19 CFR 111.2 – License and permit required
(a) License—(1) General. Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (a)(2) of this section, a person must obtain the license provided for in this part in order to transact customs business as a broker.
Terms Used In 19 CFR 111.2
- Broker: means a customs broker. See 19 CFR 111.1
- CBP: means U. See 19 CFR 101.1
- Customs business: means those activities involving transactions with CBP concerning the entry and admissibility of merchandise, its classification and valuation, the payment of duties, taxes, or other charges assessed or collected by CBP on merchandise by reason of its importation, and the refund, rebate, or drawback of those duties, taxes, or other charges. See 19 CFR 111.1
- Employee: means a person who meets the common law definition of employee and is in the service of a customs broker. See 19 CFR 111.1
- Importer: means the person primarily liable for the payment of any duties on the merchandise, or an authorized agent acting on his behalf. See 19 CFR 101.1
- Permit: means a permit issued to a broker under § 111. See 19 CFR 111.1
- Person: includes individuals, partnerships, associations, and corporations. See 19 CFR 111.1
- Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. Source: OCC
- United States: includes all territories and possessions of the United States, except the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Wake Island, Midway Islands, Kingman Reef, Johnston Island, and the island of Guam. See 19 CFR 134.1
(2) Transactions for which license is not required—(i) For one’s own account. An importer or exporter transacting customs business solely on his own account and in no sense on behalf of another is not required to be licensed, nor are his authorized regular employees or officers who act only for him in the transaction of such business.
(ii) As employee of broker—(A) General. An employee of a broker, acting solely for his employer, is not required to be licensed where:
(1) Authorized to sign documents. The broker has authorized the employee to sign documents pertaining to customs business on his behalf, and has executed a power of attorney for that purpose. The broker is not required to file the power of attorney with CBP, but must provide proof of its existence to CBP upon request; or
(2) Authorized to transact other business. The broker has filed with the processing Center a statement identifying the employee as authorized to transact customs business on his behalf.
(B) Broker supervision; withdrawal of authority. Where an employee has been given authority under paragraph (a)(2)(ii) of this section, the broker must exercise sufficient supervision of the employee to ensure proper conduct on the part of the employee in the transaction of customs business, and the broker will be held strictly responsible for the acts or omissions of the employee within the scope of his employment and for any other acts or omissions of the employee which, through the exercise of reasonable care and diligence, the broker should have foreseen. The broker must promptly notify the processing Center if authority granted to an employee under paragraph (a)(2)(ii) of this section is withdrawn. The withdrawal of authority will be effective upon receipt by the processing Center.
(iii) Marine transactions. A person transacting business in connection with entry or clearance of vessels or other regulation of vessels under the navigation laws is not required to be licensed as a broker.
(iv) Transportation in bond. Any carrier bringing merchandise to the port of arrival or any bonded carrier transporting merchandise for another may make entry for that merchandise for transportation in bond without being a broker.
(v) Noncommercial shipments. An individual entering noncommercial merchandise for another party is not required to be a broker, provided that the requirements of § 141.33 of this chapter are met.
(vi) Foreign trade zone activities. A foreign trade zone operator or user need not be licensed as a broker in order to engage in activities within a zone that do not involve the transfer of merchandise to the customs territory of the United States.
(b) National permit. A national permit issued to a broker under § 111.19 will constitute sufficient permit authority for the broker to conduct customs business within the customs territory of the United States as defined in § 101.1 of this chapter.