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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 173 / Friday, September 10, 2021 / Proposed Rules
any third year thereafter.12 As explained in further detail below, CBP is proposing to require individual brokers to report and certify compliance with the continuing broker education requirement on the triennial report.
Thus, for purposes of clarification, CBP
is proposing a definition for the 3-year period between the due dates of two consecutive status reports.
C. Continuing Education Requirements for Customs Brokers In addition to requiring individual brokers to participate in continuing education activities, the proposed framework includes provisions imposing additional related duties upon individual brokers, such as reporting and recordkeeping requirements, that promote compliance and allow for the enforcement of the continuing education requirement. For these reasons, the proposed framework also contains provisions authorizing disciplinary actions upon a brokers failure to comply with these requirements. These requirements are contained in proposed 111.102 and 111.104, which are discussed in detail below.

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1. Customs Broker License Holders Subject to Continuing Broker Education Requirement Proposed 111.102a sets forth the customs broker license holders who will be subject to the continuing broker education requirement. Specifically, proposed 111.102a provides that only individual customs broker license holders individual brokers will be required to complete qualifying continuing broker education. Proposed 111.102a also exempts two groups of individual brokers from this requirementnamely, individual brokers who have voluntarily suspended their license in accordance with 111.52, and individual customs broker license holders who have not held their license for an entire triennial period at the time of the submission of the status report as required under 111.30d. CBP does not believe that it is necessary to require continuing education for individual brokers who have not held their license for an entire triennial period at the time that their first triennial report is due, because these individual brokers have recently demonstrated a sufficient baseline knowledge of customs matters by 12 February 1, 1985, was the first due date for the triennial reporting requirement, and, thus, February 1 in any third year thereafter is the date on which the triennial report becomes due. See 19 CFR
111.30d1.

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passing the customs broker examination.
CBP is proposing to exempt individual brokers who have voluntarily suspended their license from the continuing broker education requirement because customs brokers may choose to voluntarily suspend their licenses for many reasons, including changes in a brokers personal life or the entry into federal service which prohibits the customs broker from concurrently serving as a customs broker to transact customs business on behalf of clients in dealings with the federal government. As some of these reasons may prevent a broker from participating in or attending qualifying continuing broker education programs, CBP believes that requiring individual brokers to comply with the continuing broker education requirement during a period of voluntary suspension would be overly burdensome.
At this time, CBP is not proposing to impose a similar obligation onto corporation, partnership, or association brokers hereinafter, collectively referred to as corporate brokers, because knowledge is held at the individual level. The reason is because corporate brokers are comprised of one or more individual brokers and the individual brokers will be subject to the continuing education requirement.
Furthermore, the training required of the employees of a customs broker is already taken into consideration when determining whether the license holder exercises responsible supervision and control. Pursuant to 19 CFR 111.28a, every licensed member or officer of a corporate broker that is an individual broker, as well as every individual broker operating as a sole proprietor, is obligated to exercise responsible supervision and control over the transaction of the customs business of the sole proprietorship, partnership, association, or corporation.13 Therefore, individual brokers who serve as members or officials of a corporate broker, as well as individual brokers who operate as sole proprietorships with employees, are already incentivized to ensure that the employees of the sole proprietorship, partnership, association, or corporation complete continuing education.
Accordingly, CBP does not believe that 13 Section 111.1 defines the phrase responsible supervision and control and provides, in relevant part, that one of the factors that CBP will consider in determining whether the customs broker exercises responsible supervision and control is the training required of the employees of the broker.
However, the determination of what is necessary to perform and maintain responsible supervision and control will vary depending upon the circumstances in each instance. See 19 CFR 111.1.

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it is necessary to impose a similar obligation on corporate brokers at the organizational level.
2. Required Minimum Number of Continuing Education Credits Proposed 111.102b sets forth the number of continuing education credits that individual brokers, who, pursuant to proposed 111.102a, are subject to the continuing broker education requirement, must complete.
Specifically, proposed 111.102b provides that these individual brokers are required to complete at least 36
continuing education credits per triennial period, except upon the reinstatement of a license following a period of voluntary suspension as described in 111.52. Upon consideration of the public comments received on the ANPRM, CBP is no longer proposing to require 40
continuing education credits per triennial period, as this will simplify the proration of continuing education credits for the purposes discussed below.
When a broker chooses to reactivate his or her license following a period of voluntary suspension, the broker generally contacts CBP to begin the reinstatement process. This process determines the precise date on which the license will be reinstated, which may occur at any time during the triennial period. Thus, after a period of voluntary suspension, the completion of the full 36 continuing education credits within the remainder of the current triennial period could impose an undue burden upon the individual broker, depending on when during the triennial period the reinstatement occurs. To address this, proposed 111.102b provides that, following the reinstatement of a license after a period of voluntary suspension, the number of continuing education credits required for the triennial period that is, the triennial period during which the reinstatement of the license occurs is calculated on a prorated basis, of one continuing education credit for each complete remaining month until the end of the triennial period.
For example, if, following a period of voluntary suspension, an individual brokers license were to be reinstated on March 21, 2028, the individual broker would only be required to complete 22
continuing education credits during the triennial period February 1, 2027, to February 1, 2030 in which the license was reinstated. Effectively, the amount of continuing education credits required is prorated for the number of full months remaining in the triennial period April 1, 2028, to February 1,
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