Privacy Policy

Words with initial capital letters have meanings defined under the following conditions. These definitions shall have the same meaning whether they appear in singular or plural form.

For the purposes of this Privacy Policy:

The ASG may use Personal Data, Submission Data, Customs Process Data, Usage Data, and related information collected through the Service for the following purposes:

• To provide, operate, maintain, and support the Service, including account access, declaration preparation, submission support, document upload, status tracking, workflow administration, and related digital Customs functions.
• To manage Your Account, including registration, authentication, credential management, access control, permissions, account security, and user support.
• To support the Customs process, including receiving, reviewing, validating, routing, processing, tracking, and administering declarations, submissions, supporting documents, and related Customs workflow activity.
• To support Treasury, Customs, and other authorized government functions, including classification review, fee and tax processing, compliance review, inspection support, release decisions, recordkeeping, audit support, and administrative oversight.
• To facilitate inter-agency coordination and authorized government review, where required for Customs processing, inspection, public health, agriculture, environment, security, transportation, regulatory compliance, or other lawful government purposes.
• To communicate with You, including by email, phone, SMS, system notification, or other appropriate forms of communication regarding account activity, filing activity, submission status, support matters, security alerts, workflow updates, service notices, or other matters connected with the Service or Customs process.
• To provide support and respond to requests, including account assistance, technical support, filing guidance, troubleshooting, service inquiries, complaints, and related communications.
• To verify identity, authority, and eligibility, including confirming user identity, account ownership, organizational authorization, filing authority, and lawful participation in the Customs process.
• To protect the security, integrity, reliability, and availability of the Service, including detecting, preventing, monitoring, investigating, and responding to fraud, misuse, unauthorized access, security incidents, system abuse, data integrity issues, or other harmful or unlawful activity.
• To generate, maintain, and review administrative and operational records, including audit logs, workflow histories, timestamps, system events, filing histories, account activity records, technical diagnostics, and support records.
• To analyze, evaluate, and improve the Service, including usability review, workflow improvement, performance monitoring, system testing, debugging, error resolution, service refinement, and technical optimization.
• To support pilot initiative administration, operational learning, localization research, workflow evaluation, and service improvement, including learning how users interact with the Service, identifying operational friction or confusion, improving guidance and support, understanding local workflow realities, and refining digital Customs services for American Samoa.
• To support reporting, planning, analytics, and administrative decision-making, including operational reporting, workload review, service performance analysis, compliance analysis, trend identification, and other internal government planning or oversight purposes.
• To comply with applicable law, regulation, policy, legal process, record-retention obligations, audit requirements, enforcement responsibilities, or lawful government requests.
• To establish, exercise, or defend legal rights, claims, or administrative positions, and to support investigations, enforcement actions, dispute resolution, or other authorized legal or administrative processes.
• For any other purpose disclosed to You at the time the information is collected, or otherwise permitted or required by applicable law.

The ASG will retain Your Personal Data, Submission Data, Customs Process Data, Usage Data, and related records only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, including operation of the Service, administration of the Customs process, pilot initiative activities, service improvement, localization research, security, auditing, recordkeeping, dispute resolution, and compliance with applicable law, policy, or government requirements.

Because the Service supports official Customs functions, certain information may be retained for longer periods where necessary to:

• process, review, verify, or administer declarations, submissions, and related Customs activity
• maintain official government records, audit trails, workflow histories, and administrative files
• comply with legal, regulatory, fiscal, enforcement, archival, or record-retention obligations
• investigate, detect, prevent, or respond to fraud, misuse, security incidents, or unlawful activity
• support inter-agency coordination, compliance review, inspections, appeals, disputes, or enforcement-related matters
• preserve operational history, training records, support history, and system integrity information
• support pilot administration, operational learning, workflow evaluation, localization research, and ongoing service improvement

Usage Data and Technical Data may be retained for a shorter period where used primarily for diagnostics, analytics, support, performance monitoring, or system improvement, except where such data is needed for security, investigation, legal compliance, audit, or other authorized government purposes.

When retention is no longer reasonably necessary or legally required, the ASG may delete, de-identify, archive, restrict, or otherwise manage information in accordance with applicable law, policy, recordkeeping requirements, and operational needs.

