U.S. Customs and Border Protection April 27, 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document announces the commencement of the Broker Self- Assessment (BSA) Outreach Pilot (BSA Pilot). The BSA pilot is voluntary and is intended to be a partnership between U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and participating customs brokers. The primary goal of the pilot is to facilitate a higher level of broker compliance with CBP laws and regulations. In this regard, the BSA Pilot will allow for customs brokers to ascertain voluntarily with CBP how well they comply with their broker requirements, provide recognition and support to participating brokers, and facilitate legitimate trade so that CBP can focus on higher-risk trade enforcement issues. Under this program test, participating customs brokers will update and improve internal controls, perform periodic testing of these internal controls, and disclose to CBP deficiencies discovered through the testing. Any licensed customs broker, who is a member of the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) and who meets the other eligibility requirements of the pilot, may apply to participate. After closure of the application period and review of the applications received, CBP will select a limited number of customs brokers to participate in the BSA Pilot. This document sets forth information on the application process and the requirements for participation in the program test.