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AEI’s Consulting Unit Launches Three-Step Program for Customs Compliance

Many Importers Still Unaware of “New” Regulations and Penalties, Executive Says

DARIEN, CT USA (March 18, 1999) -- AEI Trade Solutions, the consulting services division of AEI, announced today the launch of a comprehensive, program to ensure U.S. corporations are in compliance with import and export regulations mandated by the landmark Customs Modernization Act of 1993.

The 1993 Act made far-reaching changes to Customs law by shifting to the importer the primary responsibility for filing accurate import documentation. It also introduced new tenets of  “reasonable care,” “shared responsibility” and “informed compliance.” Under the latter, Customs realized that it carried an obligation to help inform and educate the importing trade as to these important changes. What wasn’t known was just how long this educational period would last before Customs would begin transitioning to an “enforced compliance” mode.

“We now know that period was apparently five years,” said Jerry Peck, director of AEI Trade Solutions and a licensed customs brokerage with 18 years experience. “We are becoming inundated with calls from companies that are referring to Customs matters and compliance as if it is the first that they have ever heard of it. It probably is and this continued ignorance is not being tolerated by Customs.”

“We developed our program out of concern that importers large and small may continue to be unaware of their new responsibilities under the law,” continued Peck. “We have designed a unique program to provide the maximum level of assistance to our customers as well as to other importers and exporters.”

To help businesses cope with the changes, AEI Trade Solutions has created the following strategy:

• Due to our customer’s concern over the confidentiality of sensitive work products as a result of the Customs Compliance Assessment, AEI Trade Solutions has retained Barnes, Richardson & Colburn, one of the most respected attorneys in the United States specializing in customs and international trade issues. The firm is brought in at the start of the process to offer the customer full legal protection under the attorney-client privilege.

• A team of AEI’s import service professionals will conduct a formal assessment of a company’s import policies, procedures, systems and human resource issues. The assessments will identify potential problem areas, suggest possible remedies and identify business opportunities available to importers under the 1993 Act. Each assessment is completed in less than 90 days and is prepared using leading edge technology that eliminates the need for a costly on-site consultant.

• Last year, AEI Trade Solutions conducted a series of full-day seminars throughout North America to educate importers on their compliance responsibilities and to develop programs to meet their compliance obligations. These popular seminars have been extended into 1999, and have been expanded to cover the Basics of Importing, Export Compliance, and Classification & Valuation.