Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 189 / Tuesday, September 30, 1997 / Notices 51181

1Although NSR believes that the line is not

suitable for public use, we will nevertheless

entertain public use/trail use requests.

Abandonment—Goshen, 360 I.C.C. 91

(1979).

By issuance of this notice, the Board

is instituting an exemption proceeding

pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 10502(b). A final

decision will be issued by December 29,

1997.

Any offer of financial assistance

(OFA) under 49 CFR 1152.27(b)(2) will

be due no later than 10 days after

service of a decision granting the

petition for exemption. Each OFA must

be accompanied by a $900 filing fee. See

49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).

All interested persons should be

aware that, following abandonment of

rail service and salvage of the line, the

line may be suitable for other public

use, including interim trail use.1 Any

request for a public use condition under

49 CFR 1152.28 or for trail use/rail

banking under 49 CFR 1152.29 will be

due no later than October 20, 1997. Each

trail use request must be accompanied

by a $150 filing fee. See 49 CFR

1002.2(f)(27).

All filings in response to this notice

must refer to STB Docket No. AB–290

(Sub-No. 190X) and must be sent to: (1)

Surface Transportation Board, Office of

the Secretary, Case Control Unit, 1925 K

Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20423–

0001; and (2) James R. Paschall, General

Attorney, Norfolk Southern Railway

Company, Three Commercial Place,

Norfolk, VA 23510–2191.

Persons seeking further information

concerning abandonment procedures

may contact the Board’s Office of Public

Services at (202) 565–1592 or refer to

the full abandonment or discontinuance

regulations at 49 CFR part 1152.

Questions concerning environmental

issues may be directed to the Board’s

Section of Environmental Analysis

(SEA) at (202) 565–1545. [TDD for the

hearing impaired is available at (202)

565–1695.]

An environmental assessment (EA) (or

environmental impact statement (EIS), if

necessary), prepared by SEA will be

served upon all parties of record and

upon any agencies or other persons who

commented during its preparation. Any

other persons who would like to obtain

a copy of the EA (or EIS) may contact

SEA. EAs in these abandonment

proceedings normally will be made

available within 60 days of the filing of

the petition. The deadline for

submission of comments on the EA will

generally be within 30 days of its

service.

Decided: September 24, 1997.

By the Board, David M. Konschnik,

Director, Office of Proceedings.

Vernon A. Williams,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97–25925 Filed 9–29–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4915–00–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Customs Service

Modification of National Customs

Automation Program Test Regarding

Reconciliation

AGENCY: Customs Service, Treasury.

ACTION: General notice.

SUMMARY: A notice published in the

Federal Register on February 6, 1997,

announced Customs plan to conduct a

prototype test of reconciliation. This

document is a replacement for that

notice. This document notifies the trade

community of changes to the prototype

test and sets forth the policy which

makes this prototype the exclusive

means to reconcile entries, pursuant to

19 U.S.C. 1484(b). The prototype will

henceforth be referred to as the

Automated Commercial System (ACS)

Reconciliation Prototype.

This document invites public

comments concerning any aspect of the

planned test, informs interested

members of the public of the

requirements for voluntary

participation, and establishes the

process for developing evaluation

criteria. To participate in this prototype,

certain information, as outlined in this

notice, must be filed with Customs prior

to filing Reconciliations. It is important

to note that resources expended by the

trade and Customs on these prototypes

may not carry forward to the final

program.

EFFECTIVE DATE: The testing period of

this prototype will commence no earlier

than October 1, 1998, will run for

approximately two years, and may be

extended. The prototype will be limited

to consumption entries filed on or after

October 1, 1998, through September 30,

2000. Comments concerning the test are

requested by November 14, 1997. A

subsequent notice will be published in

the Federal Register to announce the

opening date of the application period,

and specify any changes made to this

prototype as a result of the comments

received from the public.

ADDRESSES: Written comments

regarding this notice should be

addressed to Ms. Shari McCann,

Reconciliation Team, U.S. Customs

Service, 1301 Constitution Ave, NW,

Room 1315, Washington, DC, 20229–

0001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.

Shari McCann, at (202) 927–1106, or Mr.

Don Luther at (202) 927–0915.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Title VI of the North American Free

Trade Agreement Implementation Act

(the Act), Pub.L. 103–182, 107 Stat.

