Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 79 / Monday, April 27, 2009 / Notices 19103 

1Notwithstanding this pilot, all existing 

requirements continue to apply. 

Dated: April 20, 2009. 

W.A. Muilenburg, 

Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Office of 

Waterways Management. 

[FR Doc. E9–9534 Filed 4–24–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

Broker Self-Assessment Outreach Pilot 

AGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border 

Protection, Department of Homeland 

Security. 

ACTION: General notice. 

SUMMARY: This document announces the 

commencement of the Broker SelfAssessment (BSA) Outreach Pilot (BSA 

Pilot). The BSA pilot is voluntary and 

is intended to be a partnership between 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

(CBP) and participating customs 

brokers. The primary goal of the pilot is 

to facilitate a higher level of broker 

compliance with CBP laws and 

regulations. In this regard, the BSA Pilot 

will allow for customs brokers to 

ascertain voluntarily with CBP how well 

they comply with their broker 

requirements, provide recognition and 

support to participating brokers, and 

facilitate legitimate trade so that CBP 

can focus on higher-risk trade 

enforcement issues. Under this program 

test, participating customs brokers will 

update and improve internal controls, 

perform periodic testing of these 

internal controls, and disclose to CBP 

deficiencies discovered through the 

testing. Any licensed customs broker, 

who is a member of the Customs-Trade 

Partnership Against Terrorism (C– 

TPAT) and who meets the other 

eligibility requirements of the pilot, may 

apply to participate. After closure of the 

application period and review of the 

applications received, CBP will select a 

limited number of customs brokers to 

participate in the BSA Pilot. This 

document sets forth information on the 

application process and the 

requirements for participation in the 

program test. 

DATES: Application to participate in this 

pilot will be accepted from April 27, 

2009 through May 27, 2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Anita Harris, Trade Liaison, Partnership 

Programs Branch, Trade Facilitation and 

Administration Division, Office of 

International Trade, U.S. Customs and 

Border Protection, (202) 863–6069, 

BrokerSelfAssessment@cbp.dhs.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

(CBP) is strongly committed to 

encouraging members of the trade 

community to meet the responsibilities 

of complying with applicable trade laws 

and regulations. In furtherance of this 

goal, CBP announced the Importer SelfAssessment (ISA) program on June 17, 

2002, in a general notice published in 

the Federal Register (67 FR 41298). The 

ISA program is a trade facilitation 

partnership program that recruits trade 

compliant companies in order to reduce 

both CBP and company resources 

required during entry and post entry, 

and to build cooperative relationships 

that strengthen compliance with trade 

laws. The ISA program is based on the 

premise that importers with strong 

internal controls achieve the highest 

level of compliance with CBP laws and 

regulations, and provides a means to 

recognize and support importers that 

have implemented such systems. The 

ISA program has successfully facilitated 

trade by strengthening importer 

compliance with CBP laws and 

regulations and by building cooperative 

relationships between CBP and 

participating importers. In addition, 

CBP announced the Importer SelfAssessment Product Safety Pilot (ISA– 

PS) program on October 29, 2008, in a 

general notice published in the Federal 

Register (73 FR 64356). The ISA–PS 

program adopted the self-assessment 

principles of the ISA program and has 

allowed for a voluntary approach to 

product safety compliance. 

Description of the Broker SelfAssessment Outreach Pilot 

Overview 

Based on the effectiveness of the ISA 

program, CBP is initiating a new 

outreach initiative called the Broker 

Self-Assessment (BSA) Outreach Pilot 

(BSA Pilot). This voluntary pilot will 

allow CBP to assist and facilitate broker 

compliance with their existing statutory 

and regulatory requirements under 19 

U.S.C. 1641 and part 111 of title 19 of 

the Code of Federal Regulations (19 CFR 

part 111).1 In this respect, CBP 

recognizes the importance of customs 

brokers because they serve as 

intermediaries between CBP and the 

trading community and because they 

have played a significant role in the 

success of various CBP commercial 

initiatives, automation efforts, and 

security programs. 

