Bond requirements changing for ISF

Starting June 25, 2011, Importer Security Filings will be rejected if a continuous bond or ISF bond is not on file with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Previously, ISFs would be Accepted with Warnings if the importer did not have a bond in place. If you currently do not have a continuous bond, TRG highly recommends purchasing one since this covers both ISF and entry. If an importer does not have a continuous bond, they would need to purchase two bonds every time they import via ocean.

To purchase a continuous Customs bond, contact Trade Risk Guaranty and compare their competitive pricing for a continuous Customs bonds.

Trade Risk Guaranty (TRG) Celebrates Blue Ribbon Cutting Event

Trade Risk Guaranty (TRG) joined the Bozeman Chamber of Commerce and recently made their membership official by hosting the company’s Blue Ribbon Cutting ceremony at TRG’s Main Street office in Bozeman, Montana. TRG is becoming involved with the Chamber and all the services they offer. Members of the TRG staff regularly attend Chamber events such as business after hours where they have the opportunity to network with other Bozeman Chamber members and local business owners.

The Blue Ribbon Cutting ceremony consisted of the cutting of the ribbon along with a speech given by TRG founder, John Michel, followed by a letter from Senator Baucus presented by Brianne Dugan. TRG offered hors d’oeuvres and beverages to their guests during the social networking hour that concluded the event. In attendance for the Ribbon Cutting ceremony was the TRG staff, members of the Bozeman Chamber of Commerce, and local business owners from the Bozeman area.

This is just the beginning of TRG’s involvement with the Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber offers many great ways to become involved with the Bozeman community along with connecting with other local members of the Chamber and other Bozeman business owners. In addition, the Chamber offers some great resources in regards to marketing TRG to the community and aiding in the assistance of finding new members to join TRG’s ever-growing staff.

Trade Risk Guaranty (TRG) Opens Second Location in Bozeman, Montana

At the beginning of 2011, Trade Risk Guaranty (TRG) opened a new office. TRG’s second location was officially up and running on the 3rd of January and now houses the company’s marketing and administrative staff. TRG recently filled three new positions in their marketing department and needed more space for the increasing number of employees joining the TRG staff.

TRG has created a new position within the company for lead development growth. TRG is continuously searching for part-time employees to fill these positions. The company is putting a great deal of time and effort into targeting Montana State University (MSU) students to recruit for the Lead Developer positions. One of the ways that TRG is reaching out to MSU students and alumni is by attending the February 2011 MSU Career fair at the University.

TRG’s original location on Main Street in Bozeman has now become primarily a sales office for the company. Along with all the new positions being filled at TRG’s second office, the Main Street office continues to look for full-time sales executives to join the sales team at their downtown office.

To ensure that the company continues to stay up-to-date on the activities and accomplishments happening in each department after the opening of the second office, the company has implemented a bi-monthly meeting that all TRG employees are encouraged to attend. The meeting focuses on bringing the staff together as a team and sharing their monthly goals along with participating in role playing exercises and welcoming new members to the TRG staff.

Kathryn Shaw, TRG’s Marketing Analyst, feels that the bi-monthly meetings help employees at TRG feel connected after the move to the new office.

“TRG’s bi-monthly meetings are a great way for the entire staff to stay in touch and up-to-date with what is happening in the different departments of the company. It also allows us to have a chance to follow up with other TRG members and discuss each other’s monthly accomplishments and goals.”

About Trade Risk Guaranty:
TRG is an import solutions provider marketing its products directly to the importer. These products include U.S. Customs import bonds, shipping insurance (freight insurance) and direct filing of U.S. Customs entries and Importer Security Filing. Trade Risk Guaranty (TRG) Brokerage Services LLC is a licensed insurance agency, having agency agreements with Hanover Insurance Company of Worcester, Massachusetts, and Great American Insurance Company of Cincinnati, Ohio, both of which are insurance companies approved by the Department of the U.S. Treasury to issue U.S. Customs bonds. Discover more about the history of Trade Risk Guaranty.

TRG Launches Low-Cost Web-Based HTS Classification Tool for U.S. Importers

Law requires United States importers to declare all products they import by means of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) code. The process of identifying the HTS code assigned to a good is referred to as HTS classification. U.S. importers face many key challenges regarding the classification of their imported commodities. Strix offers U.S. importers a web based in house solution that is both accurate, affordable, and time efficient when classifying imported goods.

Strix presents a resolution to the following classification problems importers deal with on a day-to-day basis:

• Overpayment of Customs duty due to inaccurate classification
• The importer of record’s legal liabilities associated with any misclassification of products even if the HTS Classification is done by a third party
• Inability to identify business opportunities with countries offering preferential tariff arrangements
• Shipments delayed at Customs because of improper or untimely product information
• A need to meet government requirements to participate actively and use diligence in preparing Customs declarations

Designed specifically for the end user, Strix takes any product description, no matter how it is expressed, and delivers the corresponding HTS code and duty rate. TRG is offering this service for a $2 per classification fee and no start up cost! It is available as a stand alone application or as an addition to the company’s Customs entry and ISF self-filing tool.

