CBP to Focus on Enforcement for Type 86 Entries Going Forward, Official Says

CBP has started to shift its enforcement focus to Type 86 entries as use of the relatively new entry type for de minimis shipments grows and the agency sees a "large percentage of violations" related to use of the entry type, CBP's James Moore said during an April 5 webinar hosted by the agency.

Alongside an explosion in Type 86 entries, CBP has seen "a lot of violations," including misclassification, undervaluation and mismanifesting. "We've encountered silencers, IPR, pharmaceuticals, encountered a lot of agricultural violations," Moore said. "This is very concerning for us and we really want to make sure that we're highlighting that [there are] some expectations here with Entry Type 86," Moore said.

Since use of the entry type began in September 2019 (see 1908120019), there has been growth to the point that it accounts for a substantial proportion of import filings, said Christine Hogue, CBP's e-commerce branch chief. De minimis shipments accounted for about 85% of total import transactions in 2022, and Type 86 entries made up 43% of all de minimis shipments, Hogue said.

Corresponding to that the large number of Type 86 entries, "there's also a large percentage of violations in this realm," Moore said. "And we're seeing a lot of violations and a number of different categories, not just some of our most high-risk items."

The violations point to a long-standing problem CBP has had with data quality for de minimis shipments, which the agency hopes to address with an upcoming proposed rule that will pull lessons from both the Type 86 pilot and a concurrent pilot on Section 321 data, Moore said.

The proposed rule will, among other things, "address trade liability" for data on de minimis shipments, Moore said. Some provisions will have a reasonable care standard, while others will have a "reasonable reliance" standard, "depending on the data elements," he said. The Entry Type 86 pilot will continue until the proposed rule is finalized and implemented, "and then once we publish" the final regulations, "the Entry Type 86 test goes away," Moore said.