CFR

111.23—Retention of records.

(a) Place and period of retention— (1) Place. Records must be retained by a broker in accordance with the provisions of this part and part 163 of this chapter within the broker district that covers the Customs port to which they relate unless the broker chooses to consolidate records at one or more other locations, and provides advance notice of that consolidation to Customs, in accordance with paragraph (b) of this section.

(2) Period. The records described in paragraph (a)(1) of this section, other than powers of attorney, must be retained for at least 5 years after the date of entry. Powers of attorney must be retained until revoked, and revoked powers of attorney and letters of revocation must be retained for 5 years after the date of revocation or for 5 years after the date the client ceases to be an “active client” as defined in § 111.29(b)(2)(ii), whichever period is later. When merchandise is withdrawn from a bonded warehouse, records relating to the withdrawal must be retained for 5 years from the date of withdrawal of the last merchandise withdrawn under the entry.

(b) Notification of consolidated records— (1) Applicability. Subject to the requirements of paragraph (b)(2) of this section and except when a restriction applies under § 163.5(b) of this chapter, the option of maintaining records on a consolidated system basis is available to brokers who have been granted permits to do business in more than one district.

(2) Form and content of notice. If consolidated storage is desired by the broker, he must submit a written notice addressed to the Office of International Trade, Regulatory Audit, 2001 Cross Beam Dr., Charlotte, North Carolina 28217. The written notice must include:

(i) Each address at which the broker intends to maintain the consolidated records. Each such location must be within a district where the broker has been granted a permit;

(ii) A detailed statement describing all the records to be maintained at each consolidated location, the methodology of record maintenance, a description of any automated data processing to be applied, and a list of all the broker's customs business activity locations; and

(iii) An agreement that there will be no change in the records, the manner of recordkeeping, or the location at which they will be maintained, unless the Office of International Trade, Regulatory Audit, in Charlotte is first notified.

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