Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Securing Accountability in Foreign Entries Act”.
Securing Accountability in Foreign Entries Act
A BILL
To amend the Tariff Act of 1930 to impose additional requirements with respect to importers of record, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Requirement that importer of record be located in the United States
by inserting “(i)” before “When an entry”; and
by striking the third sentence and inserting the following:
“(ii) For the purposes of this Act, the importer of record is required to be—
“(I) a party that—
“(aa) is eligible under clause (i) to file the documentation or information required by this section; and
“(bb) participates in the filing of that documentation or information; and
“(II)
“(aa) in the case of an individual, a United States citizen or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence to the United States; or
“(bb) in the case of an entity, is an entity described in clause (iii).
“(iii) An entity described in this clause is an entity—
“(I) with—
“(aa) a physical location in the United States; and
“(bb) at least 1 owner or full-time employee who is a United States citizen or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence to the United States;
“(II) that is organized under the laws of Canada, Australia, or a covered country; or
“(III) that is an affiliate of a United States entity that—
“(aa) has been in continuous operation for not less than 3 years;
“(bb) maintains not fewer than 1,500 full-time employees in the United States;
“(cc) has annual gross receipts or assets in the United States of not less than $1,000,000; and
“(dd) has filed a certification with U.S. Customs and Border Protection designating the affiliate as its agent for service of process and agreeing to joint and several liability for all duties, taxes, fees, and penalties owed by the affiliate when acting as importer of record.
“(iv)
“(I) Except as provided in subclause (II), an individual may not serve as the importer of record for more than one entity.
“(II) The limitation under subclause (I) does not apply to a customs broker designated as an importer of record by an express consignment operator or carrier under section 4(d) of the Securing Accountability in Foreign Entries Act.
“(v) A foreign entity that is not described in clause (ii)(II)(bb), and has a United States subsidiary that is described in that clause, is required to have the United States subsidiary or another entity described in that clause serve as the importer of record.
“(vi) In this subparagraph:
“(I) The term affiliate, with respect to an entity, means the entity controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with another entity.
“(II) The term control, with respect to an entity, means ownership of more than 50 percent of the voting securities or equivalent interests in the entity.
“(III) The term covered country means a country the government of which the United States Trade Representative, in consultation with the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, determines—
“(aa) imposes requirements on persons serving as importers of record under the laws of that country that are substantially equivalent to the requirements imposed on importers of record under this subparagraph; and
“(bb) permits persons qualifying as importers of record under this subparagraph and customs brokers (as defined in section 641(a)) to act as importers of record in that country on terms equal to the terms applicable to importers of record under the laws of that country.
“(IV) The term full-time employee, with respect to an individual, means—
“(aa) the written statement required under section 6051 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 for the individual indicates that the individual's employment status is full time; and
“(bb) the individual is not employed by more than one entity that is an importer of record.
“(V) The term physical location—
“(aa) means a location, with a street address, where the importer conducts substantive business operations, including maintaining the presence of employees; and
“(bb) does not include—
“(AA) a shared office space, unless the importer permanently occupies the office;
“(BB) an address associated with a registered agent, other agent, customs broker, or freight forwarder, or mailbox services; or
“(CC) an address that exists solely for the purpose of collecting mail or establishing a virtual business address.”
Regulations— Not later than 360 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, in consultation with the heads of relevant Federal agencies, shall prescribe regulations specifying—
measures and processes for verifying that importers of record meet the requirements of clause (ii) of section 484(a)(2)(B) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as added by subsection (a);
how U.S. Customs and Border Protection will verify that importers of record meet those requirements using investigative tools of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and without relying on customs brokers or sureties; and
penalties for omissions or false statements with respect to meeting those requirements.
Applicability— The amendments made by subsection (a) apply with respect to importers of record on and after the date that is one year after the date of the enactment of this Act.
Sec. 3 Responsibility of importer of record for payment of duties
in subparagraph (B), by redesignating clauses (i), (ii), and (iii) as subclauses (I), (II), and (III), respectively, and by moving such subclauses, as so redesignated, 2 ems to the right;
by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively, and by moving such clauses, as so redesignated, 2 ems to the right;
by striking “paragraph (2)(B), either” and inserting the following: “paragraph (2)(B)—
“(A) either”
in subparagraph (A), as designated by paragraph (3)—
in clause (i), as redesignated by paragraph (2), by striking the semicolon and inserting “; and”; and
in clause (ii)(III), as so redesignated, by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(B) shall, in accordance with paragraphs (3) and (4), pay directly to U.S. Customs and Border Protection all duties, taxes, and fees assessed with respect to the entry of the merchandise.”