The BSA program is intended to be a 

partnership program between CBP and 

licensed customs brokers that will build 

cooperative relationships and ultimately 

strengthen broker compliance with trade 

laws. The BSA program will utilize 

many of the self-assessment principles 

of the ISA program while incorporating 

new methodologies that will provide a 

more flexible approach to promoting 

broker compliance. In this regard, the 

BSA program is based on the premise 

that customs brokers with strong 

internal controls achieve the highest 

level of compliance with CBP laws and 

regulations. CBP believes that the 

program will facilitate legitimate trade 

so that CBP can focus on higher-risk 

trade enforcement issues. 

All licensed customs brokers who are 

current members of the Customs-Trade 

Partnership Against Terrorism (C– 

TPAT) and who meet the other 

eligibility requirements identified in 

this document can apply to participate 

in the BSA Pilot by submitting the 

information and documentation set 

forth below. CBP will assess the broker 

submissions to determine each 

applicant’s readiness to assume the 

responsibilities of the BSA Pilot. BSA 

Pilot applications will be accepted from 

April 27, 2009 to May 27, 2009. 

BSA Pilot Participation Requirements 

In order to be eligible to participate in 

the BSA Pilot, a licensed customs broker 

must: 

1. Be a licensed customs broker for a 

minimum period of five years. 

2. Be a member with full benefits of 

the C–TPAT. 

3. Agree to comply with all applicable 

CBP laws and regulations. 

4. Work in an automated environment 

through the Automated Broker Interface 

and the Automated Commercial 

Environment. 

5. Possess a broker national permit. 

6. Have and maintain a system of 

business records that demonstrates the 

accuracy of CBP transactions. 

7. Complete a BSA Pilot 

Questionnaire and agree to: 

a. Continue to maintain and update its 

internal controls; 

b. Perform periodic testing of its 

internal control system based on risk; 

c. Make appropriate adjustments to 

the internal controls system with an eye 

toward improvement; 

d. Inform CBP, through certain 

voluntary disclosures permitted under 

the BSA Pilot, of deficiencies identified 

in periodic testing; and 

e. Maintain an audit trail linking 

financial records to entries filed with 

CBP. 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES
19104 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 79 / Monday, April 27, 2009 / Notices 

Application Process 

1. Required Information 

A broker who meets the requirements 

set forth above may apply to participate 

in the BSA Pilot by submitting certain 

information and documentation to CBP. 

The information in this submission will 

be collectively referred to as the ‘‘BSA 

Pilot Application’’ and will consist of: 

a. The broker’s license number. 

b. The broker’s legal entity type (i.e., 

sole proprietorship, partnership, 

association or corporation). 

c. The name of the individual 

qualifying the broker’s license. 

d. The broker’s national permit 

number. 

e. The name of the individual 

qualifying the broker’s national permit. 

f. All filer codes assigned to the 

broker. 

g. All associated Importer of Record 

numbers utilized by the broker with 

suffixes. 

h. The address of each permitted 

district office with the name of the 

individual qualifying the permit in each 

district. 

i. An organizational chart of the 

brokerage firm which includes all 

permitted district offices. 

j. The volume of entries by entry type 

code processed by all permitted offices 

during the previous 12-month period. 

k. A summary of the broker’s business 

operations that involve interaction with 

CBP. 

l. A statement as to whether the 

broker participates in any of the 

following CBP programs: 

(1) Periodic Monthly Statement; 

(2) Automated Clearing House; 

(3) Reconciliation; 

(4) Electronic Invoice Processing/ 

Remote Location Filing; 

(5) Pre-Arrival Processing system; and 

(6) Drawback. 

m. A description, by type and activity 

code, of the customs bonds currently on 

file with CBP. 

n. A statement as to whether the 

broker has a waiver in place pursuant to 

19 CFR 111.19(d)(2) and, if so, a list of 

locations subject to the waiver. A 

description of how oversight of 

permitted district offices is handled and 

by whom. 

o. A statement as to whether the 

broker has documented policies and 

procedural manuals relating to CBP 

business. 

