CBP Announces End of SIL Procedure and Modification of PEA Test

August 22, 2007

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published a notice in the Federal Register yesterday announcing the modification of its Post-Entry Amendment (PEA) Processing test.  The test allows the amendment of entry summaries prior to liquidation.  The modifications set forth in this notice take effect on September 20, 2007.  The PEA test has been extended for a one-year period commencing on August 21, 2007.  Furthermore, CBP announced that it will discontinue accepting Supplementary Information Letters (SILs) effective September 20, 2007.

Specifically, the Federal Register notice announces the following changes:

• Effective August 21, 2007, CBP's PEA processing test will be the only procedure in place for post-summary adjustments prior to liquidation.  CBP will continue accepting SILs until September 20, 2007.

• The PEA test is being modified to require the filing of individual amendment letters no later than 20 days prior to the scheduled liquidation date for the subject entry.  Single PEAs submitted untimely will be rejected and returned to the filer.  CBP requires this 20-day period to review all entry summaries covered in a single PEA prior to the scheduled liquidation date, as liquidation of single PEAs is a manual function and past performance has demonstrated that more time is required to process these amendment requests effectively.

• The PEA test procedure allows importers to amend entry summaries (not informal entries) prior to liquidation by filing either an individual amendment letter upon discovery of certain kinds of errors or a quarterly tracking report covering certain other errors that occurred during the quarter.

• In those instances where individual PEAs are timely filed, however, the entry summaries are not unset or processed by the scheduled liquidation date and liquidation occurs without benefit of the requested amendment, such PEAs will be treated as protests under 19 USC 1514 or, if appropriate in the circumstances, as evidence warranting reliquidation under 19 USC 1501.