Creating Your Import Compliance Procedures

In March, we discussed the importance of having import compliance procedures and promised that we would discuss creating and customizing these procedures in April. In order to obtain all of the benefits having import compliance procedures offer, it’s important to create procedures that will be supported by executive management and useful for employees. So, how do we get started?

We’ve provided the following suggestions to help you develop your import policies and procedures:

• Obtain support of executive management.



• Identify CBP-related laws and regulations, import activities, organization and products that may require procedures.



• Draft an outline or table of contents of procedure topics.



• Collect and review any existing procedures, making notes for necessary changes.



• Collect information that will help you draft the policy or procedure.



• Select a format.



• Create drafts of procedures.



• Review the drafts and allow functional areas affected by the procedures to review and provide feedback.



• Review feedback and make changes.



• Prepare final document.



• Obtain final approval.



• Assemble the manual and make copies and/or upload procedures for employee access when using electronic media.



• Implement and communicate new procedures.



• Provide training when necessary.



• Schedule review and update.

Now that you have determined the need for the procedures and have possibly taken the first few steps to creating your own procedure manual, how are the procedures written? When writing standard operating procedures, there are a number of different ways to organize and format them. Many people fear the task of writing procedures because they do not like to write, or may not feel that their writing skills are sufficient. Generic templates can make the task more manageable because the basic information has already been created. All you have to provide is the information that pertains to your company. Your goal is to create a document that is factually and legally accurate, useful, and easy for the reader to understand. Let's look at some suggestions that may help you when writing policies and procedures.

Policies should be clear, concise, simple, understandable, factual, and logical.

You should also consider the following tips:

• Avoid using information that may be quickly outdated, such as names of employees.



• Spell out acronyms the first time they are used.



• Include step-by-step instructions for completing forms.



• Use graphs, charts, drawings, and illustrations as required.



• Be consistent with use of headings, bold, underline etc.



• Divide into sections that contain materials related to one topic or process.



• Use action verbs to begin sentences and lists when possible.



• Simplify and summarize difficult information.

Click HERE to view a generic sample of a General Order procedure.

When supported by management, your organization’s import compliance procedures can serve as an example for an overall corporate commitment to compliance. If well written, properly used and reviewed regularly, your company should experience higher levels of quality and increased employee and customer satisfaction.

Why Do Importers Need Import Compliance Procedures?

Creating import compliance procedures is a tremendous task for an organization, but it is a necessary process for importers, brokers and others with international trade compliance responsibilities. A well-written policy and procedure manual will help your organization fulfill its responsibility for compliance with CBP requirements and provide other benefits. An effective import compliance program includes written policies and procedures that promote the organization’s commitment to compliance.

Why would an importer want to invest time and money to prepare a procedures manual? A customs policy and procedure manual can help your organization:

· Demonstrate Reasonable Care and Compliance
As part of a Focused Assessment, CBP evaluates the importer’s internal controls and requests copies of procedures and evidence that the procedures are followed. Written procedures show CBP that your organization is serious about compliance.

· Provide Training and Decrease the Learning Curve
Procedures can be the roadmap that employees use to learn about importing and how import-related activities are performed. When procedures are written so that they explain the purpose and then provide step-by-step instructions on how to carry out the subject of the procedure, an employee will be able to know exactly what to do in such areas as documentation, recordkeeping, penalties, and other situations by reading the procedure.

· Save Time and Money
Written procedures can be used as guides to bring new employees up to speed faster and answer repetitive questions that are asked by any employee, including those in other departments. Electronic manuals allow for easy access by users. The use of electronic manuals also saves time in updating, printing, copying, and distributing bulky paper copies.

· Improve Efficiency
Creating procedures provides the company with an opportunity to review import-related processes in various functional areas of an organization. When writing procedures, it sometimes becomes apparent that those processes could be improved or changed to make them more efficient, avoid duplication of effort, close loopholes, or save money.

· Centralize Information and Provide Consistency (Electronic Versions)
Some organizations have too many manuals and loose memos so that employees do not know what is important. Policy and procedure manuals are not always up-to-date. An up-to-date, online system will permit those who use or are directly affected by policies and procedures, to have the access they need. Having one place to view the documents with various levels of access can help provide consistency in maintenance of the procedures.

There are numerous types of manuals and ways to write them. Importers have different needs when it comes to procedures. The CBP regulations are the same for all entities, but the application of the regulations may be different depending on the type of operation. A manufacturer’s processes are different from distribution centers. A foreign trade zone has operates differently than a retail importer. Some importers may have a dedicated staff of knowledgeable import professionals, while others may have only one or two employees that rely on outside experts for some of the work. While there is no one, right way to create a manual, importers must develop procedures that are related to the nature of their business and address compliance issues required by CBP.

If you don’t want to start from scratch, there are various helpful resources available for organizations creating a customs compliance procedure manual. We’ve provided information on two of these resources.

CBP provides a sample Internal Control Manual in Exhibit 4a of the Focused Assessment Program Documents. The Regulatory Audit Division of U.S. Customs and Border Protection prepared this document for the trade community to encourage importers to develop their own compliance programs. While CBP recommends that the importing community examine this publication for ideas to help develop their own unique compliance manual, this document has no legal or binding authority and was not designed to be all-inclusive.

Boskage Commerce Publications, Ltd. publishes a generic Import Policy and Procedure Manual containing over 150 policy and procedure guidelines with software that makes customization of procedures to fit your organization an easier task. The procedures contained in this publication serve as a convenient reference source and starting point to assist the user in developing a comprehensive import procedure manual. Similar to the CBP disclaimer, this publication is not law, and information contained in this publication is not to be considered legal advice. While every effort was made to include the procedures, which are fundamental to all importers, it is not possible for a publication of this size to cover all of the CBP laws and regulations

Remember, your organization’s Policy and Procedure Manual is not just a stack of documents. Your manual can demonstrate corporate commitment to compliance with CBP regulations, save the organization time and money, provide training and promote efficiency across functional areas.

Next month we’ll discuss the process of creating, customizing and implementing your import compliance manual.