2. CBP Review of BSA Pilot Application 

and Acceptance Into Program 

After closure of the application 

period, CBP will review the BSA Pilot 

Applications received. CBP plans to 

select a limited number of broker 

applicants to participate in the BSA 

Pilot who are representative of key 

sectors of the brokerage community or 

whose structure and processes present 

potential challenges. Each broker 

chosen to participate will be provided 

with a BSA Participation Agreement 

and BSA Pilot Questionnaire for 

completion. A CBP multi-disciplinary 

team consisting of regulatory auditors, 

national account managers, and other 

field personnel necessary to conduct a 

review will then visit the applicant for 

a consultation to discuss and review the 

broker’s internal controls on how they 

conduct their customs business. The 

purpose of the consultation will be to 

determine if the applicant has sufficient 

and adequate controls to be able to 

assess their own compliance with the 

statutory and regulatory requirements of 

19 U.S.C. 1641 and 19 CFR part 111. 

The broker will be accepted into the 

BSA Pilot if CBP determines the 

applicant’s internal controls are 

maintained and updated and the 

applicant is prepared to perform 

periodic testing of its internal control 

system based on risk; make appropriate 

adjustments to the internal controls 

system with an eye toward 

improvement; inform CBP, through 

certain voluntary disclosures permitted 

under the BSA Pilot, of deficiencies 

identified in periodic testing; and 

maintain an audit trail linking financial 

records to entries filed with CBP. At that 

time, CBP will countersign the BSA 

Participation Agreement. If a broker 

does not maintain these obligations, 

CBP reserves the right, in its discretion, 

to disqualify a broker from participation 

in the BSA Pilot. 

Detailed information concerning the 

BSA Pilot and the questionnaire will be 

available on the CBP Internet Web site 

at: http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/trade/ 

trade_programs/bsa. 

Evaluation of BSA Pilot 

CBP intends to review the BSA Pilot 

within one year after its effective date to 

measure its effects and achievements, 

and recommend whether the BSA 

program will become a permanent 

program. 

Dated: April 22, 2009. 

Jayson P. Ahern, 

Acting Commissioner, U.S. Customs and 

Border Protection. 

[FR Doc. E9–9551 Filed 4–24–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9111–14–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

Coast Guard 

[Docket No. USCG–2008–0333] 

Delaware River and Bay Oil Spill 

Advisory Committee; Meeting 

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. 

ACTION: Notice of meeting. 

SUMMARY: The Delaware River and Bay 

Oil Spill Advisory Committee 

(DRBOSAC) will meet in Philadelphia, 

PA to discuss various issues to improve 

oil spill prevention and response 

strategies for the Delaware River and 

Bay. This meeting will be open to the 

public. 

DATES: The Committee will meet on 

Wednesday, May 20, 2009, from 10 a.m. 

to 1 p.m. This meeting may close early 

if all business is finished. Written 

material and requests to make oral 

presentations should reach the Coast 

Guard on or before May 13, 2009. 

Requests to have a copy of your material 

distributed to each member of the 

committee should reach the Coast Guard 

on or before May 13, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: The Committee will meet at 

Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay, 1 

Washington Ave., Philadelphia, PA 

19147. Send written material and 

requests to make oral presentations to 

Gerald Conrad, Liaison to the 

Designated Federal Officer (DFO) of the 

DRBOSAC, at the address above. This 

notice and any documents identified in 

the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section 

as being available in the docket may be 

viewed online, at http:// 

www.regulations.gov, using docket 

number USCG–2008–0333. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Gerald Conrad, Liaison to the DFO of 

the DRBOSAC, telephone 215–271– 

4824. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice of 

this meeting is given under the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. App. 

(Pub. L. 92–463). 

Agenda of the Meeting 

The agenda for the May 20 meeting 

will be as follows: 

(1) Opening comments. 

(2) Introductions. 

(3) Administrative announcements. 

(4) Oil Spill Response/Mitigation 

Presentations. 

(5) Debriefs from each DRBOSAC Subcommittee. 

(6) Public comments. 

(7) Future Committee business. 

(8) Closing. 

More information and detail on the 

meeting will be available at the 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES