TradeLane

Just a quick note to give all of you blanket flaggers and possibly even some of you Entry by Entry flaggers a heads up. Five times in the past three weeks I have been advised by importers that information pulled from ACE does NOT show 100% of their summaries with reconciliation flag (indicator) codes. Some might say that common sense should tell you that as a blanket flagger you should KNOW that all of your imports are being flagged for reconciliation. But, reality is – well, reality! People tasked with preparing reconciliation filings aren’t always “in the know” with respect to their company’s flagging set ups and the first thing they do after pulling a report from ACE is to dump all the summaries that don’t have reconciliation indicator codes.

At the beginning of the year I, like almost everyone else on the planet, made a couple of resolutions. And like almost everyone else on the planet, I kept them for about a week.  All but one that is. This year, as in years past I resolved to eat healthier, exercise and lose some a lot of weight. Three months in and overall I’m doing pretty well. I’ve changed a lot of what I put in my body; no more pop, no more fast food, a ton more fruits and vegetables. I joined a gym for the first time in my life and work out 4 – 5 times a week. Now, don’t get me wrong, not every week has been great. In fact, there have been a few times I have struggled and wanted to throw in the towel. And for a few days last month, I did. I’d lost a good amount of weight, was tired of eating “healthy” and perhaps mostly, tired of getting up a 5:00 am every morning to go to the gym. So, for about 4 days in a row I slept in, stopped counting my calories and just let it go. Then on day 5, out of curiosity, I stepped on the scale. Ouch! It is amazing how much can happen in such a short amount of time when you stop paying attention and do not notice the changes occurring in your process or routine – how one piece of cheesecake, if not served in a controlled portion, can throw everything out of whack.

Importers participating in the Reconciliation Prototype Program (RPP) need to be aware that U.S. Customs and Border Protection recently started reviewing all reconciliation bond riders currently on file. 

As 2014 comes to a close, we can't help but reminisce about the goings on this year. Particularly, our very first year of TradeLane! We've been so happy to share a little expertise, and our passion for global compliance. 

In case you missed any, here's a look back at  the top five TradeLane blog posts from this year.

Which was your favorite? 

How long has the reconciliation program been around? The prototype – yes prototype – will celebrate its’ 16^th birthday this coming October 1^st. So imagine my surprise when I was recently contacted by an importer that had been “kicked out” of the program. Since that phone call several months ago I have been made aware of no less than five importers that have either received the “boot” or been “put on notice.”

Historically Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has put up with importers that are habitually late with their reconciliation filings. Meaning CBP – via FP&F – issues the NO FILE liqudated damages notices, the importer has their filer process and file a reconciliation entry, CBP mitigates the penalty, the importer pays the Option 1 amount, and we repeat the process again next month. Works for everyone involved right? CBP gets a little more money via the Option 1 amount, the importer doesn’t have to increase headcount or reallocate resources, and the recon filer gets more filings this way. These habitually late importers – and they know who they are – seem to have taken the stance that they would rather pay $500.00 each month for late files rather than address the problem.