U.S. Customs sets mid-July startup for advance rail manifests filing
Railroads must begin in July the electronic transmission of cargo information to U.S. Customs and Border Protection two hours prior to arrival at selected border crossings, for security screening, under an implementation schedule the agency announced Monday.
Customs issued final rules in December requiring freight carriers to pre-file manifest information at different intervals depending on the mode of transportation. Customs computers will analyze the data for anomalies to detect potential smuggling by terrorists.
Customs said it will accept rail carrier shipping data through the Rail Automated Manifest System at 31 ports of entry, starting with the first 24 crossing stations on July 12. The phased implementation will include four more ports in Maine effective Aug. 10 and the final three ports — Tecate and Otay Mesa, Calif.; and Presidio, Texas, near Laredo — on Sept. 9.
Customs announced a similar staggered phase-in of its advance manifest rule for air carriers several weeks ago, with compliance dates varying by geographic region where Customs systems were in place.
For a complete list of the rail compliance schedule, go to: http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2004/pdf/04-8199.pdf.