2057 (December 8, 1993), contains

provisions pertaining to Customs

Modernization (107 Stat. 2170). Subtitle

B of Title VI establishes the National

Customs Automation Program (NCAP)—

an automated and electronic system for

the processing of commercial

importations. Section 637 of the Act

amended Section 484 of the Tariff Act

of 1930 to establish a new subsection

(b), entitled ‘‘Reconciliation’’, a planned

component of the NCAP. Section

101.9(b) of the Customs Regulations (19

CFR 101.9(b)) provides for the testing of

NCAP components. See, TD 95–21. This

test is established pursuant to those

regulations. This document modifies the

prototype test of reconciliation that was

announced in the Federal Register (62

FR 5673) on February 6, 1997, and

replaces that document.

In General

Concurrent with this Automated

Commercial System (ACS)

Reconciliation Prototype, Customs is

designing a reconciliation component

under the National Customs Automation

Program Prototype (NCAP/P) in the

Automated Commercial Environment

(see, 62 FR 14731, dated March 27,

1997).

Thus, except for participation in the

NCAP/P and upon implementation of

this prototype, any party who elects to

reconcile entries pursuant to 19 U.S.C.

1484(b) may only do so through this

prototype. This prototype will serve as

the exclusive means to reconcile entries

for (1) value, (2) classification, (3)

merchandise entered under Harmonized

Tariff Schedule of the United States

(HTSUS) heading 9802 or (4)

merchandise entered under the North

American Free Trade Agreement

(NAFTA). All practices with respect to

block liquidation/block appraisement

(liquidating one entry summary or some

entry summaries for a periodic

adjustment affecting many entry

summaries) will cease and such postentry adjustments will take place via the

ACS Reconciliation Prototype. All

importers may apply for this prototype.

Details on the application process are

explained below.
51182 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 189 / Tuesday, September 30, 1997 / Notices

The Concept of Reconciliation

When certain information (other than

that related to the admissibility of

merchandise) is not determinable at the

time of entry summary, an importer may

later provide Customs with that

information on a Reconciliation. A

Reconciliation is treated as an entry for

purposes of liquidation, reliquidation,

and protest.

A notice of intention to file a

reconciliation (‘‘Notice of Intent’’)

identifies an undeterminable issue,

transfers that issue to a Reconciliation

and permits the liquidation of the

underlying entry as to all issues other

than those which are transferred to the

Reconciliation. During this prototype,

the importer will ‘‘flag’’ the underlying

entries with an electronic indicator,

which will serve as the Notice of Intent.

By providing a Notice of Intent, an

importer is requesting that a certain

issue or group of issues be separated

from the entry summary. The importer

voluntarily requests and accepts that the

issue(s) identified in the notice of intent

remain open and outstanding. The

importer remains responsible for filing a

Reconciliation, and liable for any duties,

fees, and taxes resulting from the filing

and/or liquidation of the Reconciliation.

The Notice of Intent creates an

obligation on the importer to file the

Reconciliation. Importers participating

in this prototype will recognize that the

liquidation of the underlying entries

pertains only to those issues not

identified by the importer on the notice

of intent.

Upon liquidation of any underlying

entry summary, any decision by

Customs entering into that liquidation,

e.g., classification, may be protested

pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1514. When the

outstanding issue, e.g., value as

determined by the actual costs, is later

furnished in the Reconciliation, the

Reconciliation will be liquidated. The

liquidation of the Reconciliation will be

posted to the Bulletin Notice of

Liquidation, and may be protested

pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1514, but the

protest may only pertain to the issue(s)

flagged for reconciliation (i.e., the

protest may not re-visit issues

previously liquidated on the underlying

entry summary).

Under the statutory mandate of 19

U.S.C. 1484, the importer is responsible

for using reasonable care in declaring at

entry the proper value, classification

and rate of duty applicable to imported

merchandise. The public is reminded

that the obligation to use reasonable

care applies to all aspects of this

prototype, including the filing and

flagging of the underlying entries and

the filing of the Reconciliation.