Please note that the ASG may retain certain information where retention is required or permitted by law, necessary to protect legal or administrative interests, necessary to preserve the integrity of the Customs process, or necessary to maintain official government records.

Your information, including Personal Data, Submission Data, Customs Process Data, Usage Data, and related records, may be processed at the operating offices of the ASG and in other locations where the parties involved in the operation, hosting, support, maintenance, security, analysis, or administration of the Service are located.

As a result, such information may be transferred to, stored in, accessed from, or processed in jurisdictions outside of Your state, territory, or country of residence, including where Authorized Service Providers or other Service Providers support the Service on behalf of the ASG.

By using the Service and submitting information through it, You acknowledge and agree that such transfer, storage, access, and processing may occur as reasonably necessary for the operation of the Service, the administration of the Customs process, technical support, security, system maintenance, pilot initiative activities, localization research, service improvement, legal compliance, recordkeeping, and other authorized government or administrative purposes.

The ASG will take reasonable steps to ensure that information transferred or processed in connection with the Service is handled in a manner consistent with this Privacy Policy and protected by appropriate administrative, technical, contractual, or operational safeguards, as applicable.

However, no transfer, storage, or processing arrangement can be guaranteed to be completely risk-free, and the ASG does not represent or warrant that all jurisdictions in which information may be processed will have laws identical to those of Your place of residence.

Nothing in this section limits the authority of the ASG to transfer, disclose, access, or process information where necessary for lawful government functions, Customs administration, inter-agency coordination, security, legal compliance, official recordkeeping, or other authorized purposes.

You may request access to, correction of, or deletion of certain Personal Data that We have collected about You, subject to applicable law, policy, operational requirements, identity verification, and the needs of the Customs process.

Where available, the Service may allow You to review, update, correct, or delete certain account information directly through Your account or other Service functions. You may also contact Us to request access to, correction of, or deletion of Personal Data that You have provided to Us.

Please note, however, that the ASG may retain, restrict, preserve, or decline to delete certain information where deletion is not permitted, not appropriate, or not feasible because the information is needed to:

• process, review, verify, or administer declarations, submissions, and related Customs activity
• maintain official government records, audit trails, workflow histories, account histories, or administrative files
• comply with legal, regulatory, fiscal, archival, or record-retention obligations
• support inspections, compliance review, enforcement activity, investigations, appeals, disputes, or other authorized government functions
• protect the security, integrity, continuity, or lawful operation of the Service
• detect, prevent, investigate, or respond to fraud, misuse, unauthorized access, security incidents, or unlawful activity
• preserve evidence, records, or documentation relevant to legal claims, government action, or administrative process
• support pilot administration, operational learning, localization research, workflow evaluation, training, service improvement, or system integrity
• comply with any other lawful basis for retention or preservation

Deletion of Personal Data may not result in deletion of all related records from government systems, backups, archives, audit logs, workflow histories, or retained administrative records where continued retention is required or permitted.

In some cases, We may de-identify, archive, restrict, or otherwise manage information instead of deleting it outright, where appropriate and consistent with applicable law, policy, and operational needs.

Before acting on certain requests, We may require You to verify Your identity, authority, or relationship to the information at issue. If We are unable to verify Your identity or authority, We may decline or limit the request to the extent reasonably necessary to protect privacy, security, or the integrity of the Customs process.

The ASG may disclose, share, transmit, provide access to, or otherwise make available Your Personal Data, Submission Data, Customs Process Data, Usage Data, and related records where reasonably necessary for operation of the Service, administration of the Customs process, lawful government functions, or other purposes described in this Privacy Policy.

Such disclosure may include the following circumstances:

The security of Your Personal Data, Submission Data, Customs Process Data, Usage Data, and related records is important to the ASG.

The ASG takes reasonable administrative, technical, operational, and organizational measures designed to protect information processed through the Service against unauthorized access, unauthorized use, alteration, disclosure, loss, destruction, misuse, and other security risks.

