Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Ensure Accountability in De Minimis Act of 2024”.
Ensure Accountability in De Minimis Act of 2024
A BILL
To amend the Tariff Act of 1930 to increase accountability relating to articles receiving exemptions from duties for de minimis entries and to require regulations on enhanced data collection with respect to such entries, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Limitation on persons authorized to enter articles eligible for de minimis exemption from duties
In general— Section 498 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1498) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(c) Importation under administrative exemption only by certain parties—Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, an article is eligible for an administrative exemption under section 321(a)(2)(C) only if the article is entered—
“(1) as international mail; or
“(2) by—
“(A) the consignee, the owner, or the purchaser of the article; or
“(B) if designated by a person specified in subparagraph (A), a person holding a valid customs broker’s license issued under section 641(b).”
Applicability— The amendments made by subsection (a) shall apply with respect to articles entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after the date that is 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
Sec. 3 Modification to penalties for fraud, gross negligence, and negligence
Directing or facilitating violations— Section 592 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1592) is amended—
in subsection (a)(1)(B)—
by striking “may aid or abet” and inserting the following: “may—
“(i) aid or abet”
by striking the period at the end and inserting “; or”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(ii) direct or facilitate a violation of subparagraph (A).”
in subsection (b)(1)(A)(ii), by striking “or the aiding or procuring of the entry or introduction” and inserting “the aiding or procuring, or the direction or facilitation of the entry or introduction or attempted entry or introduction”.
Recurring negligent or grossly negligent violations relating to de minimis entries— Section 592(c) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1592(c)) is amended—
by redesignating paragraphs (4) through (14) as paragraphs (5) through (15), respectively; and
by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
“(4) Recurring negligent or grossly negligent violations relating to de minimis entries
“(A) In general—A recurring negligent or grossly negligent violation of subsection (a) that relates to entering articles for which an administrative exemption from duties under section 321(a)(2)(C) is sought is punishable by a civil penalty in—
“(i) except as provided by clause (ii), an amount not to exceed the greater of—
“(I) 10 times the aggregate amount of the lawful duties, taxes, and fees of which the United States is or may be deprived; or
“(II) $2,000; and
“(ii) if the recurring violation did not affect the assessment of duties, an amount not to exceed the greater of—
“(I) 200 percent of the aggregate domestic value of the merchandise; or
“(II) $2,000.
“(B) Recurring defined
“(i) In general—In this paragraph, the term recurring, with respect to a violation of subsection (a) by a person that relates to entering articles described in subparagraph (A), means that—
“(I) the violation—
“(aa) is a second or subsequent such violation by that person; and
“(bb) takes place not later than 3 months after the person received a penalty claim under subsection (b)(2) for a prior such violation and for which the person had the opportunity seek remission or mitigation; and
“(II) the person has been found to have repeatedly, over an aggregate period of 3 months or more, committed violations of subsection (a) that relate to entering articles described in subparagraph (A).
“(ii) Effect of intervening compliant entries—For purposes of clause (i), if, between negligent or grossly negligent violations of subsection (a) by a person that relate to entering articles described in subparagraph (A), that person submits entry documentation with respect to a shipment of articles described in subparagraph (A) accurately and in compliance with the law, the submission of such entry documentation shall not prevent the negligent or grossly negligent violations from being considered recurring.”
Definitions of negligent and grossly negligent— Section 592(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1592(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(3) Definitions—In this section:
“(A) Grossly negligent—The term grossly negligent, with respect to a violation of paragraph (1) by a person, means that the person committed the violation with—
“(i) actual knowledge of or wanton disregard for the relevant facts; and
“(ii) indifference or disregard to whether the person was violating paragraph (1).
“(B) Negligent—The term negligent, with respect to a violation of paragraph (1) by a person, means that the person failed to exercise reasonable care and competence—
“(i) to ensure that documents, data, and information provided by the person in connection with the entry of merchandise are complete and accurate; or
“(ii) to perform any material act required by law.”
