Law Offices of
MICHELLE RODENBORN

What do you think?

Your comments about the following issues affecting customs brokers would be appreciated.

It appears, the recordkeeping statute and proposed regulations and the brokers' regulations on recordkeeping conflict when it comes to specifying the records a broker must keep.

Under the broker's regs, 111.21 states that a broker shall keep and maintain on file a copy of "each entry made by him with all supporting records, except those documents he is required to file with Customs, and copies of all his correspondence and other records relating to his customs business.” (emphasis added)

Under the recordkeeping statute, 19 USC 1508 et seq.., a broker, among others, is a recordkeeper who must keep the (a) (1) (A) list documents, whether required to be presented at entry or not, or risk the imposition of gargantuan recordkeeping penalties.

These laws conflict and present the following questions:

1. Where Customs waives production of documents, (and Customs plans to do more of this in the future), does a broker have to keep the records or not?
2. The (a) (1) (A) list contains a lot of documents which I believe may not always or at least routinely cross a broker's desk: such as documents evidencing GSP/CBI eligibility; foreign shippers' declaration for American Goods Returned. Customs has not clarified its thinking on the issue: that is, does Customs believe that all (or most or some?) of the (a) (1) (A) documents are those that would normally be kept in the ordinary course of a broker's business and therefore required to be kept by the broker?

Please email your comments to customs@rodenborn.com