Commercial Truck Single-Crossing User Fee Automation and Prepayment Pilot |
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R. Gil Kerlikowske
Department of Homeland Security
3 May 2016
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 85 (Tuesday, May 3, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26573-26575]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-10348]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Commercial Truck Single-Crossing User Fee Automation and
Prepayment Pilot
AGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection; Department of Homeland
Security.
ACTION: General notice.
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SUMMARY: This document announces that U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) intends to conduct a pilot test program pursuant to
its authority under 19 CFR 101.9(a) to allow a new payment option for
commercial truck single-crossing user fees. The CBP regulations specify
the applicable user fee for commercial trucks upon arrival into the
United States and the methods of payment, which include payment on an
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annual basis or on a per crossing basis. Although commercial truck
carriers can electronically prepay the user fees on an annual basis,
carriers who opt for the single-crossing user fee must pay the fee upon
arrival at a U.S. port of entry. This pilot will enable the owner,
agent, or person in charge of a commercial truck to prepay the single-
crossing user fee online prior to arrival at a port of entry. This
notice describes the pilot, its purpose, how it will be implemented,
the duration of the pilot, and invites public comment on any aspect of
the pilot. This pilot will not affect the annual commercial truck user
fee payment option.
DATES: The pilot will begin at the Buffalo, Detroit and El Paso ports
of entry starting on June 2, 2016. If it is determined that the pilot
is working successfully at these initial ports, the pilot would be
expanded to all U.S. land border ports of entry that process commercial
trucks. The exact date of the expansion to all U.S. land border ports
of entry would be announced on the CBP Web site, http://www.cbp.gov.
The pilot will run for approximately one year. Comments concerning this
notice and all aspects of the pilot may be submitted at any time during
the pilot period.
ADDRESSES: Written comments concerning any aspect of the pilot should
be submitted to James Pattan, Program Manager, Office of Field
Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, via email at
James.Pattan@dhs.gov. In the subject line of your email, please
indicate ``Comment on Commercial Truck Single-Crossing User Fee
Pilot''.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James Pattan, Program Manager, Office
of Field Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, by telephone
at (202) 344-2293 or by email at James.Pattan@dhs.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Commercial Truck User Fees
CBP collects user fees to pay for the costs incurred in providing
customs services. These user fees offset inspection costs that were
previously funded solely by general taxpayer revenue. Pursuant to the
Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA), Sec.
13031, Public Law 99-272, 110 Stat. 82 (1986), codified at 19 U.S.C.
58c, CBP shall charge and collect certain processing fees for air and
sea passengers, commercial trucks, rail cars, private vessels, dutiable
mail packages, and Customs broker permits.
Sections 24.22(b)-(e) and (g) of the CBP implementing regulations
(19 CFR 24.22(b)-(e) and (g)) provide that, under certain
circumstances, user fees must be paid upon arrival into the United
States of certain commercial vessels, barges, and other bulk carriers
from Canada or Mexico; commercial trucks; railroad cars; certain
private vessels or private aircraft; and passengers aboard commercial
vessels and commercial aircraft.
Section 24.22(c) sets forth the regulations pertaining to the user
fees for commercial trucks upon arrival into the United States. The
total commercial truck user fee consists of an Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service/Agricultural Quarantine Inspection (APHIS/AQI) fee
collected on behalf of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and a CBP
fee.\1\ CBP collects the APHIS/AQI user fee and the CBP user fee
together as one commercial truck user fee.
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\1\ The APHIS/AQI fee collected on behalf of the U.S. Department
of Agriculture is authorized by 21 U.S.C. 136a. The APHIS/AQI fee
amount is set forth in Section 354.3 of title 7 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (7 CFR 354.3).
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Current Payment Options
Section 24.22(c) provides commercial truck carriers with two
alternatives to pay the required user fee. The commercial truck carrier
may either prepay the fee for all arrivals of that truck during a
calendar year (annual commercial truck user fee) \2\ or pay a per
crossing fee each time the truck enters the United States (single-
crossing user fee).
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\2\ For user fee collection purposes, a ``transponder'' is a
plastic card which contains a chip that electronically transmits
confirmation that applicable user fees for commercial trucks have
been paid for the calendar year.
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The owner, agent, or person in charge of the commercial truck can
prepay the annual commercial truck user fee online through the Internet
portal, ``Decal and Transponder Online Procurement System (DTOPS)'',\3\
or by mail.\4\ After the annual user fee is paid, a transponder is
issued, which is affixed to the vehicle's windshield to reflect the
prepayment.
