[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 221 (Friday, November 15, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62548-62550]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-24800]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

[1651-NEW]


Agency Information Collection Activities: 321 E-Commerce Data 
Pilot

AGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Department of 
Homeland Security.

ACTION: 30-Day notice and request for comments; New collection of 
information.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection will be submitting the following information collection 
request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and 
approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). 
The information collection is published in the Federal Register to 
obtain comments from the public and affected agencies.

DATES: Comments are encouraged and must be submitted no later than 
December 16, 2019 to be assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments on 
this proposed information collection to the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget. Comments should be 
addressed to the OMB Desk Officer for Customs and Border Protection, 
Department of Homeland Security, and sent via electronic mail to 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional PRA 
information should be directed to Seth Renkema, Chief, Economic Impact 
Analysis Branch, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Trade, 
Regulations and Rulings, 90 K Street NE, 10th Floor, Washington, DC 
20229-1177, Telephone number 202-325-0056 or via email 
[email protected]. Please note that the contact information provided 
here is solely for questions regarding this notice. Individuals seeking 
information about other CBP programs should contact the CBP National 
Customer Service Center at 877-227-5511, (TTY) 1-800-877-8339, or CBP 
website at https://www.cbp .gov/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: CBP invites the general public and other 
Federal agencies to comment on the proposed and/or continuing 
information collections pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). This proposed information collection was 
previously published in the Federal Register (84 FR 48363) on September 
13, 2019, allowing for a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for 
an additional 30 days for public comments. This process is conducted in 
accordance with 5 CFR 1320.8. Written comments and suggestions from the 
public and affected agencies should address one or more of the 
following four points: (1) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used; (3) suggestions to enhance the 
quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and 
(4) suggestions to minimize the burden of the collection of information 
on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate 
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting 
electronic submission of responses. The comments that are submitted 
will be summarized and included in the request for approval. All 
comments will become a matter of public record.

Overview of This Information Collection

    Title: 321 E-Commerce Data Pilot.
    OMB Number: 1651-NEW.
    Form number: N/A.
    Current Actions: This submission is being made to obtain an OMB 
control number for this Information Collection Request and to expand 
the respondent group of the recent 321 Data Pilot test notice on July 
23, 2019 (84 FR 35405) which was limited to nine respondents.
    Type of Review: New.
    Affected Public: Businesses.
    Abstract: CBP faces significant challenges in targeting Section 321 
shipments, while still maintaining the clearance speeds the private 
sector has come to expect. This is because CBP does not receive 
adequate advance information in order to effectively and efficiently 
assess the security risk of the approximately 1.8 million Section 321 
shipments that arrive each day. This pilot is conducted pursuant to 19 
CFR 101.9(a), which authorizes the Commissioner to impose requirements 
different from those specified in the CBP regulations for the purposes 
of conducting a test program or procedure designed to evaluate the 
effectiveness of new technology or operational procedures regarding the 
processing of passengers, vessels, or merchandise.
    In the e-commerce environment, traditionally regulated parties, 
such as carriers, are unlikely to possess all of the information 
relating to a shipment's supply chain. While CBP receives some advance 
electronic data for Section 321 shipments from air, rail, and truck 
carriers (and certain other parties in limited circumstances) as 
mandated by current regulations, the transmitted data often does not 
adequately identify the

[[Page 62549]]

entity causing the shipment to cross the border, the final recipient, 
or the contents of the package. Consequently, CBP may not receive any 
advance information on the entity actually causing the shipment to 
travel to the United States, such as the seller or manufacturer. Some 
carriers may not have this information because sellers on e-commerce 
platforms often contract with other entities to act as the seller. 
Similarly, for the consignee's name and address, a carrier might 
transmit information for the domestic deconsolidator, which will not 
allow CBP to identify in advance of arrival, the final recipient of the 
merchandise in the United States. With the growth of e-commerce, 
shipments are increasingly subject to these complex transactions, where 
information about the shipment is limited. As a result, CBP is less 
able to effectively target or identify high-risk shipments in the e-
commerce environment and CBP Officers must use additional time and 
resources to inspect Section 321 shipments upon arrival.
    CBP anticipates that Section 321 shipments will continue to grow 
quickly. Accordingly, CBP is initiating this voluntary Section 321 Data 
Pilot to test the feasibility of obtaining advance information from 
regulated and non-regulated entities, such as online marketplaces, as 
well as requiring additional advance data elements. This test will 
enable CBP to assess the ability of online marketplaces to transmit 
information to CBP that enables CBP to better use resources used in 
inspecting and processing these shipments and better understand the 
operation of online marketplaces. Additionally, CBP is testing whether 
the transmission of additional advance data, beyond the data elements 
currently required for shipments arriving by air, truck, or rail, will 
enable CBP to more accurately and efficiently target Section 321 
shipments. Pursuant to this test, participants will provide information 
that identifies the entity causing the shipment to cross the border, 
the ultimate recipient, and the product in the shipment with greater 
specificity, in advance. CBP will test the feasibility of using the 
additional data elements, transmitted by multiple entities for a single 
shipment, to segment risk. In sum, the pilot will enable CBP to 
determine if requiring additional data and involving non-regulated 
entities will enable CBP to address the threats and complexities 
resulting from the vast increase in Section 321 shipments, while 
facilitating cross-border e-commerce.
    Participants in the Section 321 Data Pilot must transmit certain 
information for any Section 321 shipments destined for the United 
States for which the participant has information. The required data 
elements differ slightly depending on what entity is transmitting the 
data. In general, the required data relates to the entity initiating 
the shipment (e.g., the entity causing the shipment to cross the 
border, such as the seller, manufacturer, or shipper), the product in 
the package, the listed marketplace price, and the final recipient 
(e.g., the final entity to possess the shipment in the United States). 
The data elements are as follow.
    1. All participants. All participants, regardless of filer type, 
must electronically transmit the following elements:

