CBP Notice on Truck User Fee Proof of Payment Problems for January 2006 (Enforcement Discretion Through January)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted a notice to its Web site regarding calendar year 2006, and the use of "user fee" transponders to replace the user fee decals for commercial vehicles arriving at land border ports of entry.
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Like the user fee decal it replaces, CBP states that the transponder is paid for and renewable each calendar year, and is an alternative to paying a per-crossing fee each time the vehicle enters the U.S.
(According to CBP, the transponder is the same one that is used to identify trucks used by carriers participating in the Free and Secure Trade (FAST) program, and allows for the automated validation of user fees with technology available at the larger land border ports.)
Due to several factors, including slower than anticipated processing of user fee applications, delayed delivery of transponders and problems that have occurred in the development of CBP automated systems, CBP states that the renewal and payment process will not be fully ready for implementation on January 1, 2006.
Instead, the Office of Field Operations will be implementing enforcement discretion procedures from January 1, 2006 - January 31, 2006, using the following procedures:
- Vehicles that possess a transponder issued by CBP and installed on their windshield (usually on the lower corner, driver's side) will be assumed to have paid their 2006 annual user fee.
- Purchasers will receive a receipt that identifies every conveyance for which the annual user fee has been paid. Purchasers have been instructed to make this copy available for inspection by a CBP Officer upon arrival in the United States. CBP Officers should ask for this proof of payment when they are unsure if the fee has been paid.
- Other evidence of payment may be accepted such as certified screen prints or and any other evidence that the carrier has accessed the system to pay their 2006 annual user fee.
- If the carrier is unable to produce any of the above or if the driver of the conveyance is unaware of the payment of the fee, the single crossing user fee should be charged according to port procedures
Sufficient transponders should be issued and the appropriate technology to validate the user fees should be available no later than February 1, 2006. Carriers should continue to carry proof of payment as a backup for the rest of 2006.
(Note that in October 2005, CBP issued a notice stating that beginning October 3, 2005, RFID tags, also known as transponders, would replace the paper user fee decals previously issued by CBP for commercial vehicles. (See ITT's Online Archives or 10/05/05 news, 05100510 for BP summary.)
CBP notice (dated 12/23/05) available at
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/pleasure_boats/user_fee/truck_user.xml