[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 246 (Friday, December 21, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66018-66020]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-31475]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Customs Service


Expansion of General Program Test: Quota Preprocessing

AGENCY: Customs Service, Department of the Treasury.

ACTION: General notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces that the quota preprocessing program 
test, which provides for the electronic processing of certain quota-
class apparel merchandise prior to arrival of the carrier, will be 
expanded to the following additional ports: Atlanta; Boston seaport; 
Logan Airport, Boston; Buffalo-Niagara Falls; Champlain-Rouses Point; 
Chicago; Columbus; Memphis; Miami; Miami International Airport; 
Newport/Portland, Oregon (area port of Portland); Puget Sound (the 
ports of Seattle; and Seattle/Tacoma International Airport); San 
Francisco seaport; and San Francisco International Airport.
    The program test is currently being conducted at ports located in 
New York/Newark and Los Angeles. The test is being expanded to the 
additional ports so that Customs can evaluate the program's 
effectiveness on a much larger scale and determine whether the program 
should be established nationwide on a permanent basis through 
appropriate amendments to the Customs Regulations. Public comments 
concerning any aspect of the program test as well as applications to 
participate in the test are requested.

DATES: The expansion of the test to include the additional ports is 
effective on January 1, 2002. The program test is currently scheduled 
to run until December 31, 2002. Applications to participate in the test 
and comments concerning the test will continue to be accepted 
throughout the testing period.

ADDRESSES: Written comments regarding this notice or any aspect of the 
program test should be addressed to Stephen Silvestri, Quota Branch, 
U.S. Customs Service, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Room 5.3-D, 
Washington, DC 20229, or may be sent via e-mail to 
[email protected]. An application to participate in 
the program test must be sent to the program coordinator for each port 
where the applicant intends to submit quota entries for preprocessing. 
The list of ports and corresponding program coordinators are as 
follows:
    (1) Port of Atlanta: Spaulding Wyche, 4641 International Parkway, 
Suite 600, Atlanta, GA 30354;
    (2) Boston seaport and/or Logan Airport: Harry Spirytus, 10 
Causeway St., Boston, MA 02222;
    (3) Port of Buffalo-Niagara Falls: Jim Neubert, 111 West Huron St., 
Buffalo, NY 14202;
    (4) Port of Champlain-Rouses Point: Brenda Harrigan, 198 West 
Service Rd., Champlain, NY 12919;
    (5) Port of Chicago: Bonita Hooks, 2571 Busse Rd., Elk Grove, IL 
60007;
    (6) Port of Columbus: Thomas Barnhart, 7400 Alum Creek Drive, 
Columbus, OH 43217;
    (7) Port of Los Angeles: Nancy Petagna, 300 S. Ferry St., Terminal 
Island, CA 90731;
    (8) Los Angeles International Airport: Tony Piscitelli, 11099 S. La 
Cienaga Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90045;
    (9) Port of Memphis: Terry Wright, 3150 Tchulahoma, Suite 1, 
Memphis, TN 38118;
    (10) Port of Miami; and/or Miami International Airport: Constance 
Price, P.O. Box 025280, Miami, FL 33102;
    (11) Ports of New York/Newark: John Lava, 1210 Corbin Street, 
Elizabeth, NJ 07201;
    (12) JFK Airport: Barry Goldberg, JFK Building 77, Jamaica, NY 
11430;
    (13) Port of Newport/Portland, Oregon (area port of Portland): 
Megan Fishel, P.O. Box 55580, Portland, OR 97238;
    (14) Port of Puget Sound (ports of Seattle; and Seattle-Tacoma 
International Airport): Sharon Delawyer, 1000 Second Ave., Suite 2000, 
Seattle, WA 98104;
    (15) San Francisco seaport; and/or San Francisco International 
Airport: Diana Santiago, 555 Battery St., San Francisco, CA 94111; and/
or

