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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 165 / Monday, August 30, 2021 / Notices zones. Declaration zones are an established concept in several countries whereby travelers provide an initial declaration via selection of a departure queue. Declaration zones facilitate the processing of travelers by separating those who need to go directly to a CBP
officer for additional processing from those who do not. With declaration zones, travelers select from one of two clearly marked departure queues, either that they have items to declare or no items to declare. This selection acts as travelers initial declaration simply through the queue that they choose.
This addition of a physical, demonstrative form of declaration would allow CBP officers to shift focus from conducting administrative tasks such as taking oral declarations from compliant, low-risk, and highly vetted travelers to roving enforcement operations. Roving officers would be able to use their observation skills, as well as their knowledge of trends and smuggling techniques, to actively monitor and select individuals for inspection.

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The Declaration Zone Test CBP will conduct a Declaration Zone Test to fulfill the declaration requirement under CBP regulations, while also allowing for streamlined processing. Current CBP regulations require each traveler to provide an oral or written declaration of all articles brought into the United States to a CBP
officer. See 19 CFR part 148, subpart B.
The test will provide arriving travelers with an alternative method to meet this requirement by allowing a demonstrative initial declaration through the use of declaration zones at cruise terminal facilities at certain sea POEs.
Description and Procedures Within a cruise terminal facility, two distinct customs declaration zone queues will be established for entering the egress area: one for No Items to Declare and another for Items to Declare. Signage will be posted to clearly label the queues at the entrance to the egress area after travelers collect their luggage. The physical act of selecting the No Items to Declare queue or the Items to Declare queue in and of itself will constitute an initial demonstrative declaration. CBP officers will conduct roving enforcement operations within the baggage collection and egress area to ensure traveler compliance.
No Items To Declare Queue Travelers who determine they have nothing to declare will enter the No
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Items to Declare queue and proceed through the egress area to the facility exit. CBP officers will conduct roving operations in the No Items to Declare zone to affirm traveler compliance, receive oral declarations, and make referrals to secondary inspection as necessary. Travelers who are not questioned by CBP officers conducting roving operations proceed to the exit.
Items To Declare Queue Travelers with items to declare will enter the Items to Declare queue and will present before a CBP officer to make an oral declaration. The CBP
officer will make a determination if duty is owed by the traveler or if additional inspection is warranted. The CBP officer will then direct the traveler accordingly.
Referral to Secondary Inspection If a traveler is referred to secondary inspection at any point, CBP officers will follow standard procedures, including collecting oral and/or written declarations during the referral and inspection. CBP officers will also follow current agency policy on declaration amendment opportunities.
Eligibility and Participation Requirements The test allowing demonstrative declaration to be an acceptable declaration method will begin at two sea POEs: Miami, Florida, and Bayonne, New Jersey. CBP may choose to expand this test to other sea POEs during the two-year test period. Any such expansion will be announced on the CBP website, https www.cbp.gov. The test will be restricted to closed loop cruises participating in FBD.
CBP will provide directional signage for use in the implementation of the declaration zones. Port management will coordinate with the port authority/
terminal managers for the printing and posting of the directional signage and establishing the corresponding queues.
The signage is ancillary to the statutory signage currently posted within cruise terminal facilities and the Federal Inspection Services FIS area. These directional signs will facilitate the declaration zone process and help travelers understand the expectation when entering a specific queue.
CBP will also work with each cruise line at eligible POEs to develop educational materials to provide to travelers regarding U.S. customs declaration responsibilities and how travelers should navigate both the FBD
process and declaration zones.

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Authorization for the Test The test described in this notice is authorized pursuant to 19 CFR 101.9a, which allows the Commissioner of CBP
to impose requirements different from those specified in the CBP Regulations for purposes of conducting a test program or procedure designed to evaluate the effectiveness of new operational procedures regarding the processing of passengers. This test is authorized pursuant to this regulation as it is designed to evaluate whether allowing a demonstrative initial declaration is a feasible way to fulfill the declaration requirement and allow for streamlined processing.
Waiver of Certain Regulatory Requirements CBP regulations require each traveler to provide an oral or written declaration of all articles brought into the United States to a CBP officer. See 19 CFR
148.12 and 148.13. The test will provide arriving travelers with an alternative method to meet this requirement by allowing a demonstrative initial declaration. All other requirements of 19 CFR part 148, subpart B, regarding declarations, including those provided by 19 CFR 148.18, regarding failure to declare, and 19 CFR 148.19, regarding false or fraudulent statements, still apply.
Duration of Test This test will run for approximately two years, beginning no earlier than September 27, 2021. The start date may vary at each location in accordance with the resumption of passenger operations suspended due to COVID19. While the test is ongoing, CBP will evaluate the results and determine whether the test will be extended or otherwise modified.
CBP reserves the right to discontinue this test at any time in CBPs sole discretion. CBP will announce any modifications to the duration of the test by notice in the Federal Register.
Evaluation of Declaration Zone Test CBP will use the results of this test to assess the operational feasibility of allowing an initial demonstrative declaration to be an acceptable declaration method. CBP will evaluate this test based on a number of criteria, including:
Evaluation of cruise line customer satisfaction surveys gathering feedback on the debarkation process; and Comparison of year-over-year enforcement statistics for each test period to ensure no impact to duty collection or to the frequency of enforcement activities.

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