Completion of the Broker Self-Assessment Outreach Pilot, 75553-75554 [2011-31009]
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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 232 / Friday, December 2, 2011 / Notices
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Date: December 20, 2011.
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Name of Committee: National Institute of
Allergy and Infectious Diseases Special
Emphasis Panel, NIAID Investigator Initiated
Program Project Application.
Date: December 21, 2011.
Time: 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Agenda: To review and evaluate grant
applications.
Place: National Institutes of Health, 6700B
Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, MD 20817,
(Telephone Conference Call).
Contact Person: Quirijn Vos, PhD,
Scientific Review Officer, Scientific Review
Program, Division of Extramural Activities,
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MSC 7616, Bethesda, MD 20892, (301) 451–
2666, qvos@niaid.nih.gov.
(Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance
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and Transplantation Research; 93.856,
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Research, National Institutes of Health, HHS)
Dated: November 28, 2011.
Jennifer S. Spaeth,
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552b(c)(4) and 552b(c)(6), Title 5 U.S.C.,
as amended. The grant applications and
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and personal information concerning
individuals associated with the grant
applications, the disclosure of which
would constitute a clearly unwarranted
invasion of personal privacy.
Name of Committee: National Institute of
Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Special Emphasis Panel, Diabetes,
Endocrinology, and Metabolism Career
Awards.
Date: December 20, 2011.
Time: 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Agenda: To review and evaluate grant
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Place: National Institutes of Health, Two
Democracy Plaza, 6707 Democracy
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Conference Call).
Contact Person: Carol J. Goter-Robinson,
Ph.D., Scientific Review Officer, Review
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and Hematology Research, National Institutes
of Health, HHS)
Dated: November 25, 2011.
Jennifer S. Spaeth,
Director, Office of Federal Advisory
Committee Policy.
[FR Doc. 2011–31050 Filed 12–1–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY
[FR Doc. 2011–31055 Filed 12–1–11; 8:45 am]
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
BILLING CODE 4140–01–P
Completion of the Broker SelfAssessment Outreach Pilot
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
National Institutes of Health
National Institute of Diabetes and
Digestive and Kidney Diseases; Notice
of Closed Meeting
Pursuant to section 10(d) of the
Federal Advisory Committee Act, as
amended (5 U.S.C. App.), notice is
hereby given of the following meeting.
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:03 Dec 01, 2011
Jkt 226001
U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, Department of Homeland
Security.
ACTION: General notice.
AGENCY:
This document announces the
completion of the Broker SelfAssessment (BSA) Outreach Pilot (BSA
Pilot), a voluntary partnership with the
customs brokerage community, which
began in July 2009. CBP has decided to
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00036
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
75553
end the BSA pilot without a plan to
proceed with another Importer SelfAssessment type model. CBP and the
National Customs Brokers and
Forwarders Association of America
(NCBFAA) have agreed to pursue other
avenues to collaborate pertaining to
trade modernization efforts.
DATES: Effective Date: December 2, 2011.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Florence Constant, Partnership
Programs Branch, Trade Policy and
Programs, Office of International Trade,
Tel.: (202) 863–6537.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
This document announces the
completion of the Broker SelfAssessment Outreach Pilot (BSA Pilot),
which began July 2009 after its
announcement in the Federal Register
(74 FR 19103) on April 27, 2009. The
pilot was a collaborative effort by U.S.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
and the National Customs Brokers and
Forwarders Association of America
(NCBFAA) to develop a voluntary
partnership between CBP and the
customs brokerage community.
Purpose
The purpose of the partnership was to
facilitate a higher level of broker
compliance with CBP laws and
regulations, specifically those in part
111 of title 19 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (19 CFR part 111), so that
the agency could focus on higher-risk
trade enforcement issues. All brokers
who were current members of the
Customs-Trade Partnership Against
Terrorism (C–TPAT) were permitted to
apply for the BSA pilot by signing a
BSA Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) and completing a BSA
questionnaire.
A total of twenty-seven (27) brokers
applied and four (4) were selected to
participate in the pilot based on the
criteria discussed above and CBP and
NCBFAA’s desire to have brokerages
that represented small, medium, and
large volumes of activities.
Pilot Design
CBP and NCBFAA modeled the pilot
after the existing Importer SelfAssessment (ISA) program, which is
based on the premise that importers
with internal controls in place achieve
the highest level of compliance with
CBP laws and regulations. Similarly, the
premise with the BSA pilot was that
brokers with strong internal controls
would achieve the highest level of
compliance with customs laws and
regulations.
E:\FR\FM\02DEN1.SGM
02DEN1
75554
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 232 / Friday, December 2, 2011 / Notices
The pilot program was designed to
allow customs brokers to voluntarily
provide CBP with internal control
procedures designed to ensure their
compliance with broker requirements
such as annual summary reports from
periodic compliance evaluations and
risk assessments. CBP provided the
participants with recognition and
support, in the form of consultations
and general assistance.
