Details of the Recently Enacted Miscellaneous Trade Bill (Part XI)
On December 3, 2004, President Bush signed into law the conference version of H.R. 1047, the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2004.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
This is Part XI of a multi-part series of summaries on the conference version of H.R. 1047 and highlights the some of the drawback-related amendments. See future issues for additional summaries on the remaining drawback amendment.
Drawback for Packaging Material (19 USC 1313(q))
The conference version would amend 19 USC 1313(q) to read as follows:
| (1) | Packaging material under subsections (c) and (j) - Packaging material, whether imported and duty paid, and claimed for drawback under either subsection (c) or (j)(1), or imported and duty paid, or substituted, and claimed for drawback under subsection (j)(2), shall be eligible for drawback, upon exportation, of 99 percent of any duty, tax, or fee imposed under Federal law on such imported material. |
| (2) | Packaging material under subsections (a) and (b) - Packaging material that is manufactured or produced under subsection (a) or (b) shall be eligible for drawback, upon exportation, of 99 percent of any duty, tax, or fee imposed under Federal law on the imported or substituted merchandise used to manufacture or produce such material. |
| (3) | Contents - Packaging material described in paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be eligible for drawback whether or not they contain articles or merchandise, and whether or not any articles or merchandise they contain are eligible for drawback. |
| (4) | Employing packaging material for its intended purpose prior to exportation - The use of any packaging material for its intended purpose prior to exportation shall not be treated as a use of such material prior to exportation for purposes of applying subsection (a), (b), or (c), or paragraph (1)(B) or (2)(C)(i) of subsection (j). |
Penalties for False Drawback Claims (19 USC 1593a(h))
The conference version would amend 19 USC 1593a(h) regarding the issuance of regulations for penalties for false drawback claims so that it references both 19 USC 1593a(c) (maximum penalties) and 19 USC 1593a(g) (repetitive violations).
Unused Merchandise Drawback (19 USC 1313(j))
The conference version would revise 19 USC 1313(j) regarding unused merchandise drawback by amending:
- USC 1313(j)(1), which provides for direct identification unused merchandise drawback, in order to replace the phrase "because of its importation" with the phrase "upon entry or importation;"
- USC 1313(j)(2), which provides for commercially interchangeable (substitution) unused merchandise drawback, in order to replace the phrase "because of its importation" with the phrase "upon entry or importation;" and
- USC 1313(j)(2)(C)(ii)(II) to state " then, notwithstanding any other provision of law, upon the exportation or destruction of such other merchandise the amount of each such duty, tax, and fee paid regarding the imported merchandise shall be refunded as drawback under this subsection..."
(Congressional and trade sources have previously stated that these changes would reverse the portion of a 1999 decision of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) (Texport Oil Company v. U.S.) which eliminated the Harbor Maintenance Fee's (HMF's) eligibility for certain duty drawback.)
Direct Identification Unused Merchandise Drawback for Insular Possessions (19 USC 1313)
The conference version would amend 19 USC 1313 by adding a new subsection (y) for articles shipped to U.S. insular possessions, which reads as follows:
Articles described in subsection (j)(1) shall be eligible for drawback under this section if duty was paid on the merchandise upon importation into the U.S. and the person claiming drawback demonstrates that the merchandise has entered the customs territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Wake Island, Midway Islands, Kingman Reef, Guam, Canton Island, Enderbury Island, Johnston Island, or Palmyra Island.
See ITT's Online Archives or 10/19/04, 10/20/04, 10/22/04, 11/01/04, 11/02/04, 11/30/04, 12/01/04, 12/02/04, 12/03/04, and 12/06/04 news, 04101905, 04102005, 04102225, 04110115, 04110225, 04113020, 04120105, 04120210, 04120310, and 04120630, for Parts I-X.
Legislative text of the Conference version of H.R. 1047 available at http://waysandmeans.house.gov/media/pdf/hr1047/HR1047confreptlegtext.pdf.
Joint explanatory statement of the conference committee regarding H.R. 1047 available at
http://waysandmeans.house.gov/media/pdf/hr1047/hr1047confreptexplanstatement.pdf.