Extension of General Program Test; Quota Preprocessing

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Customs Service

Extension of General Program Test; Quota Preprocessing

AGENCY: Customs Service, Treasury.

ACTION: General notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces that the testing period for the quota

preprocessing program, which allows for the electronic processing of

quota-class apparel merchandise, is being extended through the year

2000. The test is being extended and not expanded at this time because

of programming changes that will be made to the Automated Commercial

System. When the programming changes which are scheduled to begin on

March of 2000 have been completed, Customs will expand the program to

all ports. Public comments concerning any aspect of the test are

solicited.

DATES: The test is extended from January 1, 2000, until December 31,

2000, with evaluations of the test occurring periodically. Applications

to participate in the test and comments concerning the test will

continue to be accepted throughout the testing period.

ADDRESSES: Written comments regarding this notice or any aspect of this

test should be addressed to Lori Bowers, U.S. Customs Service, QWG Team

Leader, 1000 Second Ave., Suite 2100, Seattle, WA 98104-1020 or may be

sent via e-mail to Lori.B[email protected]. Applications should

be sent to the prototype coordinator at any of the four following

port(s) where the applicant wishes to submit quota entries for

preprocessing:

(1) Julian Velasquez, Port of Los Angeles, 300 S. Ferry St.,

Terminal Island, CA 90731;

(2) Tony Piscitelli, Los Angeles International Airport, 11099 S. La

Cienaga Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90045;

(3) Barry Goldberg, JFK Airport, JFK Building 77, Jamaica, NY

11430; and

(4) John Lava, Ports of New York/Newark, 6 World Trade Center, New

York, NY10048.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lori Bowers (206) 553-0452 or Cynthia

Porter (202) 927-5399.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July 24, 1998, Customs published a

general notice in the Federal Register (63 FR 39929) announcing the

limited testing, pursuant to the provisions of Sec. 101.9(a) of the

Customs Regulations (19 CFR 101.9(a)), of a new operational procedure

regarding the electronic processing of quota-class apparel merchandise.

The new procedure was designed to allow certain quota entries

(merchandise classifiable in chapters 61 and 62 of the Harmonized

Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS)) to be processed prior to

carrier arrival, thus, reducing the quota processing time. The test was

to be conducted at only four ports located in New York/Newark and Los

Angeles and was to commence no earlier than August 24, 1998, and run

for approximately six months. The notice informed the public of the new

procedure and eligibility requirements for participation in the test,

and solicited comments concerning any aspect of the test. The initial

testing of the quota preprocessing program did not begin until

September 15, 1998. The six-month time period of the original test

expired on March 14, 1999.

On March 25, 1999, Customs published a general notice in the

Federal Register (64 FR 14499) announcing that the testing period for

the quota preprocessing program was being extended through the

remainder of 1999. The testing was extended so that Customs could

further evaluate the program's effectiveness and determine whether the

program should be extended to other ports. Again, the notice informed

the public of the eligibility requirements for participation in the

test, and solicited comments concerning any aspect of the test. The

testing of the program is currently scheduled to expire on December 31,

1999.

In the future, Customs will be expanding the quota preprocessing

program to all ports. However,

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programming changes have to be made to the Automated Commercial System

(ACS) which would have an impact on the expansion. These ACS

programming changes are scheduled to begin in March of 2000.

This document announces that Customs is extending the test of the

quota preprocessing prototype at the ports where testing is already

underway until the end of 2000. Those ports are: the port of Los

Angeles; the port of New York/Newark; JFK Airport; and Los Angeles

International Airport. Anyone interested in participating in the test

should refer to the test notice published in the July 24, 1998 Federal

Register for eligibility and application information. Any expansion of

the parameters of the test will be the subject of a future Federal

Register notice.

Dated: January 3, 2000.

Elizabeth G. Durant,

Acting Assistant Commissioner, Office of Field Operation.

[FR Doc. 00-266 Filed 1-5-00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4820-02-P