Such measures may include, where appropriate:

• access controls and account protections
• authentication and credential safeguards
• system monitoring and logging
• security reviews and incident response measures
• data storage, backup, and recovery controls
• network, infrastructure, and hosting protections
• role-based access limitations
• provider oversight and contractual controls where third-party support is used
• other measures reasonably designed to protect the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of the Service

However, no method of transmission over the Internet, no method of electronic storage, and no system of processing or security control is completely secure. Accordingly, while the ASG strives to use reasonable and appropriate measures to protect information processed through the Service, the ASG cannot guarantee absolute security.

You are also responsible for helping protect the security of information connected with Your use of the Service, including by safeguarding account credentials, using appropriate security practices, and promptly notifying Us of any known or suspected unauthorized access, misuse, compromise, or security incident involving Your account or information.

Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as a guarantee that the Service will be free from all security risks, breaches, interruptions, or vulnerabilities.

The ASG may use Authorized Service Providers and other Service Providers to support the operation, hosting, security, maintenance, administration, analysis, improvement, and lawful functioning of the Service.

These providers may, where reasonably necessary and subject to applicable law, policy, contract, confidentiality obligations, and operational controls, process Personal Data, Submission Data, Customs Process Data, Usage Data, and related records on behalf of or for the benefit of the ASG in connection with the Service.

Such processing may include, but is not limited to:

• hosting and infrastructure support
• technical operations and system administration
• maintenance, troubleshooting, and debugging
• security monitoring, fraud prevention, and incident response
• data storage, backup, recovery, and continuity support
• analytics, diagnostics, and performance monitoring
• workflow support, service refinement, and system improvement
• pilot initiative administration, operational learning, localization research, and workflow evaluation
• helpdesk, training, and user-support functions
• other lawful administrative or technical purposes reasonably necessary to operate or improve the Service

The ASG may also use third-party platforms, systems, tools, or technical services where reasonably necessary to support communication, hosting, access control, diagnostics, analytics, document handling, or other operational functions of the Service.

Where third-party providers process information in connection with the Service, the ASG will take reasonable steps to ensure that such providers are engaged under terms or controls that are appropriate to the nature of the information and the function being performed.

Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to require the ASG to publicly identify every provider, platform, tool, or technical arrangement used in connection with the Service, except where disclosure is required by applicable law or policy.

If the GDPR applies to the ASG's processing of Your Personal Data in connection with the Service, this section describes the general legal bases on which such processing may occur and certain rights that may be available to You under applicable law.

Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to expand or limit any rights or obligations beyond those required by applicable law.

Where the GDPR applies, the ASG may process Personal Data on one or more of the following legal bases, as applicable:

• Your consent
• performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority
• compliance with a legal obligation
• performance of a contract or steps taken at Your request before entering into a contract
• protection of vital interests
• legitimate interests, where applicable and not overridden by Your rights and interests

The legal basis for processing may depend on the nature of the information, the function being performed, the role of the Service in the Customs process, and the circumstances in which the information is collected or used.

Where the GDPR applies, and subject to applicable law, You may have the right to:

• request access to Personal Data concerning You
• request correction of inaccurate or incomplete Personal Data
• request deletion of certain Personal Data
• request restriction of certain processing
• object to certain processing
• request data portability, where applicable
• withdraw consent, where processing is based on consent
• lodge a complaint with a competent data protection authority

These rights are not absolute and may be limited where processing is necessary for legal compliance, official authority, government administration, recordkeeping, the Customs process, security, fraud prevention, enforcement, or other lawful and authorized purposes.

If You wish to make a request relating to Personal Data under this section, You may contact the ASG using the contact information provided in this Privacy Policy.

Before responding to certain requests, the ASG may require verification of Your identity, authority, or relationship to the information at issue.

The ASG may deny, limit, or defer a request to the extent permitted by applicable law, including where necessary to protect the integrity of the Customs process, preserve official government records, comply with legal obligations, protect security, or support lawful administrative or enforcement activity.

If You are a California resident, You may have certain rights under applicable California privacy laws with respect to Personal Data collected or processed through the Service.

Subject to applicable law, those rights may include the right to:

• request information about the categories of Personal Data collected about You and how such information is used or disclosed
• request access to certain Personal Data
• request correction of inaccurate Personal Data
• request deletion of certain Personal Data
• request information about categories of third parties to whom Personal Data may be disclosed
• not be unlawfully discriminated against for exercising any applicable privacy rights

These rights are not absolute and may be limited where retention, use, disclosure, or restriction of information is necessary for legal compliance, official government functions, recordkeeping, auditing, security, fraud prevention, the Customs process, inter-agency coordination, enforcement, or other lawful and authorized purposes.