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephen Silvestri, Quota Branch, (202-
927-5397).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    On July 24, 1998, Customs published a general notice in the Federal 
Register (63 FR 39929) announcing the limited testing, pursuant to the 
provisions of Sec. 101.9(a), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 101.9(a)), of 
a new operational procedure regarding the electronic processing of 
quota-class apparel merchandise. The test was to be conducted at the 
ports located in New York/Newark and Los Angeles.
    Quota preprocessing permits certain quota entries (merchandise 
classifiable in chapter 61 or 62 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of 
the United States (HTSUS)) to be filed, reviewed for admissibility, and 
to have their quota priority and status determined by Customs prior to 
arrival of the carrier, similar to the method of preliminary review by 
which non-quota entries are

[[Page 66019]]

currently processed. The purpose of quota preprocessing is to reduce 
Customs processing time for qualified quota entries and to expedite the 
release of the subject merchandise to the importer. To this end, 
participants in quota preprocessing have been allowed to submit quota 
entries to Customs up to 5 days prior to vessel arrival or after the 
wheels are up on air shipments.
     The July 24, 1998, Federal Register notice principally described 
the new procedure, specified the eligibility and application 
requirements for participation in the program test, and noted the acts 
of misconduct for which a participant in the test could be suspended 
and disqualified from continued participation in the program.
    The initial test of the quota preprocessing procedure began on 
September 15, 1998, and was intended to continue for a six-month period 
that expired on March 14, 1999. However, on March 25, 1999, and on 
January 6, 2000, Customs published general notices in the Federal 
Register (64 FR 14499 and 65 FR 806, respectively) that extended the 
program test through 1999 and 2000. In addition, on November 30, 2000, 
Customs published another general notice in the Federal Register (65 FR 
71356), further extending the program test through December 31, 2002. 
These respective extensions of the test procedure were undertaken so 
that Customs could further evaluate the effectiveness of the program 
and determine whether the program test should be expanded to other 
ports.
    Customs has now concluded, following successful evaluations of the 
program to date, that the test should be expanded to other ports in 
order to enable Customs to evaluate the program's effectiveness on a 
much larger scale and determine whether the program should be 
established nationwide on a permanent basis through appropriate 
amendments to the Customs Regulations.

Expansion of Program Test to Additional Ports

    In addition to the ports in Los Angeles and New York/Newark where 
the test is ongoing, Customs has determined that the program test 
should be expanded as of January 1, 2002 through December 31, 2002 to a 
number of additional ports as follows: Atlanta; Boston seaport; Logan 
Airport, Boston; Buffalo-Niagara Falls; Champlain-Rouses Point; 
Chicago; Columbus; Memphis; Miami; Miami International Airport; 
Newport/Portland, Oregon (the area port of Portland); Puget Sound (the 
ports of Seattle; and Seattle/Tacoma International Airport); San 
Francisco seaport; and San Francisco International Airport. The 
expansion of the test to these ports was determined by the volume of 
quota lines of apparel merchandise entered at these ports.
    Furthermore, under the expanded program test, because two of the 
ports will receive shipments by land (Buffalo-Niagara Falls; and 
Champlain-Rouses Point), quota entries in these circumstances may be 
submitted to Customs after the carrier departs from its location in 
Canada destined for the U.S. border.

Eligibility and Application Criteria for the Program Test

    Given the impending significant expansion of the program test and 
the consequent influx of additional applications to participate in the 
test that is anticipated, the eligibility criteria and application 
instructions for the program, based largely on the July 24, 1998, 
Federal Register notice, are essentially repeated below, albeit revised 
as appropriate to reflect the expanded test. Prospective applicants may 
refer to the July 24, 1998, Federal Register notice for a more detailed 
discussion of the quota preprocessing program.

