Question: What party is to be listed as the SHIPPER on the ocean bill of lading? We have a routed export scenario where we arrange for an ocean booking with our foreign customer’s agent in the U.S. Bookings can be for 10+ containers at a time out of West Coast ports and are on the […]
Question: Good day. We would like to seek feedback on best practices for keeping cradle to grave import and export records in Canada. What would be the primary and supporting documents to keep? Answer 1: Hi there, Your best bet would be to comply with CBSA’s Administrative Guidelines. See https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/dm-md/d17/d17-1-21-eng.htmlIf you are a non-resident importer […]
Question: We recently acquired a business with a site in CA and in the US. The CA office manages all Customs operations for both sites. Is it OK that the Customs documents for the US IOR be kept and maintained in Canada or does the US site also need to maintain the Customs records for […]
Question: I do know for compliance purposes records for Imports must be kept for 7 years; however regarding the freight charges (aka: ocean charges or inland drayage charges to our warehouse) be included in the record keeping as well ? Answer 1: We do, we keep all the shipping records (AWB, BL, CI and PL) […]
Question: Recently my client requested a shipping report from the couriers who handle their shipment. The couriers are well known and the volume is in the low thousands per quarter. The shipments are all DDP and low value. My past experience is that the companies have included more information than what was requested and we […]
QUESTION: I am noticing that a lot of folks in my company are communicating to trade compliance and to other functional areas or to vendors about matters related to trade compliance in a bunch of different modes of communication such as corporate email, personal email, text, Instant Messaging, and other apps. There are probably many […]
QUESTION: Is copy of the FDA Prior Notice a required import record? If yes, what is acceptable to use? ========== Answer: probably. read this – https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-19/chapter-I/part-163 make sure you read Appendix to Part 163 – Interim (a)(1)(A) List Section 509(a)(1)(A) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended by title VI of Public Law 103-182, commonly referred […]
QUESTION: We’re looking to improve our import post entry review process which encompasses approximately 10,000 entries. Our process currently includes taking a screenshot of the goods receipt to evidence quantities received and invoice payment to confirm the value paid to the vendor. These screenshots are maintained as part of the entry packet. We’d like to […]
Your Social Security Statement QUESTION: Is anyone in the membership a “certified recordkeeper” under this program? What are the benefits? %%%%%%%%%% ANSWER: That is a great question. My impression is that this program was a creature of the 1990’s that slipped into irrelevance since then.
QUESTION: If my records are digital (.pdf, etc.) and saved within my network folders and also available through broker’s dashboard applications, do I need to get approval for an alternative format, or is that covered under the “paper or electronic” covered under normal recordkeeping? What falls under alternative format nowadays? %%%%%%%%%% ANSWERS: For Customs import […]
QUESTION: How long am I supposed to retain records for an International BOL (HBL, AWB)? The way I understand it: CBP as well as a slew of other US govt agencies say 5 years The IRS says its accounting document and needs to be held 7 years (does this only pertain to Domestic BOL’s)? BOL’s […]
QUESTION: I am curious to know what would be considered the current best practice in obtaining entry documents from your customs brokers. Curious to know what the membership is doing. CD sent on a regular cadence FTP Shared Site Pull documents from broker’s portal Email Other ========== Answers: We currently receive clearance docs via email, […]