The BSA team, which was comprised
of CBP regulatory auditors and national
account managers, gathered and
analyzed the data provided by the
participants to determine whether: (1)
The resources expended by brokers
were commensurate with the potential
gains to CBP and the broker; (2) there
were mutual benefits for CBP and the
broker that would make the program
attractive; and (3) the intent of the pilot
was realized through the pilot design
utilized. In making its assessment, the
BSA team examined the brokers’
processing of its clients’ submissions in
the following areas: periodic monthly
statement; bonded warehouse; importer
security filings; remote location filing;
and drawback.
jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Pilot Results
CBP’s assessment of the pilot results
showed that the participants
successfully demonstrated their
supervision and control over customs
transactions and documented their
internal controls over their customs
operations. However, the procedures for
the internal controls, such as
supervision and control over customs
transactions and customs operations,
were not always written, and in some
cases, the procedures were modified or
improved, but not yet implemented. The
pilot also disclosed that the broker’s
assessment of risk factors differed from
the risk factors CBP identified as
potentially significant risks.
All of the participants agreed that the
BSA pilot helped them identify some
areas of risk that they had not
previously considered. Most of the
participants concluded that the
development of the internal control
procedures revealed ways to better
manage and mitigate risk factors.
The reliable quantitative measure
related to import transactions is the
compliance measurement rate, which
primarily measures compliance in areas
such as, classification, valuation, free
trade agreement, anti-dumping and
countervailing duty. It was discovered
in the BSA Pilot that the compliance
measurement rate did not necessarily
correlate with demonstrated compliance
on the part of the broker.
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:03 Dec 01, 2011
Jkt 226001
The BSA evaluation team’s
assessment of the broker’s internal
control for achieving compliance with
the CBP regulations (19 CFR part 111)
concluded that the participants
demonstrated a strong commitment to
ensuring compliance, professional
ethics and professional development of
their employees to meet its overall
objective in regards to broker oversight
and management controls. Moreover,
the participants generally provided
exemplary documentation to support
their processes, which validated the
assertions made as to the significant
resources allocated in preparation for
the team’s assessment. The NCBFAA
observed that the BSA pilot
demonstrated that business profiles and
process management within the
brokerage community is highly diverse.
As such, it would be difficult to provide
for a standard template that CBP could
use to establish uniform methodology
for compliance verification. NCBFAA
recommended that CBP not pursue the
BSA pilot as it is currently designed.
Since CBP has decided to end the
BSA pilot without a plan to proceed
with another Importer Self-Assessment
type model, CBP and NCBFAA will
pursue other avenues to collaborate
pertaining to trade modernization
efforts.
The complete March 1, 2011 ‘‘Broker
Self-Assessment Outreach Pilot’’ Report
is available on the following Web site:
https://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/
trade/trade_programs/bsa/
bsa_report.ctt/bsa_report.pdf.
Dated: November 29, 2011.
Allen Gina,
Assistant Commissioner, Office of
International Trade.
Street SW., Room 7262, Washington, DC
20410; telephone (202) 708–1234; TTY
number for the hearing- and speechimpaired (202) 708–2565, (these
telephone numbers are not toll-free), or
call the toll-free Title V information line
at (800) 927–7588.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In
accordance with the December 12, 1988
court order in National Coalition for the
Homeless v. Veterans Administration,
No. 88–2503–OG (D.D.C.), HUD
publishes a Notice, on a weekly basis,
identifying unutilized, underutilized,
excess and surplus Federal buildings
and real property that HUD has
reviewed for suitability for use to assist
the homeless. Today’s Notice is for the
purpose of announcing that no
additional properties have been
determined suitable or unsuitable this
week.
Dated November 24, 2011.
Mark R. Johnston,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special Needs.
[FR Doc. 2011–30835 Filed 12–1–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210–67–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLNVB01000
L51100000.GN0000.LVEMF09CF010; NVN–
082096; NVN–084632; 12–08807; MO#:
4500027396; TAS: 14X5017]
Notice of Availability of the Draft
Environmental Impact Statement for
the Mount Hope Project, Eureka
County, NV
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
AGENCY:
[FR Doc. 2011–31009 Filed 12–1–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111–14–P
In accordance with the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (NEPA), the Bureau of
Land Management (BLM) has prepared
a Draft Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) for the Mount Hope Project and by
this notice is announcing the opening of
the comment period.
DATES: To ensure comments will be
considered, the BLM must receive
written comments on the Mount Hope
Project Draft EIS within 90 days
following the date the Environmental
Protection Agency publishes its Notice
of Availability in the Federal Register.
The BLM will announce future meetings
or hearings and any other public
involvement activities at least 15 days
in advance through public notices,
media releases, Web site postings, and/
or mailings.
SUMMARY:
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND
URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. FR–5477–N–48]
Federal Property Suitable as Facilities
to Assist the Homeless
Office of the Assistant
Secretary for Community Planning and
Development, HUD.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
This Notice identifies
unutilized, underutilized, excess, and
surplus Federal property reviewed by
HUD for suitability for possible use to
assist the homeless.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Juanita Perry, Department of Housing
and Urban Development, 451 Seventh
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00037
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
E:\FR\FM\02DEN1.SGM
02DEN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 232 (Friday, December 2, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75553-75554]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-31009]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Completion of the Broker Self-Assessment Outreach Pilot
AGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland
Security.
