Announcement of Test Concerning Manifesting and Entry of Residue Found in Instruments of International Traffic (IITs)

Résumé

This document announces U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP's) plan to conduct a test concerning the manifesting and entry of residual cargo found in containers arriving as Instruments of International Traffic (IIT). The document also announces that CBP will begin enforcement of HQ Ruling H026715, dated June 19, 2009, when the test announced in this document begins. In HQ Ruling H026715, CBP held that in order to ensure the safety and security of the transportation of IIT containers and the CBP Officers who may examine or work in close proximity to them, IIT containers with residual cargo should not be manifested as empty consistent with the advance cargo information reporting requirements authorized pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 2071 note. The modified ruling, HQ H026715, requires that residue within containers be "classified, entered, and manifested." CBP recognizes that the trade community believes that the requirement to manifest and enter for residual cargo in accordance with the current regulations would be overly burdensome. As a result, CBP, with input from the trade, has developed a test in order to determine a less burdensome way for the trade to manifest and enter residual