CBP Adds New Online Portal for FP&F Mitigation Petitions

CBP recently debuted a new online portal for filing mitigation petitions with its Office of Fines, Penalties & Forfeitures for relief from penalty notices, demands for liquidated damages and seizure notices. The portal allows importers or their lawyers or brokers to create new petitions and look up existing petitions. It also allows for the attachment of documents to support a petition, up to 25 MB per document or 50 MB total.

"The ePetition portal has recently been brought online," a CBP spokesperson said. "This is an option for importers to use when submitting petitions. They can still submit petitions via mail and in person. It is NOT a requirement to use the ePetition portal."

According to a blog post from Diaz Trade Law, communications with the FP&F-assigned paralegal will continue to occur via email, letter or telephone, and not via the portal, the post said. Petitioners will be able to see whether the petition is pending acceptance, accepted or rejected, but will otherwise not receive status updates, the law firm said.