Inside
this issue:
CBP updates 301 bond form
New bill proposed to fight fraud in trucking
Ways to
red-flag fraud, by Andrew Spector, Esq.
New report
identifies cargo theft trends
China
proposes increase in FMC optional bond rider
Updates on liquidated damages for Periodic Monthly Statement
CBP updates mitigation guidelines for
advance cargo information violations
U.S. government urges companies to
strengthen Internet security
Trucking
associations ask NHTSA to examine truck crashworthiness
standards
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Updates on liquidated damages
issued for Periodic Monthly Statement
In June 2011, CBP issued
CSMS #11-000114 to advise
of an increase in Periodic Monthly (PM) Statement late
payment penalties. In their message, CBP noted that the
errors were a software issue with some vendors and that
edits may need to be made to a broker’s ABI program to avoid
future penalties.
A majority of these late payments were
the result of unclear verbiage within the original Customs
and Trade Automated Interface Requirements (CATAIR) for the
PM Statement program. This language indicated that payment
was triggered by the “entry date” (up to the 10th day),
instead of the date of release. As a result, CBP has issued
a corrected CATAIR, but the programming errors caused the
agency to label several payments as late.
The NCBFAA recently circulated a
bulletin indicating that 3,000 liquidated damages claims
were issued to customs brokers and importers in connection
with PM Statement when payments were made late. CBP is
currently working to distinguish late payments made as a
result of the CATAIR programming error compared to other
issues, such as inadequate funding. It is expected that
liquidated damages related to PM Statement because of the
ABI glitch and error within the CATAIR will be canceled
without the need to file a petition, however, we still await
a final determination from CBP on this matter.
We are also awaiting further
information regarding the customs brokers and importers who
already paid liquidated damages while CBP is reviewing the
issue. In addition, CBP has not yet stated if it will cancel
the liquidated damages cases based on the agency’s failure
to comply with a policy that requires CBP to provide the
filer with 48 hours to remedy the late payment before
imposing liquidated damages.
Our Bond Claims
department has already received some PM Statement claims
related to these issues, and our customs broker clients have
been notifying Avalon when programming errors have been the
cause of the claim. CBP has put the liquidated damages
cases involved with this issue in 2050 status, which should
avoid the cases going to billing and formal demand status
for payment. Avalon continues to monitor these cases to
ensure they are closed by CBP. If you have any questions or
require any assistance, please contact Zuleika Medina,
Surety Claims Manager at
zmedina@avalonrisk.com or (847) 700-8074.
Avalon remains committed to providing
the highest level of service to our clients and keeping you
apprised of governmental changes affecting your business. We
are the leading provider of U.S. Customs bonds and other
surety and insurance products for customs brokers and
transportation providers.
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