CBP Concludes Paperless Drawback Prototype
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a general notice announcing that, effective June 28, 2004, it is concluding its Paperless Drawback Prototype (prototype).
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The prototype, which tested the feasibility of filing paperless drawback claims using the Automated Broker Interface (ABI) of CBP's Automated Commercial System (ACS) commenced on June 18, 2003 and was limited to drawback claims filed at the New York/Newark Drawback Center.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 09/27/02 and 10/04/02 news, 02092720 and 02100405, for BP summaries of CBP's announcement of the prototype. See ITT's Online Archives or 04/21/03 and 04/25/03 news, 03042115 and 03042520, for BP summaries on the April 2003 reopening of the application period for prototype.)
Paperless Claims Cannot be Successfully Processed Under Current Automated Systems
Based on its evaluation, CBP has determined that the processing of paperless drawback claims cannot be successfully accomplished under current automated systems and the prototype should not be continued for that reason.
CBP notes that certain types of drawback claims cannot be processed without the filing of paper documentation (i.e. drawback claims involving NAFTA merchandise, merchandise processing fees, harbor maintenance fees, single entry bonds, etc.).
Although CBP notified approved participants in writing that drawback claims requiring paper documentation would not be accepted for purposes of the prototype, many such claims were nonetheless submitted to CBP under the auspices of the test program.
In these instances, CBP was able to redirect the submissions as paper drawback claims. However, CBP states that it is anticipated that an expansion of the prototype would make this problem difficult to contain and would result in unnecessary delays in the processing of drawback claims.
CBP Contact - Sherri Lee Hoffman (202) 927-0300
CBP General Notice (FR Pub 06/28/04) available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/06jun20041800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2004/pdf/04-14560.pdf