WASHINGTON, (April 25, 2005) — In one week, truckers clearing U.S. Customs with Border Release Advance Screening and Selectivity (BRASS) must have FAST driver I.D. cards with them when crossing the border.

The Trade Act of 2002 regulations mean that BRASS — formerly known as “line release” — can no longer be the system used by non-FAST truckers after May 1, 2005.

Enforcement was originally set to begin on Jan. 31, 2005, but the trucking industry lobbied for an extension because of delays in processing FAST applications and the difficulty for many drivers in meeting their face-to-face interview appointments with Customs officials.

Although the deadline is approaching quickly, U.S. Customs and Border Protection says that many drivers hauling BRASS-barcoded freight are still not-FAST approved and applications currently being processed will not be approved in time to meet the May 1 deadline.

While a majority of Canada’s 90,000 cross-border truckers have applied for the FAST card, the Ontario Trucking Association estimates only about 30 percent of those drivers have completed the entire process.

Customs brokers Livingston International says that non-FAST drivers with BRASS freight will now be directed by CBP to either return the shipment to Canada for processing through the alternate “Pre-Arrival Processing System” (PAPS) or be issued a Notice of Non-compliance, and directed to a broker’s office to have the shipment handled through PAPS. In both situations, PAPS pre-notification timeframe and requirements will apply.

Those rules require non-FAST carriers to submit PAPS data at least an hour before arrival at the border crossing. FAST-approved shipments are allowed more flexibility and carriers must pre-notify CBP of the load no later than 30 minutes before the driver arrives.

Also, there have been several reports by Today’s Trucking detailing how some carriers were arbitrarily getting slapped with fines between $5,000 and $10,000 for not properly filing paperwork or advancing it to U.S. Customs within the acceptable timeframe — even if fault for those errors rests with shippers or brokers.

A subsequent survey conducted by the OTA backed up reports by Today’s Trucking that most of the problems were due to shipper miscommunication with carriers over the submission of advanced cargo info; shippers and brokers forwarding info to the wrong U.S. port of entry; and issues with brokers not being able to forward information to CBP in time because of as broken fax machines or inability to handle the volume of entries.

The survey also showed that a number of carriers were not fully aware of the rules, or were unsure of their responsibilities under the regulation.

Recently, the OTA was able to convince CBP to ease its targeting of carriers U.S. Customs has agreed to absolve carriers that receive fines for non-compliance if the carrier can prove that they have successfully submitted the required shipment information to their U.S. Customhouse brokers in time.