Bill mismatches due to Wrong Bill Type

Are you aware the Customs informs ISF filers if their bills do not match due to having the wrong Bill Type marked? When you receive a No Bill on File message, Customs will respond with one of two messages:

• No Bill Match
• Wrong Bill Type

If it reads ‘No Bill Match’ this means that Customs was not able to match the entered SCAC and Bill Number against the SCAC and Bill Number entered into AMS. If the SCAC and Bill Number have been entered but the wrong Bill Type is marked (house vs straight), Customs will respond with ‘Wrong Bill Type’. If you get this message, change the Bill Type, save, and retransmit the Importer Security Filings.

One thing to keep in mind, however, is that you may initially receive a ‘No Bill Match’ message if the carrier has not yet entered the bill information. However, you may receive a ‘Wrong Bill Type’ message once they do enter the information if it differs from what you have entered on your ISF. This is why it is important to check the reason why you don’t have a bill match every time Customs responds with a ‘No Bill on File’ message.

For Trade Risk Guaranty customers, you can check to see these bill messages on the transmission screen of ISF. To the left of the No Bill on File message, you will see a link reading, ‘ISF Status Advisory’.

November progress reports are out

U.S. Customs has released the latest Importer Security Filing progress reports. Have you received yours?
If not, contact whoever is filing on your behalf to receive your report. If you are a Strix customer, your reports will be sent to you individually. If you file with your own filer code, you can request your report directly from Customs by sending an email to progress_report@cbp.dhs.gov. The email should include the following:

1. Filer’s corporate name
2. Filer code used for filing ISF
3. Point of Contact
4. Point of Contact’s telephone number

Most ISF filers using flexible options are doing so incorrectly or not at all

According to the report the Government Accountability Office issued congressional requestors, Customs and Border Protection data indicates that importers are using the flexible options on their Importer Security Filings incorrectly or unnecessarily. Around 70% of Flexible Range and 60% of Flexible Timing are not used as intended.

CBP officials and ISF filers cited a range of motivations for using or not using the flexible options. CBP officials report that amending the ISF without the flexible options offers some filers more flexibility and cost savings compared to using the flexible options because the flexible options require updates while the compliant transaction option does not. Some importers said that using the flexible options would not be beneficial for them financially.

CBP will consider the limited overall use and the high rates of incorrect use in determining whether to eliminate, modify, or keep the existing flexibilities with the interim final rule.

The good news for Strix customers is that using the flexible options does not place a financial burden on you since we do not charge for updates and retransmissions. This does require extra work, however, because ISFs need to be updated, marked Compliant Transaction, and retransmitted. However, we do not recommend cutting corners to avoid extra work. If you do not know what items are making the container, you must file Flexible Range. If you do not know the Stuffing Location and/or Consolidator, you must file Flexible Timing. If you file incorrectly and Customs audits you and finds out you were aware that it was not correctly filed, you are liable for a $5,000 fine.

Importers’ use of flexible options decreased

According to the report the Government Accountability Office issued to congressional requestors, importers’ use of the flexible transaction types have declined over time and have remained low since January 2010. Customs and Border Protection looked at Importer Security Filings filed between September 13, 2009, and January 25, 2010, and noted that 5% of ISFs used the flexible options. In September 2009, 11% of ISFs in September used the flexible options whereas only 2% of ISFs in January 2010 used these options. ISFs filed between January 26, 2010, and June 14, 2010, remained at about 2%.

Customs working on improving progress reports

In order to improve their progress reports, Customs and Border Protection is currently working on the Importer Security Filings that cannot be measured for timeliness. However, it is important to remember that CBP does not make enforcement decisions based on the progress reports; these are merely a tool for importers to identify how they are doing with their filings and allow them to improve their policies and procedures to better comply.

CBP hopes for 95% ISF compliance for fall 2010

According to the report the Government Accountability Office provided congressional requestors, Customs hopes that ISF filers will achieve 95% compliance by fall 2010. To realize this goal, CBP is attempting to identify areas where implementation and compliance can be improved. Right now, Importer Security Filings issues for in-transit cargo seems to be a problem area. It remains murky who is responsible for filing ISFs for two types of in-transit cargo: immediate exportation (IE) and transportation and exportation (T&E) shipments. CBP plans to revise the requirements to make this clearer in the future.

Immediate exportation allows foreign merchandise to arrive at one port and export from the same port without paying duties.

Transportation and exportation allows goods to arrive in the United States and move in bond to another port for re-export to a foreign country.