Inherent in the concept of

reconciliation is the fact that, because

certain issues are kept open pending

filing of the Reconciliation, the

information regarding these issues and

the resulting liability for the duties,

taxes and fees previously asserted by the

importer may change when the

Reconciliation is filed. Therefore, for the

duration of this prototype, Customs will

not accept drawback claims or drawback

certificates on underlying entries

flagged for reconciliation until the

Reconciliation is filed with all duties,

taxes and fees paid. In the case of a

drawback claim and a reconciliation

refund against the same underlying

entries, the importer is responsible for

ensuring that claims for refunds in

excess of the duties paid are not filed

with Customs and for substantiating

how the separate refund requests apply

to different merchandise.

Prototype Objectives

The Reconciliation team’s objectives

for this prototype are to:

1. Work with the trade community,

other agencies, and other parties

affected by this program in the design,

conduct, and evaluation of the

prototype;

2. Obtain experience through the

prototype for use in the design of

operational procedures, automated

systems, and regulations; and

3. Implement reconciliation on a

national level in conjunction with the

Trade Compliance Redesign.

Description of the ACS Reconciliation

Prototype

1. Issues To Be Reconciled

The ACS Reconciliation Prototype

will allow the following issues to be

flagged for reconciliation: value, HTSUS

heading 9802, NAFTA, and

classification on a limited basis.

a. Value—The ACS Reconciliation

Prototype is open to reconciliation of all

value issues.

b. 9802—The issue of 9802 includes

only the value aspect involved with this

HTSUS provision, e.g., reconciling the

estimated to actual costs.

c. NAFTA—Reconciliation may be

used as a vehicle to file postimportation refund claims under 19

U.S.C. 1520(d). NAFTA Reconciliations

are subject to the obligations under 19

CFR part 181, subpart D. Presentation of

the NAFTA Certificate of Origin to

Customs is waived for the purposes of

this prototype, but the filer must retain

these documents, which shall be

provided to Customs upon request.

Filers are reminded that interest shall

accrue from the date on which the claim

for NAFTA eligibility is made (the date

of the Reconciliation) to the date of

liquidation or reliquidation of the

Reconciliation.

The obligation opened by the Notice

of Intent applies to all Reconciliations,

including NAFTA, even if the

participant finally concludes it cannot

file a valid 520(d) claim, in which

instance the NAFTA Reconciliation

would be filed with no change.

d. Classification—Classification

issues will be eligible for reconciliation

only when such issues have been

formally established as the subject of a

pending administrative ruling, protest

or court action.

A Reconciliation of value, 9802 and/

or classification shall be filed within 15

months of the date of the oldest entry

summary flagged for and grouped on

that Reconciliation. A Reconciliation

may cover any combination of value,

9802 and classification. Should the

issues of value, 9802 and/or

classification on one entry summary be

flagged for reconciliation, one

Reconciliation covering all three issues

will be filed.

A NAFTA Reconciliation must be

filed within 12 months of the date of

importation of the oldest entry summary

flagged for and grouped on that

Reconciliation. NAFTA Reconciliations

will not be combined with other issues,

because of NAFTA’s unique nature and

different due dates, and so that Customs

may expedite the processing of such

refunds.

2. Chain of Events

a. Initial application—As part of an

importer’s application to participate in

the ACS Reconciliation Prototype, the

importer will provide information

including descriptions of the specific

issues to be reconciled, the merchandise

and Harmonized Tariff Schedule

(HTSUS) classification, and which ports

the importer uses or intends to use.

b. Entries flagged for reconciliation—

i. Any entry summary (see below for

eligible entry types) that is flagged for

reconciliation must be filed via the

Automated Broker Interface (ABI). An

electronic indicator, or ‘‘flag,’’ signifying

that these entries are to be reconciled,

must be provided at the header level.

The flag designates that the indicated

issue(s) for the entire entry summary

(not just a specific line) is subject to

reconciliation.

ii. For purposes of this prototype, the

‘‘flag’’ serves as the importer’s Notice of

Intent to file a Reconciliation.

iii. The importer must use reasonable

care in filing the entry summary,
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 189 / Tuesday, September 30, 1997 / Notices 51183

including but not limited to declaring

the proper value, classification and rate

of duty on the underlying entry

summary. The importer must provide a

good faith value estimate, and deposit

the appropriate duties, taxes, and fees at

time of entry summary.

iv. Entry summaries flagged for

reconciliation will require a continuous

bond, which must be accompanied by a

rider. The rider shall read as follows:

By this rider to the Customs Form 301, No.

lllllll, executed on llllll,

by llllllll, as principal, importer

No. llll, an llllllll, as surety,

code No. llllllll, which is effective

on llllllll, the principal and

surety agree that this bond covers all

Reconciliations pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1484(b)

that are elected on any entries secured by this

bond, and that all conditions set out in

Section 113.62, Customs Regulations, are

applicable thereto.