 Originator Code of the Participant (assigned by CBP)
 Participant Filer Type (e.g., carrier or online marketplace)
 One or more of the following:
[cir] Shipment Tracking Number
[cir] House Bill Number
[cir] Master Bill Number
 Mode of Transportation (e.g., air, truck, rail, or ocean)

    2. Participating carriers. In addition to the data elements listed 
above in paragraph 1, participating carriers must also electronically 
transmit the following data elements:

 Shipment Initiator Name and Address (e.g., the entity that 
causes the movement of a shipment, which may be a seller, shipper, or 
manufacturer, but not a foreign consolidator)
 Final Deliver to Party Name and Address (e.g., the final 
entity to receive the shipment once it arrives in the United States, 
which may be a final purchaser or a warehouse, but not a domestic 
deconsolidator)
 Enhanced Product Description (e.g., a description of a product 
shipped to the United States more detailed than the description on the 
manifest, which should, if applicable, reflect the advertised retail 
description of the product as listed on an online marketplace)
 Shipment Security Scan (air carriers only) (e.g., verification 
that a foreign security scan for the shipment has been completed such 
as an x-ray image or other security screening report)
 Known Carrier Customer Flag (e.g., an indicator that 
identifies a shipper as a repeat customer that has consistently paid 
all required fees and does not have any known trade violations)

    3. Participating online marketplaces. In addition to the data 
elements listed above in paragraph 1, participating online marketplaces 
must electronically submit the following data elements:
 Seller Name and Address (e.g., an international or domestic 
company that sells products on marketplaces and other websites), and, 
if applicable, Shipment Initiator Name and Address (as defined in 
Section II.A.2)
 Final Deliver to Party Name and Address (as defined in Section 
II.A.2)
 Known Marketplace Seller Flag (e.g., an indicator provided by 
a marketplace that identifies a seller as an entity vetted by the 
marketplace and has no known trade violations)
 Marketplace Seller Account Number/Seller ID (e.g., the unique 
identifier a marketplace assigns to sellers)
 Buyer Name and Address, if applicable (e.g., the purchaser of 
a good from an online marketplace. This entity is not always the same 
as the final deliver to party.)
 Product Picture (e.g., picture of the product presented on an 
online marketplace), Link to Product Listing (e.g., an active and 
direct link to the listing of a specific product on an online 
marketplace), or Enhanced Product Description (as defined in Section 
II.A.2)
 Listed Price on Marketplace (e.g., the retail price of a 
product that a seller lists while advertising on an online marketplace. 
For auction marketplaces, this price is the price of final sale.)

    Different entities may transmit different data elements for the 
same shipment. In addition to the above required data elements, 
participants may voluntarily provide the following optional data 
elements:

 HTS Number;
 Retail Price in Export Country;
 Shipper Name;
 Shipper Address;
 Shipper Phone Number;
 Shipper Email Address;
 Shipment Initiator Phone Number;
 Consignee Name;
 Consignee Address;
 Consignee Phone Number;
 Consignee Email Address;
 Marketplace Name;
 Buyer Account Number;
 Buyer Address;
 Seller Phone Number;
 Buyer Phone Number;
 Marketplace website;
 Buyer Name;
 Buyer Confirmation Number;
 Buyer Email Address;
 Carrier Name;
 Known Carrier Customer;
 Merchandise/Product Weight; and,
 Merchandise/Product Quantity.

[[Page 62550]]

 Listed Price on Marketplace.

    Estimated Number of Respondents: 20.
    Estimated Number of Annual Responses per Respondent: 70,000.
    Estimated Number of Total Annual Responses: 1,400,000.
    Estimated Time per Response: 5 seconds.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 1,944.

    Dated: November 12, 2019.
Seth D. Renkema,
Branch Chief, Economic Impact Analysis Branch, U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection.
[FR Doc. 2019-24800 Filed 11-14-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 9111-14-P