Maersk Customs Services - North America

This message serves to notify you that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently announced the transition of “eCERT” to “eCERT 2.0” will be operational starting September 25, 2022. At that time, “eCERT 2.0” will become the only allowed method to participate in the “eCERT process.”

Background

The “eCERT” tool is a CBP government-to-government system designed to facilitate the administration of quotas by helping CBP verify that the information provided by participating foreign countries aligns with the information provided by importers/customs brokers at entry. This change pertains to export certificates from foreign parties for certain beef entries from Australia, Uruguay, New Zealand, and Argentina, and for the transmission of certificates of eligibility for certain textile and apparel goods from Mexico.

“eCERT 2.0” adds a significant new requirement: the company requesting the certificate from the foreign exporting country must provide the IOR number of the importer. The IOR number will be included by the participating country as part of the “eCERT” transmission to CBP. For more information, see this CBP Notice and the following FAQs.

What happens if the IOR number is not provided to the participating country?

If the export country-provided certificate does not include an IOR, the export certificate will be rejected for the “eCERT” program.

What should an importer do?

To participate in “eCERT 2.0” it is recommended that importers provide the participating country with their Importer of Record (IOR) number in advance of filing an entry. The participating country will then submit the IOR number as part of the “eCERT” transmission to CBP. The participating country will submit the IOR number as an additional data element of information within the single transmission message to “eCERT 2.0.”

Does anything change in the filing of the entry?

The entry filing process remains the same for these entries. It will be the process for obtaining the certificate that will change as the IOR number is now required.

What should a customs broker do?

A customs broker should immediately inform importer clients who import products subject to quota from participating “eCERT” countries and impress upon them the consequences of failing to provide the IOR to the foreign party. The importer must take the necessary steps to ensure their IOR number is included in the “eCERT” transmission by the foreign country.

What about shipments already in transit? Will they be impacted?

The go-live date for “eCERT 2.0” is Sept. 24. Certificates sent to “eCert” system before that date will still be honored through the end of the calendar year.

Questions?

For any questions regarding these upcoming changes please contact the Maersk Customs Services Trade Compliance team in North America compliance.mcsi.nam@maersk.com.