Did you know that every U.S. importer must comply with Lacey Act, including the electronic submission of the required documentation for compliance?

Complying with the Lacey Act is a necessity when importing both plants and plant products into the United States. Importers must not only gather the required information from multiple suppliers, but also ensure the information is correct and up-to-date upon submission to U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP).

The electronic submission of documents for Lacey Act compliance became mandatory on April 1, 2009, and enforcement by CBP began on May 1, 2009. Both the USDA, who amended the US Farm Bill to extend the Lacey Act to protect both plants and trees from illegal harvesting, and APHIS are now requiring importers to file electronically to avoid shipment delays.

When filing for compliance for the Lacey Act, which protects plants and wildlife by prohibiting the trade of wildlife, fish and plants that have been illegally seized, transported, or sold, importers must issue an import declaration for the importation of plants, trees or their products into the US. The import declaration must contain the following data elements:

• Scientific names of all plant species being imported
• Quantity, including units of measure, of each plant or wildlife
• Country of harvest
• Value of imported plants or plant products

For times when plant species and/or country of harvest cannot be determined, APHIS requires importers to list all possible plants within the product, as well as list all possible countries where the plant may have originated. For paper products containing recycled content, the import declaration must also include the average percent of recycled content regardless of species or country of harvest.

Does your organization have an automated process in place to collect the required data elements, and electronically submit the required filings in order to comply with the Lacey Act? Integration Point®, Inc. Supply Chain Compliance provides a web-based alternative for companies looking to quickly and easily comply with the Lacey Act.

Integration Point Supply Chain Compliance facilitates the solicitation of multiple suppliers needed in order for a company importing plants, wildlife or plant products into US to comply with the Lacey Act. Integration Point Supply Chain Compliance eliminates time zone difficulties due to its on-demand architecture, and stimulates global communication throughout the entire supply chain by offering multilingual capabilities.

All of the elements of Integration Point Supply Chain Compliance are managed in one single platform, allowing companies to easily collect, analyze, retain and file the needed information. With the tools provided in this web-based solution, companies:

• Eliminate the need for manually soliciting supplier information
• Send out assessments automatically, as well as notify and remind suppliers to complete information
• Obtain information from not only direct suppliers, but also subsequent parties within the supply chain
• Manage all supplier information in one place for easy analysis and reporting
• Retain electronic copies of supplier information and documentation for future use

For companies that need to validate the classification of their products and ensure that proper import declarations are issued, Integration Point Supply Chain Compliance integrates with Integration Point Global Classification which allows companies to store, manage and track all classification data in on central repository. By integrating Integration Point Supply Chain Compliance with Integration Point Global Classification and Global Trade Content, companies receive up-to-date classification and tariff preferences without the pain of manually searching or having shipments delayed due to missing documentation.

For more information on how Integration Point Supply Chain Compliance can assist your company with Lacey Act compliance, send us an email or complete our online request form.

For additional information on the Lacey Act, please visit the following websites:

US Customs & Border Protectionl - www.cbp.gov

US Department of Agriculture - www.aphis.usda.gov