ACCA: CUSTOMS FAILS TO COLLECT $1 BILLION IN DUTIES FROM USPS
An Air Courier Conference of America study estimates that U.S. Customs fails to collect $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion in duties and fees a year from the U.S. Postal Service.
As part of the study, 90 dutiable packages were shipped through UPS and FedEx, and another set of 90 packages were sent via express mail service through foreign postal administrations with transfer to either USPS or contracted express carriers. The shipments, which were made Aug. 4-16, included items such as ball bearings, CDs, electronics and sweaters, said Joe Morris, executive director of the ACCA.
The study also claimed that Customs properly inspects and collects duties on about 6 percent of shipments handled by the USPS.
“When Customs claims in its mission statement that ‘we enforce the laws of the United States’ and ‘safeguard the revenue,’ it neglected to mention that it does not do this for Postal Service shipments,” the study said.
ACCA also pointed out that its members pay for on-site Customs inspectors, while USPS does not.
Customs says it’s aware that there are differences in its authority and capability at the USPS facilities vs. the express carrier operations.
“The solution to this problem is to raise the standards required of the Postal Service, not to lower those placed on the express consignment industry,” Customs said in a statement after the ACCA press conference in Washington Tuesday.
Customs says the USPS’s lack of automation and advanced manifests for international packages makes it difficult for the agency to target specific shipments.
“Express consignment operators have sophisticated automated systems and file advanced manifest information. This allows Customs to target specific shipments for enforcement reviews or to collect duties,” Customs said.