Fish and Wildlife fees to increase beginning January 8, 2009 as well as enforcement of regulating Squid, Octopus and Cuttlefish

Beginning January 8th, 2009, Fish and Wildlife will not only increase higher fees, but they will begin enforcing/regulating the importations of Non-living Squid, Octopus and Cuttlefish for human consumption.

Even though the rule has always been in place, most ports did not enforce it. Beginning January 8, 2009 all importers of such product must posses a Fish & Wildlife Import Permit and declare and pay fees on every shipment imported of non-living Squid, Octopus and Cuttlefish for human/animal consumption.

We urge everybody that imports these items to go on line immediately to apply for your Import Permit, which you would need to renew every year along with the corresponding $100 fees. Click here to apply now.

Flegenheimer will make sure that your shipments are properly and timely declared. If you plan to have a shipment arrive on January 8, 2009 or shortly after, as long as you forward us proof that you have applied for your permit and paid $100 fee to Fish and Wildlife, we will be able to process your declaration without the actual Import License (generally takes 2-3 weeks to receive after applying). Please forward us a copy of your Import Permit as soon as you have it. Be aware that their will be a nominal service fee for the preparation of your declarations to Fish and Wildlife.

Please read more at the following web sites:

List of New Fees
http://www.fws.gov/le/pdffiles/2009Feecalculationchart.pdf

Apply for your Import License
http://www.fws.gov/le/ImpExp/Regional_Permit_Offices.htm

Short version/summary of changes
http://www.fws.gov/news/NewsReleases/showNews.cfm?newsId=1C4CD1C3-BC79-44C4-B2929C113A76D5ED

Federal Register with the complete details of these changes
http://www.fws.gov/le/pdffiles/E8-29070-1FinalRule.pdf

10+2 Importer Security Filing will be enforced beginning January 26, 2009

It's official, beginning January 26, 2009 all shipments destined for the United States must comply with the submission of "Importer Security Filing 10+2"

Who is responsible? - Importer or it's agents

What is the Importer/agent responsible for? - Submitting ISF 10+2 information timely

Where do you send it? To Customs and Border Protection via approved electronic data interchange system

When beginning January 26, 2009

Why in an extended effort to prevent terrorist weapons from being transported to the United States

Flegenheimer International is fully prepared to act as your ISF agent in addition to your already existent Customs Broker service provider.

Nobody likes change, especially when it entails revising the way you currently do business. Submitting the ISF 10+2 elements will take just that, changing the way you currently do business in regards to notifying us of incoming shipments. Currently we process your shipments 5 days prior to vessel arriving into the US. Beginning January 26, 2009 we will need to have your shipment processed no later then 24 hours prior to your container loading the vessel at origin. This is a total 360 degree turnaround, but Flegenheimer is committed to help you fulfill your obligation to Customs and Border Protection.

Customs will require that the following information be transmitted to CBP no later than 24 hours PRIOR to container loading at the foreign port of export:

Seller name, address
Buyer name, address
Importer of Record IRS#/FTZ applicant ID#
Consignee IRS#
Manufacturer or Supplier name, address
Ship to party name, address
Country of Origin
Commodity HTSUS number
Container stuffing location name, address
Consolidator (stuffer) name, address

Flegenheimer will require this form to be completed and sent to us no later than 72 hrs prior to the delivery of the container(s) to the port of export. Flegenheimer will need sufficient time to submit your ISF and receive a confirmation/acknowledgment number back from Customs and Border Protection, which will then allow your containers to load the vessel.

Click here to download our 10+2 form.

Please review the following links for detailed information on "ISF 10+2"
http://www.ncbfaa.org/files/cbpslideshow.ppt
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdf/E8-27048.pdf
http://cbp.gov/xp/cgov/trade/cargo_security/carriers/security_filing/

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Infrastructure Cargo Fee

The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners voted Monday, December 1, to push back for at least six months the collection of a cargo-container fee intended to collect funds for road, rail and bridge improvements in the harbor area.

Scheduled to begin January 1, 2009, the "Infrastructure Cargo Fee" of $15 per 20-foot-long shipping container ($30 for a 40-footer) was established in January 2008 by harbor commissioners of the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. In the coming weeks, the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners is expected to approve a similar six-month delay.

In mid-year 2009, the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners plans to re-examine the status of the projects, which include upgrades to the ports' rail network, replacement of the Gerald Desmond Bridge and other improvements that will facilitate traffic flow through the ports. The fee, collected by both ports, will generate $1.4 billion. Along with matching funds from the statewide transportation measure Proposition 1B, about $3 billion worth of transportation projects are planned for the harbor area.

"Because of the extra time needed to complete the planning and approval process for these many projects, the ports felt it was sensible to delay the implementation of the fee," said Port of Long Beach Deputy Executive Director J. Christopher Lytle. "We'll reassess the situation in six months to see it if makes sense to start the fee then."

The Infrastructure Cargo Fee is planned to last seven years, and each year the fee will fluctuate from about $10 to $18 per 20-foot container, depending on the construction costs expected to be incurred in that calendar year.

Contact: Art Wong, Port of Long Beach Assistant Director of Communications/Public Information Officer, (562) 590-4123, (562) 619-5665 (cell), or wong@polb.com