The continuous bond obligated on the

underlying entries, along with the rider,

will be used to cover the Reconciliation.

v. All entries subject to one

Reconciliation must be covered by one

surety. Each Reconciliation must be

covered by one surety, i.e., two sureties

cannot cover the same Reconciliation.

vi. Entry summaries may be flagged

for reconciliation until the close of the

test period. Reconciliations may be filed

after the close of the test period.

c. Liquidation of underlying entry

summaries—Liquidation of the

underlying entry summary will occur as

with any entry summary. Importers who

choose to participate in this prototype

will recognize that the liquidation of the

underlying entries pertains only to those

issues not identified by the importer as

reconcilable. Upon liquidation of the

underlying entries, any decisions of the

Customs Service entering into that

liquidation can be protested pursuant to

19 U.S.C. 1514. The liquidation of the

Reconciliation will be posted to the

Bulletin Notice of Liquidation, and any

decision of the Customs Service

pertaining to that liquidation may also

be protested (pursuant to 19 U.S.C.

1514).

d. Importer Electronically Transmits

the Reconciliation via ABI—

i. When the importer has finalized the

outstanding information, and has the

answer to the issue in question, the filer

will electronically (via ABI) transmit the

Reconciliation to Customs. The

Reconciliation will be a new entry type

09.

ii. Transmission of a Reconciliation

for value, 9802 and/or classification

must occur within 15 months of the date

of the oldest entry summary flagged for

and grouped on that Reconciliation.

Transmission of a NAFTA

Reconciliation must occur within 12

months of the date of importation of the

oldest entry summary flagged for and

grouped on that Reconciliation.

iii. Each Reconciliation will be

limited to one importer of record, i.e.,

the underlying entries and the

Reconciliation must have the same

importer of record.

iv. This prototype will allow up to

9,999 underlying entries per

Reconciliation.

v. The importer must clearly

document how the information in the

Reconciliation was derived, and provide

all supporting documentation to

Customs when the Reconciliation is

filed. The Reconciliation must include

complete supporting documentation for

the information provided, to

substantiate the importer’s claim. The

supporting documentation must include

details at the entry line level.

Supporting documents may include, but

are not limited to:

(a) CF 247—Cost Submission

(b) detailed line-level spreadsheets

(c) landed cost analysis sheets

(d) invoices, purchase orders, and

contracts.

vi. While entry summaries may be

flagged until the close of the test period,

Reconciliations may be filed and

liquidated after the closing date of the

test.

vii. The structure of the

Reconciliation will include a header,

association file, and line item data:

(a) Header—The Reconciliation

header will include the following data

elements:

(i) Reconciliation entry number

(ii) Reconciliation entry type (09)

(iii) Reconciliation date (date of filing)

(iv) Issue(s) being reconciled

(v) IRS number

(vi) Surety code

(vii)Port of entry code (= processing

port)

(viii) Summary date of oldest

underlying entry (if the reconciliation

issue is value, 9802 or classification)

(ix) Date of import of oldest

underlying entry (if the reconciliation

issue is NAFTA)

(x) The total of the original duties,

taxes, and fees (fees broken out by

‘‘class code’’) which were deposited on

the underlying entries

(xi) The total of the reconciled duties,

taxes, and fees (fees broken out by

‘‘class code’’) which should have been

paid for the underlying entries, had the

complete information been available to

the importer at the time of filing the

underlying entries

(xii) The total amount of interest

deposited on filing of the

Reconciliation, if the filer elects to do so

(xiii) Comment field: This field is to

be used to explain any details of the

Reconciliation, e.g., Assist declaration

on part XYZ for the period 10/1/98 –9/

30/99.