ACTION: General notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This document announces the completion of the Broker Self-
Assessment (BSA) Outreach Pilot (BSA Pilot), a voluntary partnership
with the customs brokerage community, which began in July 2009. CBP has
decided to end the BSA pilot without a plan to proceed with another
Importer Self-Assessment type model. CBP and the National Customs
Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) have agreed to
pursue other avenues to collaborate pertaining to trade modernization
efforts.
DATES: Effective Date: December 2, 2011.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Florence Constant, Partnership
Programs Branch, Trade Policy and Programs, Office of International
Trade, Tel.: (202) 863-6537.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
This document announces the completion of the Broker Self-
Assessment Outreach Pilot (BSA Pilot), which began July 2009 after its
announcement in the Federal Register (74 FR 19103) on April 27, 2009.
The pilot was a collaborative effort by U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) and the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders
Association of America (NCBFAA) to develop a voluntary partnership
between CBP and the customs brokerage community.
Purpose
The purpose of the partnership was to facilitate a higher level of
broker compliance with CBP laws and regulations, specifically those in
part 111 of title 19 of the Code of Federal Regulations (19 CFR part
111), so that the agency could focus on higher-risk trade enforcement
issues. All brokers who were current members of the Customs-Trade
Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) were permitted to apply for the
BSA pilot by signing a BSA Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and
completing a BSA questionnaire.
A total of twenty-seven (27) brokers applied and four (4) were
selected to participate in the pilot based on the criteria discussed
above and CBP and NCBFAA's desire to have brokerages that represented
small, medium, and large volumes of activities.
Pilot Design
CBP and NCBFAA modeled the pilot after the existing Importer Self-
Assessment (ISA) program, which is based on the premise that importers
with internal controls in place achieve the highest level of compliance
with CBP laws and regulations. Similarly, the premise with the BSA
pilot was that brokers with strong internal controls would achieve the
highest level of compliance with customs laws and regulations.
[[Page 75554]]
The pilot program was designed to allow customs brokers to
voluntarily provide CBP with internal control procedures designed to
ensure their compliance with broker requirements such as annual summary
reports from periodic compliance evaluations and risk assessments. CBP
provided the participants with recognition and support, in the form of
consultations and general assistance.
The BSA team, which was comprised of CBP regulatory auditors and
national account managers, gathered and analyzed the data provided by
the participants to determine whether: (1) The resources expended by
brokers were commensurate with the potential gains to CBP and the
broker; (2) there were mutual benefits for CBP and the broker that
would make the program attractive; and (3) the intent of the pilot was
realized through the pilot design utilized. In making its assessment,
the BSA team examined the brokers' processing of its clients'
submissions in the following areas: periodic monthly statement; bonded
warehouse; importer security filings; remote location filing; and
drawback.
Pilot Results
CBP's assessment of the pilot results showed that the participants
successfully demonstrated their supervision and control over customs
transactions and documented their internal controls over their customs
operations. However, the procedures for the internal controls, such as
supervision and control over customs transactions and customs
operations, were not always written, and in some cases, the procedures
were modified or improved, but not yet implemented. The pilot also
disclosed that the broker's assessment of risk factors differed from
the risk factors CBP identified as potentially significant risks.
All of the participants agreed that the BSA pilot helped them
identify some areas of risk that they had not previously considered.
Most of the participants concluded that the development of the internal
control procedures revealed ways to better manage and mitigate risk
factors.
The reliable quantitative measure related to import transactions is
the compliance measurement rate, which primarily measures compliance in
areas such as, classification, valuation, free trade agreement, anti-
dumping and countervailing duty. It was discovered in the BSA Pilot
that the compliance measurement rate did not necessarily correlate with
demonstrated compliance on the part of the broker.
The BSA evaluation team's assessment of the broker's internal
control for achieving compliance with the CBP regulations (19 CFR part
111) concluded that the participants demonstrated a strong commitment
to ensuring compliance, professional ethics and professional
development of their employees to meet its overall objective in regards
to broker oversight and management controls. Moreover, the participants
generally provided exemplary documentation to support their processes,
which validated the assertions made as to the significant resources
allocated in preparation for the team's assessment. The NCBFAA observed
that the BSA pilot demonstrated that business profiles and process
management within the brokerage community is highly diverse. As such,
it would be difficult to provide for a standard template that CBP could
use to establish uniform methodology for compliance verification.
NCBFAA recommended that CBP not pursue the BSA pilot as it is currently
designed.
Since CBP has decided to end the BSA pilot without a plan to
proceed with another Importer Self-Assessment type model, CBP and
NCBFAA will pursue other avenues to collaborate pertaining to trade
modernization efforts.
The complete March 1, 2011 ``Broker Self-Assessment Outreach
Pilot'' Report is available on the following Web site: https://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/trade/trade_programs/bsa/bsa_report.ctt/bsa_report.pdf.
Dated: November 29, 2011.
Allen Gina,
Assistant Commissioner, Office of International Trade.
[FR Doc. 2011-31009 Filed 12-1-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111-14-P