Importer/Entry Eligibility Criteria

    Only importers who currently import qualifying apparel through one 
or more of the ports listed in item ``(6)'' below may participate in 
the expanded program test. Participants are not permitted to change 
their importing patterns in order to take advantage of quota 
preprocessing. In this regard, during the test, Customs will monitor 
import volumes for noticeable increases of eligible quota entries 
through the ports covered by the expanded test.
    Customs will only accept consumption entries of apparel merchandise 
subject to quota (types 02 and 07) for preprocessing which meet the 
following criteria:
    (1) The entry must be filed using the Automated Broker Interface 
(ABI);
    (2) Payment must be made electronically through the Automated 
Clearinghouse (ACH);
    (3) Arriving carriers must use the Automated Manifest System (AMS);
    (4) The quota category must be less than 85% full;
    (5) The entry must contain at least one line classifiable in 
chapter 61 or 62 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(HTSUS); and
    (6) The entry must be submitted at one of the following ports: the 
port of Atlanta (Port code: 1704); Boston seaport (Port code: 0401); 
Logan Airport, Boston (port code: 0417)); the port of Buffalo-Niagara 
Falls (Port code: 0901); the port of Champlain-Rouses Point (Port code: 
0712); the port of Chicago (Port code: 3901); the port of Columbus 
(Port code: 4103); the port of Los Angeles (Port code: 2704); Los 
Angeles International Airport (Port code: 2740); the port of Memphis 
(Port code: 2006); the port of Miami (Port code: 5201); Miami 
International Airport (Port code: 5206); the ports of New York/Newark, 
including JFK Airport (Port codes: 1001/4601/4701); the port of 
Newport/Portland, Oregon (area port of Portland (Port code: 2904)); the 
port of Puget Sound (the ports of Seattle (Port codes: 3001, 3002, 
3081); and Seattle/Tacoma International Airport (Port code: 3029)); San 
Francisco seaport (Port code: 2809); or San Francisco International 
Airport (Port code: 2801).
    If an importer submits a quota entry for preprocessing and the 
entry does not meet all of the criteria in items ``(1)'' through 
``(6)'' above, the entry summary will be rejected and the filer may not 
resubmit the entry summary to Customs until after the carrier has 
arrived. Upon arrival of the carrier, merchandise covered by a 
preprocessed entry will be released unless Customs decides to perform 
an examination. In this respect, the fact that merchandise has been 
processed under the quota preprocessing program will not interfere with 
or impede Customs ability to examine the merchandise upon its arrival, 
should such an examination be found to be warranted. If an examination 
of the merchandise is necessary, the examination will occur during the 
port's regular inspectional hours.

Application To Participate in Quota Preprocessing

    An importer wishing to participate in quota preprocessing must 
submit a written application that includes the following information to 
the program coordinator for each port where the applicant intends to 
submit quota entries for preprocessing:
    1. The specific port(s) included under the program where entries of 
the quota merchandise are intended to be made;
    2. The importer of record number(s), including suffix(es), and a 
statement of the importer's/filer's electronic filing capabilities;
    3. Names and addresses of any entry filers, including Customs 
brokers, that will be electronically filing entries at each port under 
the program on behalf of the importer/participant; and
    4. The total number of consumption quota entries (types 02 and 07) 
filed at each of the ports subject to the program during the preceding 
12-month period

[[Page 66020]]

and the estimated number of eligible entries expected to be filed at 
each designated port during the course of the test. If it is expected 
that a significantly higher number of eligible entries will be filed 
over the test period than were filed over the preceding 12-month 
period, an explanation for this increase will be necessary.
    Applicants will be notified in writing of their selection or 
nonselection to participate in quota preprocessing. An applicant denied 
participation may appeal in writing to the port director at the port 
where the application was denied.
    Current participants in quota preprocessing that also wish to file 
entries under the program at any of the additional ports must notify in 
writing, the additional part at least 5 working days before submitting 
entries at that port. Also, for those that are selected to participate 
in the test, the July 24, 1998, Federal Register notice should be 
consulted regarding the acts of misconduct that may result in a 
participant being suspended from the program and the extent to which a 
participant may appeal a proposed suspension from the program.

    Dated: December 18, 2001.
John H. Heinrich,
Acting Assistant Commissioner, Office of Field Operations.
[FR Doc. 01-31475 Filed 12-20-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4820-02-P