Technical amendment— Section 592 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1592), as amended by this section, is further amended by striking “the Customs Service” each place it appears and inserting “U.S. Customs and Border Protection”.
Sec. 4 Deadline for information sharing agreements with Federal agencies participating in International Trade Data System
Section 411(d)(4)(A)(ii) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1411(d)(4)(A)(ii)) is amended by striking “enters into” inserting “not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of the Ensure Accountability in De Minimis Act of 2024, enters into”.
Sec. 5 Regulations on enhanced data collection with respect to de minimis entries
Requirement for regulations—
In general— Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and pursuant to subsections (b) and (c), shall prescribe regulations requiring enhanced data collection with respect to articles for which an administrative exemption from duties under section 321(a)(2)(C) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1321(a)(2)(C)) is sought, including obtaining information with respect to the origin of materials used in the production of such articles, in order to ensure that the articles for which the exemption is sought are not articles described in paragraph (2) or articles that are otherwise prohibited from entering the United States.
Articles described— An article is described in this paragraph if the article—
is produced with forced labor (as defined in section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307));
bears a counterfeit mark (within the meaning of section 45 of the Act entitled “An Act to provide for the registration and protection of trademarks used in commerce, to carry out the provisions of certain international conventions, and for other purposes”, approved July 5, 1946 (commonly known as the “Trademark Act of 1946” or the “Lanham Act”) (15 U.S.C. 1127)); or
is a controlled substance (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802)) that is not imported in accordance with applicable law.
Development of regulations— In developing the regulations required by subsection (a), the Secretary shall—
solicit comments from and consult with a broad range of parties that are likely to be affected by the regulations, including importers, exporters, carriers, customs brokers, and freight forwarders, among other interested parties;
ensure the protection of the privacy of proprietary information (within the meaning of section 777(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1677f(b))), except for information shared, through the International Trade Data System established pursuant to section 411(d) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1411(d)), with Federal agencies participating in that system;
to the extent practicable, avoid imposing requirements pursuant to those regulations that are redundant with each other or that are redundant with requirements under other provisions of law; and
include regulations that request the Postmaster General to transmit to the Secretary the information described in subsection (a)(1), to the extent feasible and consistent with international law, with respect to the country of origin of materials used in the production of articles in international mail shipments for which an administrative exemption from duties under section 321(a)(2)(C) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1321(a)(2)(C)) is sought.
Notice of proposed rulemaking and comment period— The Secretary, in consultation with the Commissioner, shall—
publish a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register; and
provide for a period of not less than 60 days for public comment on the proposed rulemaking.
Civil penalty—
In general— The Secretary shall impose a civil penalty on any person that violates the regulations prescribed under subsection (a) of not more than—
$2,000 for the first violation; and
$5,000 for each subsequent violation.
Additional penalties— A penalty imposed under this subsection may be in addition to any other penalty authorized by law.
Sec. 6 Reports
Report on illegally entered articles for which de minimis exemptions sought— Not later than one year after the date on which the regulations required by section 5 are finalized, and annually thereafter, the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report setting forth, for the year preceding submission of the report—
the total number of articles—
with respect to which an administrative exemption from duties under section 321(a)(2)(C) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1321(a)(2)(C)) was sought; and
that were seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at ports of entry for entering the United States illegally;
a description of such articles;
the country of origin of such articles, to the extent feasible; and
the aggregate fair retail value of such articles in the country of shipment.
Government Accountability Office assessment of shortcomings in information sharing—
In general— Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to Congress a report assessing—
shortcomings in information shared through the International Trade Data System established pursuant to section 411(d) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1411(d)) among Federal agencies participating in that system;
implications of those shortcomings with respect to the enforcement of regulations; and
the establishment of memoranda of understanding by the Secretary of the Treasury with Federal agencies participating in the International Trade Data System pursuant to section 411(d)(4)(A)(ii) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended by section 4.
Form— The report required by paragraph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex.
Appropriate congressional committees defined— In this section, the term appropriate congressional committees means—
the Committee on Finance and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and
the Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives.