by M. Sigmund Shapiro
November 3, 1998
The U. S. Customs Service is testing an idea in San Francisco
which bears the acronym ICE (Informed Compliance and Enforcement).
It’s an appropriate appellation since it will no doubt send chills
through the Customs brokerage industry and at the same time make
importers shudder.
The procedure’s quite simple. Customs sends a notice to the
broker and copies the importer every time an entry is rejected, in
order to alert both parties. At the same time, a record is kept of
broker errors, to build a dossier on the broker’s efficiency.
The motivation, according to Customs is "to raise the compliance
rate" and to identify brokers who make repetitive errors, sort of
like Torquemada did in 15th Century Spain to protect the Church from
possible heretics.
To segue from the above reference, it brings to mind the
procedure in Mexico. There, brokers have exclusive jurisdiction over
clearance and are responsible for complete and accurate information
and duty payment . Any error, no matter how small can result, not
only in a fine, but perhaps a jail sentence to boot.
Not only is this San Francisco test an insult to the licensed
professional Customs broker, it puts the government in the position
of suggesting to an importer that it ought to change brokers. This
is unconscionable and could have legal and political consequences
which Customs would have to defend.
Customs intends testing the procedure through April, and then go
nationwide under the acronym FATS (Filer Activity Tracking System).
A famous jazz musician, Fats Waller, wrote the appropriate song
for this bit of overkill entitled "Ain’t Misbehavin". Surely by
April, brokers will be saying "the fat’s in the fire".
