[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 226 (Monday, November 27, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 82910-82911]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-26050]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

U.S. Customs and Border Protection


Customs Broker Permit User Fee Payment for 2024 and Announcement 
of eCBP Portal Payment Option

AGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland 
Security.

ACTION: General notice.

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SUMMARY: This document provides notice to customs brokers that the 
annual user fee that is assessed for each

[[Page 82911]]

permit held by a customs broker, whether it may be an individual, 
partnership, association, or corporation, is due no later than February 
9, 2024. Pursuant to fee adjustments required by the Fixing America's 
Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) and the U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection (CBP) regulations, the customs broker permit user fee 
payable for calendar year 2024 will be $174.80. CBP is also announcing 
that customs brokers may pay the fee electronically via the electronic 
Customs and Border Protection (eCBP) portal.

DATES: Payment of the 2024 Customs Broker Permit User Fee is due no 
later than February 9, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mohammad O. Qureshi, Chief, Broker 
Management Branch, Office of Trade, (202) 909-3753, or 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f8959790999595999cd697d6898d8a9d8b9091b89b9a88d69c908bd69f978e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c4a9abaca5a9a9a5a0eaabeab5b1b6a1b7acad84a7a6b4eaa0acb7eaa3abb2">[email protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Customs Broker Permit User Fee Payment for 2024

    Pursuant to section 111.96 of title 19 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (CFR) (19 CFR 111.96(c)), U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection (CBP) assesses an annual user fee for each customs broker 
permit granted to an individual, partnership, association, or 
corporation. The CBP regulations provide that this fee is payable each 
calendar year for a national permit held by a customs broker and must 
be paid by the due date published annually in the Federal Register. See 
19 CFR 24.22(h) and (i); 19 CFR 111.96(c).
    Section 24.22 of title 19 of the CFR (19 CFR 24.22) sets forth the 
terms and conditions for when fees for certain services, including 
specific customs user fees, are required. The specific customs user fee 
amounts that appear in 19 CFR 24.22 are not the actual fees but 
represent the base year amounts that are subject to adjustment each 
fiscal year in accordance with the Fixing America's Surface 
Transportation Act (FAST Act) (Pub. L. 114-94, December 4, 2015). 
Section 32201 of the FAST Act amended section 13031 of the Consolidated 
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) of 1985 (19 U.S.C. 58c) by 
requiring the Secretary of the Treasury to adjust certain customs COBRA 
user fees and corresponding limitations to reflect certain increases in 
inflation. Paragraph (k) of section 24.22 of title 19 of the CFR (19 
CFR 24.22(k)) sets forth the methodology to adjust fees for inflation 
and to determine the change in inflation, including the factor by which 
the fees and limitations will be adjusted, if necessary.
    Customs brokers are subject to an annual customs broker permit user 
fee calculated using the base year amount in appendix A to 19 CFR part 
24, as adjusted by the terms in 19 CFR 24.22(k). See 19 U.S.C. 
58c(a)(7) and 19 CFR 24.22(h). In accordance with 19 CFR 24.22, CBP 
determines annually whether an adjustment to the fees and limitations 
is necessary and publishes a Federal Register notice specifying the 
amount of the fees and limitations for each fiscal year. On July 28, 
2023, CBP published a Federal Register notice, entitled COBRA Fees to 
be Adjusted for Inflation in Fiscal Year 2024 (CBP Dec. 23-08), which 
announced, among other fee adjustments, that the annual customs broker 
permit user fee will increase to $174.80 for calendar year 2024. See 88 
FR 48900.
    Thus, as required by 19 CFR 24.22, CBP provided notice in the 
Federal Register of the annual fee amount at least 60 days prior to the 
date that the payment is due for each customs broker national permit. 
This document notifies customs brokers that, for calendar year 2024, 
the due date for payment of the annual customs broker permit user fee 
is February 9, 2024. If a customs broker fails to pay the annual 
customs broker permit user fee by February 9, 2024, the national permit 
is revoked by operation of law. See 19 CFR 111.45(b) and 111.96(c).

Announcement of eCBP Portal Payment Option

    On October 18, 2022, CBP published a final rule titled 
``Modernization of the Customs Broker Regulations'' in the Federal 
Register (87 FR 63267), which announced the deployment of the 
electronic Customs and Border Protection (eCBP) portal, an online 
system for processing electronic payments of licensed customs broker 
fees and submissions, and stated that CBP would announce additional 
eCBP functionalities, including an enhancement allowing the payment of 
annual permit user fees, in the Federal Register. Accordingly, in this 
document, CBP is announcing the deployment of new eCBP functionality 
allowing the payment of the annual customs broker permit user fee. CBP 
anticipates that the eCBP portal will be open for the collection of 
annual customs broker permit user fee payments starting on November 29, 
2023.
    With this new functionality, customs brokers may either submit the 
fee through the eCBP portal or submit the fee at the processing Center, 
as defined in 19 CFR 111.1, in accordance with the remittance 
procedures in 19 CFR 24.22(i). The eCBP portal streamlines the payment 
process, allows for easy collection of fees, and offers customs brokers 
the flexibility and convenience to pay licensed customs broker fees 
easily and effectively. Thus, CBP encourages customs brokers to pay the 
annual customs broker permit user fee electronically via the eCBP 
portal. Customs brokers who wish to use the eCBP portal, located on 
CBP's website or at https://e.cbp.dhs.gov/brokers/#/home, must create a 
Login.gov account as a first-time user. Instructions and training 
resources, such as user and quick reference guides, for customs brokers 
on how to create a Login.gov account and how to use the eCBP portal can 
be found on CBP's website.

John P. Leonard,
Acting Executive Assistant Commissioner, Office of Trade.
[FR Doc. 2023-26050 Filed 11-24-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111-14-P


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