Requirements for payment— Section 484(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1484(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(3) An importer of record shall pay duties, taxes, and fees assessed with respect to the entry of merchandise—
“(A) in the form of an electronic transfer of funds from a depository institution (as defined in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813)) chartered or authorized to do business in the United States; and
“(B) from a deposit account that—
“(i) is held—
“(I) if the importer of record is an individual, in the legal name of the importer of record; or
“(II) if the importer of record is an entity, in the legal name of—
“(aa) the importer of record; or
“(bb) an entity organized under the laws of the United States or a jurisdiction within the United States that U.S. Customs and Border Protection verifies, pursuant to regulations prescribed by the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, is wholly or majority-owned by the importer of record; and
“(ii) has been verified by the depository institution under an anti-money-laundering customer identification program consistent with section 1020.220 of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation) and applicable rules of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
“(4) An importer of record shall provide to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, before the first entry of merchandise for which the importer of record pays duties, taxes, and fees from an account—
“(A) the account number and routing number for the account;
“(B) the name of the depository institution where the account is held; and
“(C) an attestation from the depository institution certifying that—
“(i) the account is held in the legal name of the importer of record or an entity described in paragraph (3)(B)(i)(II)(bb); and
“(ii) the depository institution has verified the identity of the account holder under a customer identification program described in paragraph (3)(B)(ii).
“(5) A depository institution that holds an account from which an importer of record intends to pay duties, taxes, and fees with respect to an entry of merchandise shall, upon the request of the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, provide to the Commissioner a confirmation that the depository institution has verified the identity of the account holder under a customer identification program described in paragraph (3)(B)(ii).
“(6) U.S. Customs and Border Protection may not accept payment of duties, taxes, and fees assessed with respect to an entry of merchandise—
“(A) from any person other than the importer of record, a surety of the importer of record, or a customs broker (as defined in section 641(a));
“(B) in any form other than that required by paragraph (3)(A); or
“(C) from an account that does not meet the requirements under paragraph (3)(B).”
Applicability— The amendments made by subsection (a) apply with respect to articles entered on and after the date that is one year after the date of the enactment of this Act.
Sec. 4 Increase in bonding requirement for importers of record
In general— Except as provided by subsections (c) and (d), the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall require each importer of record that elects to use a continuous import bond under section 113.62 of title 19, Code of Federal Regulations—
to maintain, in the name of the importer, a continuous import bond of not less than $100,000; and
to use that bond for purposes of entry of merchandise by the importer.
Implementation— The dollar amount required under subsection (a)(1) for a bond shall apply with respect to—
each new continuous import bond issued on or after the date that is 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act;
each continuous import bond renewed on or after the date that is 360 days after the date of the enactment of this Act; and
any importer of record that holds, on or after the date that is 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, a continuous import bond in an amount the Commissioner determines is insufficient to adequately protect the revenue and ensure compliance with applicable law and regulations.
Role of customs brokers— Under the regulations prescribed under subsection (a), a customs broker may prepare and file entry documentation, but may not use a bond held by the customs broker for purposes of entry of merchandise unless the customs broker is acting as the importer of record.
Treatment of express consignment operators and carriers—
In general— Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, an express consignment operator or carrier that meets the requirements of paragraph (2) may—
designate a customs broker licensed under section 641 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1641) to serve as the importer of record with respect to merchandise; and
use the broker's bond for purposes of entry of that merchandise.
Requirements— An express consignment operator or carrier meets the requirements of this paragraph if the operator or carrier—
is organized under the laws of the United States;
maintains a significant physical operating presence in the United States, including substantial infrastructure for cargo handling, sorting, and customs clearance operations;
employs not fewer than 300,000 persons in the United States; and
designates under paragraph (1) only customs brokers that are wholly owned by the operator or carrier.
Regulations— The Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection may prescribe regulations to implement this subsection, including regulations specifying—
procedures for express consignment operators or carriers to demonstrate compliance with the requirements of paragraph (2);
the form and manner in which an express consignment operator or carrier is required to designate a customs broker under paragraph (1); and
such other measures as the Commissioner determines necessary to ensure accountability and prevent abuse of the authority provided under this subsection.
Express consignment operator or carrier defined— The term express consignment operator or carrier has the meaning given that term in section 128.1 of title 19, Code of Federal Regulations.