Customs Says eAPIS Offenders
Will Be Fined
If you're planning you're first border-crossing flight since before May 2009, you'll find the preparation more complicated than you remember. That's because you now have to electronically submit a detailed crew and passenger manifest to the government prior to departure from the U.S. and prior to returning as well. Advance notice of arrival in the U.S. from a foreign port has long been a requirement, but now general aviation pilots must submit detailed manifests in advance of both leaving and coming back into the country. Why? The Department of Homeland Security wants to know if anyone aboard your aircraft is on its no-fly list.
The new requirement, called electronic Advance Passenger Information System or eAPIS, is based on a web site portal (http://eapis.cbp.dhs.gov) where you complete detailed departure and arrival reports with information on the aircraft, crew, passengers, and itinerary. The report must be filed at least an hour in advance of departure, but can be filed weeks prior. The same advance notice is required for arrival reports.
You have to enroll and obtain an account before completing your first eAPIS report. Once you have filed an eAPIS, you must receive email confirmation that the report has been received before you can depart.
The first few eAPIS filing experiences are cumbersome, slow, and often frustrating, but with experience the process goes more smoothly. It can get tricky, however, if you are out of the country in a place where electronic communication is difficult and you have to file an amended arrival report because your manifest, foreign port of departure, or date of departure changes.
Despite dire warnings on the eAPIS web site, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which administers the program for Homeland Security, did not appear to be enforcing the $5,000 fine for failure to file an advance departure or arrival report. However, CBP recently announced that it will be sending preliminary penalty notices to offending pilots. The notice is the first step in levying the fine. Once a pilot has been fined, a second offense rates a $10,000 penalty.
Commercial services including FltPlan.com offer eAPIS filing services for customers. Simply provide the necessary information and the service does the rest�for a fee, of course.
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