CBP ACE Messaging Service

CAMS #48388292 - Bonds Securing Customs Activities for Suspended or Debarred Persons

Effective May 11, 2021 pursuant to the authority granted by 19 U.S.C. § 1623 and 19 C.F.R. § 113.2, the Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has revoked the authority of all CBP officials to permit a person who is suspended or debarred by CBP to meet the bond requirements of any customs activity using a continuous bond, for the duration of that person’s suspension or debarment, unless a continuous bond is the only form of bond acceptable for that activity, such as operating a foreign trade zone. For persons who are suspended or debarred by another Federal agency, the Office of Trade, Trade Policy and Programs, is authorized to evaluate and decide, either categorically or on a case-by-case basis, whether to permit such persons who are suspended or debarred by another Federal agency to use a continuous bond to secure their customs activities during the period of their suspension or debarment. 

On May 21, 2021, Office of Trade, Trade Policy and Programs, issued a memorandum titled ‘INFORMATION: Revocation of Authority to Permit Use of Continuous Bonds by Suspended or Debarred Persons’ which details how CBP will operationalize this new bond policy. The memo contained the following attachments:

• Signed Memo from the Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Commissioner of CBP regarding the Revocation of Authority to Permit Use of Continuous Bonds by Suspended or Debarred Persons, and
• Finding CBP Exclusions in SAM PDF.

All documents have been posted to ACE Central under Memos & Guidance.

This new policy will be included in the next version (version 10.75) of the Automated Commercial Environment Entry Summary Business Process Document posted on ACE Central under Publications. 

Trade was notified of the new bond policy in CSMS message #47894086 issued May 21, 2021, which included the ‘Finding CBP Exclusions in SAM’ PDF as an attachment.

A link to the CSMS message, a copy of the ‘Finding CBP Exclusions in SAM’ PDF, and Frequently Asked Questions have been posted to the Bond section of CBP.gov.

The Offices of Field Operations, Trade, Finance, and Information & Technology will coordinate to the extent necessary to ensure this policy is carried out effectively.

Questions related to this new policy should be directed to Office of Trade, Trade Policy and Programs, Bond Policy at otbonds@cbp.dhs.gov.