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\3\ The DTOPS portal allows CBP to process user fee prepayment
requests and accept electronic payments.
\4\ CBP Form 339C (Annual User Fee Decal Request--Commercial
Vehicle).
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Carriers that have not prepaid the annual commercial truck user fee
are required to pay a per crossing fee each time the truck enters the
United States. The user fee is collected when the truck arrives at the
U.S. port of entry. The driver or other person in charge of the
commercial truck is required to pay the user fee during primary
processing or during referral to the administrative office.\5\ Payment
may be by cash or credit card.
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\5\ The method of payment for the commercial truck single-
crossing user fee is currently dependent on the logistics of the
particular U.S. port of entry.
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Commercial Truck Single-Crossing User Fee Automation and Prepayment
Pilot
Purpose of the Pilot
The purpose of the pilot is to streamline the payment of the
commercial truck single-crossing user fees by introducing a new payment
option. Specifically, CBP is working towards the elimination of cash
and credit card collections of the commercial truck single-crossing
user fee during commercial truck primary processing by automating and
allowing prepayment of the fee.
This will provide benefits to both CBP and to commercial truck
carriers. Cash and credit card collection at the port of entry is a
manual, burdensome, and time-consuming process. The automation and
prepayment option for the single-crossing user fee will reduce wait
times, improve primary processing, save costs to truck carriers
associated with idling time (such as gas and lost driving hours), and
alleviate CBP officers of the administrative functions pertaining to
the collection, accounting and transmittal of user fee collections.
Description and Implementation of the Pilot
Currently, when a commercial truck arrives at a U.S. port of entry
and the annual user fee has not been prepaid, the driver or other
person in charge of the truck pays the single-crossing user fee upon
arrival. This pilot provides an additional payment option that will
allow the owner, agent, or person in charge of a commercial truck to
prepay the single-crossing user fee online via the DTOPS portal prior
to the truck arriving at a U.S. port of entry.\6\ This pilot will allow
the owner, agent, or person in charge of a commercial truck to access
the DTOPS portal via a desktop computer (https://dtops.cbp.dhs.gov/) or
a smartphone app to pay the required single-crossing user fee before
arriving at the U.S. port of entry. After accessing the DTOPS portal,
the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) must be registered and the
required user fee paid by credit card for each truck that will transit
the U.S. border. After payment is accepted, DTOPS will provide an
electronic
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receipt that may be printed. When the commercial truck arrives at
primary processing, the CBP officer will check the Automated Commercial
Environment (ACE) system to ensure that the user fee was prepaid. If
the user fee was not prepaid, the driver or other person in charge of
the truck will be required to pay the fee at the port of entry using
cash or a credit card.
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\6\ The prepayment of the annual commercial truck user fee is
already automated via the DTOPS portal.
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Duration of the Pilot
The pilot will begin at the Buffalo, Detroit and El Paso land ports
of entry starting on June 2, 2016. If it is determined that the pilot
is working successfully at these initial ports, the pilot would be
expanded to all U.S. land border ports of entry that process commercial
trucks. The exact date of the expansion to all U.S. land border ports
of entry would be announced on the CBP Web site, http://www.cbp.gov.
The pilot will run for approximately one year. Any owner, agent, or
person in charge of a commercial truck can participate in the pilot. No
application is needed to participate in the pilot. When sufficient
pilot analysis has been conducted, and the comments analyzed, CBP will
then consider whether to begin rulemaking to add the single-crossing
commercial truck user fee prepayment option to 19 CFR 24.22(c).
Privacy
CBP will ensure that all Privacy Act requirements and applicable
policies are adhered to during the implementation of this pilot.
Paperwork Reduction Act
An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required
to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a valid
control number assigned by OMB. The collections of information in this
notice will be submitted for OMB approval 1651-0052 (User Fees).
Authorization for the Pilot
This pilot adds a payment option for commercial truck single-
crossing user fees in addition to the payment method specified in 19
CFR 24.22(c). It is being conducted in accordance with Sec. 101.9(a)
of the CBP regulations (19 CFR 101.9(a)), which authorizes the
Commissioner to impose requirements different from those specified in
the CBP regulations for the purposes of conducting a test program or
procedure designed to evaluate the effectiveness of new technology or
operational procedures regarding the processing of passengers, vessels,
or merchandise.
Dated: April 28, 2016.
R. Gil Kerlikowske,
Commissioner.
[FR Doc. 2016-10348 Filed 5-2-16; 8:45 am]
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