(b) Association file—The association

file will include the list of underlying

entry numbers and the Reconciliation

revenue adjustment, broken out by

entry. The association file will consist of

the following data elements:

(i) The underlying entry numbers and

ports of entry which were previously

flagged and grouped on this

Reconciliation

(ii) The original amount of duties,

taxes and fees (fees broken out by ‘‘class

code’’) per underlying entry which were

deposited at entry summary

(iii) The reconciled amount of duty,

taxes and fees (fees broken out by ‘‘class

code’’) which should have been paid for

each of the underlying entries, had the

complete information been available to

the importer at the time of filing the

underlying entry summary

(iv) If the Reconciliation results in

additional duties due Customs, the filer

may deposit interest at time of filing the

Reconciliation. Interest must be

calculated by and broken out to each

underlying entry.

(c) Line item data—Aggregate line

item data will be manually submitted

via hard copy CF 7501. Each

reconciliation line item will be

consolidated for all of the underlying

entries listed in the association file.

Each combination of HTSUS, country of

origin, SPI and month of release will

require a separate line. The

Reconciliation line data elements will

include:

(i) HTS

(ii) SPI (if changed)

(iii) Country of origin

(iv) Quantity (if changed)

(v) Value

(vi) Month of release

The reconciled line information will

be provided below the original

information, as follows:

(Original) HTS SPI C/O Quantity Value

Release month

(Reconciled) HTS SPI C/O Quantity

Value Release month

e. Payment—If the Reconciliation

results in a revenue change, Customs

will issue one bill or refund per

Reconciliation. If the Reconciliation

results in additional duties due

Customs, payment must be made via

check, statement or Automated Clearing

House at the time of filing the

Reconciliation. The filer may deposit

interest at time of Reconciliation filing.

If the Reconciliation results in

additional duties due the importer,
51184 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 189 / Tuesday, September 30, 1997 / Notices

Customs will issue a refund within 30

days of liquidation of the

Reconciliation. Final interest will be

assessed or refunded as appropriate.

f. Liquidation of Reconciliation—

i. The Reconciliation will be reviewed

and liquidated, and one bill or refund

issued if a revenue change is

appropriate. Bill/refund amounts will be

calculated against the duty as shown in

the association file upon liquidation of

the Reconciliation. Importers will

recognize that there may be instances

where no bill or refund is necessary.

Interest will be calculated in accordance

with 19 U.S.C. 1505.

ii. On a matter of dispute, the

importer may follow normal protest

procedures (pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1514)

with regard to the Reconciliation.

II. Eligibility Criteria

1. Reconciliation is to be used to

group entries together for a common,

outstanding issue. Entries flagged for

reconciliation which have the same

outstanding information should all be

grouped on one Reconciliation, e.g.,

entries flagged for reconciliation over a

one year period awaiting finalization of

assist information should be grouped on

one Reconciliation where the assist

information is provided.

2. Adequate bond coverage must exist

for the Reconciliation.

3. Participants must be capable of

filing the underlying entry and

Reconciliation information

electronically, via the Automated Broker

Interface (ABI).

4. The following entries types are

eligible for reconciliation under this

prototype:

a. Entry type 01: Free and dutiable

consumption entries

b. Entry type 02*: Quota/visa

consumption entries

c. Entry type 03*: Antidumping/

Countervailing duty (AD/CVD)

consumption entries

d. Entry type 06: Foreign Trade Zone

consumption entries

e. Entry type 07*: Quota/visa and AD/

CVD combination consumption entries

*Quota and AD/CVD entries may be

reconciled for value, classification, 9802

and/or NAFTA. The issues of AD/CVD

final rate and scope determination,

quota category or any admissibility

issue are not eligible reconciliation

issues under this prototype.

5. The underlying entries flagged for

a Reconciliation may be filed at any

port, including any combination of

ports.

6. The Reconciliation and supporting

documentation may be filed at any port

location. Certain ports will be

established as reconciliation processing

ports. The ABI transmission of the

Reconciliation must reflect one of the

Customs-identified processing ports in

the port code field. Customs will

identify and announce the

reconciliation processing ports in the

Federal Register.

Utilizing the logic of the Remote

Location Filing programming,

participant profiles will be established

in ACS. Participants must identify those

locations from where the ABI

transmissions will be filed.

7. Participants must agree to

participate in the evaluation of this test.

