TRG Trade Spotlight l March l Import/Export Recordkeeping

Import/Export Recordkeeping Best Practices by Mike Laden

TRG attended another successful event hosted by the International Compliance Professionals Association (ICPA) www.icpainc.org this past March. With educational sessions ranging from the Pros and Cons of Self-filing to Understanding Incoterms, attendees were buzzing about the depth of knowledge presented at this conference. Mike Laden of TRG Direct presented Import/Export Recordkeeping Best Practices.

Recordkeeping Best Practices

Electronic – Keeping your records in an electronic format will allow you to expedite the document retrieval process as well as implement the following best practices. This will also allow your information to be stored in a “on-demand” centralized location. Electronic storage will need to be approved by Customs & Border Protection (CBP). *Your policies and procedures should require you to keep the originals for 120 days and all electronic records a minimum of 5 years!*

Policies & Procedures Comprehensively Documented – CBP expects to see that you have policies in place prior to an audit. The policy must ensure the preservation of integrity, readability, and security of the information contained in the original records. Include in your procedures a standardized retrieval process for your records.

Completely Crossed Referenced – If the document relates to information elsewhere, be sure to make that connection.

Exception Files – Your import/export records should be able to “tell a story”. Policies should require that any and everything be stored. If there was an email about it, store it. When in doubt, store it!

Audited Before Storage – Set up a procedure for internal auditing of your documents as they move to storage. Penalties may result for negligence and failure to maintain records. This could be $10,000 per violation and each missing document could be considered a violation!


Award Winning TRG

2009 Pros to Know
Mike Laden and Kelby Woodard of TRG Direct have been acknowledged as Supply & Demand Chain’s 2009 Pros to Know. Recipients of this award have personally helped clients address the challenges of the recession and prepare for the recovery ahead. Congratulations and well deserved!

ICPA Founders Awards
We can’t say we were surprised this March when Greg Hodge of TRG was awarded the 2009 ICPA Founders Award at the annual conference. A true advocate of the ICPA, Greg referred the most new members to the ICPA in 2009.

World Customs Organization 2009 Forum

Vancouver, WA (PRWEB) AUGUST 12, 2009 – The World Customs Organization (WCO) and the Trusted Trade Alliance, LLC (TTA) today announced the details of the third annual World Customs Forum. This globally acclaimed forum brings together world leaders in international trade andcustoms to discuss and debate new and emerging issues confronting global trade today.

The 2009 World Customs Forum will be held on October 5th and 6th at the Bell Harbor ConferenceCenter, Seattle, Washington, USA.

This year’s theme, Trade Facilitation in a Time of Economic Crisis - Preserving the Engine of Global Economic Growth will draw speakers and participants from key sectors of theinternational trade community including supply chain practitioners, senior level governmentofficials, academia and legal advisors. With a clear focus on the need to stem the imposition ofadditional regulatory burdens on international trade in the current economic climate, the forum willaddress a broad range of pressing issues critical to the growth of global trade. Sessions willinclude vigorous discussions of the impact of government demands on commercial imperatives,emerging security mandates, coordination between national governments, cross border challengesand best practices in global import and export processes.

WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya, Department of Homeland Security Secretary JanetNapolitano, Department of Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, and other high level officials fromaround the world are among the invited list of high profile speakers, with confirmed panelistsincluding Susanne Aigner from the EU Commission, Graeme Ludlow from the InternationalMonetary Fund, and a number of senior figures from the public and private sector tradecommunity on five continents. The conference is being conducted in partnership with host tradeassociation the American Association of Exporters and Importers (AAEI), the Canadian nationaltrade association IE Canada, the International Compliance Professionals Association (ICPA), as wellas the major customs & trade associations in Europe and Asia.

The Forum will be co-chaired by Professor David Widdowson, CEO of the Centre for Customs andExcise Studies at the University of Canberra, Australia; Mr. Allen Bruford, Deputy Director,Compliance and Facilitation Directorate at the WCO; and Mr. Michael Laden, Chief Financial Officerfor TTA.

This annual event has been previously held in Europe, at WCO Headquarters in Brussels.However, the WCO and TTA believe it is essential to expand the reach of the Forum by bringing itto other key international trading centers, and this event will allow US based members of the tradecommunity to engage Customs at the world level and have first-hand exposure to WCO views and processes.

The conference is expected to sell out quickly and seating is limited. Registration will be open onAugust 11th, and can be accomplished by visiting the following link: http://www.trustedtrade.net/en/world-customs-forum/.