If You wish to submit a request relating to Personal Data under applicable California privacy law, You may contact the ASG using the contact information provided in this Privacy Policy. Before responding to certain requests, the ASG may require verification of Your identity, authority, or relationship to the information at issue.

Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to expand or limit any rights or obligations beyond those required by applicable law.

The Service does not currently respond to browser-based "Do Not Track" signals.

If You are a California resident, You may have additional rights under applicable California law regarding certain disclosures of Personal Data.

If You wish to make a request relating to such rights, You may contact the ASG using the contact information provided in this Privacy Policy.

Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to expand or limit any rights or obligations beyond those required by applicable law.

If You are under the age of 18, You should not use the Service unless such use is permitted by applicable law and authorized by a parent, guardian, employer, or other legally authorized representative, as applicable.

If You believe that information relating to a minor has been provided to the ASG through the Service in a manner that is not authorized or appropriate, please contact the ASG using the contact information provided in this Privacy Policy.

The ASG may review such requests and may take appropriate action consistent with applicable law, policy, the integrity of the Customs process, and official recordkeeping requirements.

The Service is not intended for use by children under the age of 13, and the ASG does not knowingly collect Personal Data directly from children under 13 through the Service.

In addition, the Service is generally intended for users who are 18 years of age or older, consistent with the Terms and Conditions governing use of the Service.

If You are a parent, guardian, or other authorized representative and You believe that a child has provided Personal Data to the ASG through the Service without proper authorization, please contact the ASG using the contact information provided in this Privacy Policy.

If the ASG becomes aware that Personal Data has been collected from a child in a manner that is not authorized or appropriate, the ASG may take reasonable steps to review the matter and delete, restrict, or otherwise manage the information, subject to applicable law, policy, official recordkeeping requirements, and the integrity of the Customs process.

Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to limit any requirement of applicable law relating to consent, authorization, official recordkeeping, or lawful government administration.

The Service may contain links to, references to, or integrations with third-party websites, platforms, systems, or external resources that are not owned, operated, or controlled by the ASG.

Such links, references, or integrations may be provided for convenience, operational support, information access, workflow assistance, or other related administrative purposes connected with the Service.

The ASG does not control and is not responsible for the content, availability, accuracy, privacy practices, security, reliability, or performance of any third-party website, platform, service, or external resource.

If You access a third-party website, platform, or service through the Service, You do so at Your own discretion and subject to the terms, conditions, and privacy practices of that third party.

We encourage You to review the privacy policy and other applicable terms of any third-party website, platform, or service that You access in connection with the Service.

The ASG may modify, update, revise, or replace this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the Service, the Customs process, applicable law, government policy, administrative requirements, technical operations, pilot initiative needs, localization research, service improvements, security considerations, or other operational or legal developments.

Where a revision is material, the ASG will make reasonable efforts to provide notice before the updated Privacy Policy takes effect. Such notice may be provided through the Service, by email where appropriate, or by other reasonable means made available through the Service.

The "Last Updated" date at the top of this Privacy Policy will be revised when changes are made.

By continuing to access or use the Service after an updated Privacy Policy becomes effective, You acknowledge the revised Privacy Policy to the extent permitted by applicable law.

Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to limit the authority of the ASG to make immediate changes where necessary to support legal compliance, government operations, security, Customs administration, or the integrity of the Service.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, You can contact us:By email: [email protected] You have any questions about this Privacy Policy, or if You wish to contact the ASG regarding privacy-related matters connected with the Service, You may contact the American Samoa Government Treasury and Customs Division by email at [email protected]. [email protected].

Communications submitted to this email address may be used for privacy-related inquiries, account assistance, support requests, filing guidance, pilot initiative administration, operational learning, localization research, service improvement, and other administrative purposes connected with the Service and the Customs process.

Use of this email contact does not, by itself, constitute the formal submission of a declaration, appeal, legal notice, claim, or other matter unless the Service expressly provides for that purpose.