NOTICE

The decisions, rulings, regulations, notices and abstracts which are published in the CUSTOMS BULLETIN are subject to correction for typographical or other printing errors. Users may notify the U.S. Customs Service, Office of Finance, Logistics Division, National Support Services Center, Washington, DC 20229, of any such errors in order that corrections may be made before the bound volumes are published. Please visit the U.S. Customs Web at: http://www.customs.ustreas.gov

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402

AGENCY: U.S. Customs Service, Department of the Treasury.

ACTION: General notice.

SUMMARY: This notice announces Customs plan to conduct a test to evaluate the effectiveness of a new operational procedure regarding the electronic processing of quota-class apparel merchandise. The tests will be conducted at ports located at New York/Newark and Los Angeles. The new procedure will allow certain quota entries to be processed prior to carrier arrival, thus reducing the quota processing time. This notice informs the public of the new procedure and eligibility requirements to participate in the test. Public comments concerning any aspect of the test are solicited.

EFFECTIVE DATES: Written comments regarding this notice must be received on or before August 24, 1998. This test will commence no earlier than August 24, 1998 and run for approximately a six month time period, with evaluations of the test occurring periodically.

ADDRESSES: Applications to participate in the prototype will be accepted prior to and throughout the prototype. Written comments regarding this notice or any aspect of this test should be addressed to Lori Bowers, U.S. Customs Service, QWG Team Leader, 1000 Second Ave., Suite 2100, Seattle, WA 98104-1020 or may be sent via E-mail to preprocessing@quota.customs.sprint.com. Applications should be sent to the prototype coordinator at any of the four following port(s) where the applicant wishes to submit quota entries for preprocessing:

FOR

1) Julian Velasquez, Port of Los Angeles, 300 S. Ferry St., Terminal Island, CA 90731;

2) Tony Piscitelli, Los Angeles International Airport, 11099 S. La Cienaga Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90045;

3) Barry Goldberg, JFK Airport, JFK Building 77, Jamacia, NY 11430; and

4) John Lava, Ports of New York/Newark, 6 World Trade Center, New York, NY 10048.

(206) 553-0452 or Bob Abels (202) 927-0001.

Lori Bowers

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Description of Proposed Test

The Concept of Quota Preprocessing

Many apparel importers have identified a need to reduce the processing time for quota entries. These importers state that the total processing time, as measured from carrier arrival to Customs release, for quota merchandise is longer than for non-quota merchandise. Normally, entry summary documentation for both quota and non-quota merchandise may be preliminarily reviewed by Customs before the arrival of the carrier. For quota-class merchandise, however, the importing carrier must have actually arrived within the port limits and either the estimated duties must have been deposited or a valid scheduled statement date must have been received by Customs via the Automated Broker Interface (ABI) before it is deemed that there has been presentation of the entry summary. Because quota priority and status are determined at the time of presentation, the preliminary review does not reduce the processing time for quota entries. This results in increased costs and delays in receipt of quota-class merchandise. To address this issue a multidiscipline work group, including members from the trade, was formed in partnership with the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU). Using process improvement methodology, the Quota Processing Work Group (QWG) developed Quota Preprocessing a new operational procedure regarding the processing of quota-class merchandise-as a solution to the problem.

Quota preprocessing will allow certain quota entries (discussed below) to be filed, reviewed for admissibility, and processed through Customs prior to arrival of the carrier, similar to the methods in which non-quota entries are presently processed. It is believed that such a change in procedures could reduce the processing time for quota entries.

The Quota Preprocessing test is designed to evaluate the effectiveness of this new operating procedure, so that any benefits of processing quota entries prior to carrier arrival can be verified. By prototyping the concept first, Customs can measure the benefits, receive input from the trade, and determine if any future changes are necessary before incorporating Quota Preprocessing into its standard procedures. Should the measurements support the anticipated benefits, action will be initiated to amend certain Customs regulations (see below) so that Quota Preprocessing can be incorporated into the design of Customs future computer system, ACE (Automated Commercial Environment).

The ports of New York/Newark (4701, 4601, 1001) and Los Angeles (2704, 2720) are the test locations for Quota Preprocessing. By prototyping the process first at these ports, Customs can assess whether or not Quota Preprocessing can achieve its stated objectives prior to expanding the process nationally.