Final rules that will require advance electronic filing of cargo data across all modes of transportation may be out by mid-November, Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Robert C. Bonner said on Thursday.

Customs originally planned to issue the rules, which Congress ordered in the Trade Act of 2002, on Oct. 1. Customs has finished its work, but the regulations have to pass review by the Department of Homeland Security and White House Office of Management and Budget. Bonner, who addressed reporters in San Francisco, said that the review is still under way.

"We're very close," Bonner said. "My best estimate is that we'll have final regulations to the Hill within a couple of weeks."

Under the Trade Act, House and Senate committees will receive the final regulations for review. The rules will take effect 15 days after submission to Congress.

R.G. Edmonson in Washington