Application to Participate in the ACS

Reconciliation Prototype

This prototype is open to all

importers. As stated above, this

prototype will serve as the exclusive

authority to reconcile entries, outside of

any other Customs-designated

prototypes. This notice requests

importers to apply for participation in

this prototype by submitting the

following information:

1. Importer name and IRS number

2. Broker name(s) and filer code(s)

3. Surety name(s) and surety code(s)

4. Bond coverage (reconciliation rider

mentioned above)

A copy of the rider and identification

of the port in which the continuous

bond and rider are filed must be

included in the application.

5. Commodities covered under the

Reconciliation

6. Processing port which will be used

7. Port(s) at which underlying entries

and Reconciliation will be filed

8. Port location from where ABI

transmission is sent (may be same as #7)

9. Number of entries anticipated to be

covered by the Reconciliation

10. Description of specific issue(s)

which will be reconciled

11. Point of contact and telephone

number

12. Any comments on prototype

participation

The application may be submitted by

the importer’s broker and/or attorney, if

duly authorized. This information

should be submitted to Ms. Shari

McCann, Reconciliation Team, U.S.

Customs Service, 1301 Constitution

Ave, NW, Room 1315, Washington, DC,

20229. A subsequent notice will be

published in the Federal Register to

announce the opening date of the

application period. By applying to

participate in this test, the importer is

agreeing to participate pursuant to the

terms of the test as defined in this

notice.

Applications may be submitted

throughout the duration of the

prototype. Applicants will be notified in

writing of their acceptance or denial

into the prototype. An applicant who

has been denied participation in the

prototype may re-apply after 30 days of

the notice of denial.

Interested candidates should note that

participation in this test will not

constitute confidential information, and

that lists of participants will be made

available on the Customs Electronic

Bulletin Board.

Misconduct Under Prototype

If a filer attempts to submit data

relating to prohibited merchandise,

abuses reconciliation by using it when

the reconciliation issue is not truly

undeterminable at time of entry

summary; submits entry types not

authorized for reconciliation; is

consistently late in filing the

Reconciliation or depositing the duties,

fees and taxes; fails to supply Customs

with sufficient supporting

documentation for the Reconciliation; is

habitually delinquent in the payment of

bills from Customs; or otherwise fails to

follow the procedures outlined herein,

or applicable laws and regulations, then

the filer may be subject to liquidated

damages, penalties and/or other

administrative sanctions and/or

prevented from participation in future

prototypes.

Regulatory Provisions Suspended

Certain requirements of § 113.62 of

the Customs Regulations (19 CFR

113.62), pertaining to basic importation

and entry bond conditions, will be

suspended during this prototype.

Certain provisions in parts 141 and 142

of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR 141

and 19 CFR 142), pertaining to entry,

and of part 159 of the Customs

Regulations (19 CFR part 159),

pertaining to liquidation of duties, will

also be suspended during this

prototype.

Absent any specified alternate

procedure, the current regulations

apply.

III. Test Evaluation Criteria

Once the initial comment period has

closed, Customs will review all public

comments received concerning any

aspect of the test program or procedures,

answer any questions in light of those

comments, and establish baseline

measures and evaluation methods and

criteria. Interim evaluations of the

prototype will be published on the

Customs Electronic Bulletin Board, and

the results of the final prototype

evaluation will be published in the

Federal Register as required by 19 CFR

101.9(b). The following evaluation
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 189 / Tuesday, September 30, 1997 / Notices 51185

methods and criteria have been

suggested:

1. Baseline measurements to be

established through dataqueries and

questionnaires

2. Reports to be run through use of

dataquery throughout the prototype

3. Questionnaires from both trade

participants and Customs to be used

before, during and after the prototype

period.

Customs may assess any or all of the

following evaluation criteria from both

Customs and the trade participants:

1. Workload impact (workload shifts/

volume, cycle times, etc.)

2. Cost savings (staff, interest,

issuance of fewer checks or bills,

tracking refunds/bills, reduction in

contingent liabilities, etc.)

3. Policy and procedure

accommodation

4. Trade compliance impact

5. Problem resolution

6. System efficiency

7. Operational efficiency

8. Other issues identified by the

participant group.

Customs will request that test

participants be active in the evaluation,

identifying costs and savings

experienced in this prototype.

Dated: September 25, 1997.

Albert W. Tennant,

Acting Assistant Commissioner, Office of

Field Operations

[FR Doc. 97–25930 Filed 9–29–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4820–02–P