North American offices can be found at www.avalonrisk.com.

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