[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 144 (Thursday, July 25, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Page 38803]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-18893]


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DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY

Customs Service


Announcement of Outbound Manifest and Shippers Export Declaration 
Compliance Workshops

Agency: U.S. Customs Service, Department of Treasury.

Action: Notice of Workshops.

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Summary: This document notifies members of the trade community of the 
plans of the Customs Service and the Bureau of Census to implement 
significant outreach and educational programs. These programs are 
designed to help exporters improve the completeness, timeliness and 
accuracy of the outbound manifest and the Shippers Export Declaration 
(SED) information they file with Customs. Recent monitoring has 
indicated that a significantly low level of compliance exists. 
Workshops will be presented by Customs and Census in various ports of 
entry during the upcoming months. The locations and times of the 
individual workshops will be announced by the local ports at a later 
date. Because Customs and Census are committed to being customer-driven 
organizations, workshops will be presented prior to the increase of 
enforcement efforts.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Customs Service and the Census Bureau 
are committed to being customer driven organizations. As such, we are 
seeking to notify members of the trade community of the development of 
our plans to implement significant outreach and educational programs 
designed to improve the completeness, timeliness, and accuracy of 
outbound manifest and SED information. In addition, this notice 
outlines our plans to inform the trade community of their 
responsibilities related to exports.
    The Outbound Process is one of the core business processes of the 
U.S. Customs Service. This process is designed to facilitate 
international trade while achieving the highest degree of compliance 
with U.S. export requirements in order to protect the U.S. national 
security, its economic interests, and the health and safety of the 
American people.
    While monitoring the Outbound process the Customs Service, in 
cooperation with the Bureau of the Census, compared a sample of 
outbound vessel manifests and Shippers Export Declarations (SEDs) with 
the actual cargo loaded. Results indicate that a significantly low 
level of compliance exists. In many instances, cargo is not being 
included on the manifest of the vessel actually carrying it, but rather 
on the manifest of a vessel departing later. Exporters, Freight 
Forwarders, NVOCCs and Carriers are creating manifests that reflect 
only the SEDs that they have at hand, rather than the actual cargo on 
the vessel.
    In addition, the Customs Service and the Bureau of the Census are 
concerned that an increasing number of SEDs are deficient when filed. 
The agencies find as many as one out of every two paper SEDs contains 
errors of omission or commission.
    These practices hinder Customs in its efforts to detect violations 
of export laws. They also result in inaccuracies in the trade 
statistics. Since these statistics are utilized in sensitive trade 
negotiations and important economic policy decisions, accuracy is 
critical.
    The principal cause of these problems are the failures of exporters 
and forwarders to provide complete and accurate SEDs to exporting 
carriers prior to exportation. As a result of the Outbound Manifest 
Survey, the Customs Service and the Census Bureau jointly issued 
Foreign Trade Statistics Regulation letter number 165, dated March 12, 
1996 stating our concern and spelling out the responsibilities of the 
various parties to the export transactions.
    Both the Customs Service and Census Bureau feel that before any 
increased enforcement actions are taken, we should instruct the trade 
community in their responsibilities at outbound compliance workshops. 
The agencies anticipate that such workshops will begin approximately 30 
days after release of this notice. These workshops will review problems 
currently encountered with the reported data, present general results 
of the Outbound Manifest Survey, cover specific outbound regulations 
and requirements, provide an overview of the Outbound Process review, 
and provide information on the Automated Export System (AES).
    In addition, the workshops will outline the specific actions and 
programs being developed to increase the level of outbound manifest and 
SED compliance. Customs and Census will be presenting these workshops 
in various ports of entry during the upcoming months.
    After an appropriate period of time, estimated to be 60 days from 
the start of the outbound workshops, Customs and Census efforts to 
increase manifest and SED compliance will begin. This will allow the 
trade community time to review internal document preparation and filing 
processes and practices and to implement any necessary changes required 
to improve compliance.

    Dated: July 3, 1996.
Peter J. Baish,
Outbound Process Owner, U.S. Customs Service.
[FR Doc. 96-18893 Filed 7-24-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4820-02-P