CBP Announces New Benefits for Participants in its Importer Self-Assessment Program

CBP states that the new benefits, which pertain to certain HTS Chapter 98 goods, assists, and the Civil Aircraft Agreement, are the result of discussions with the aerospace industry but are available to all ISA participants.

(According to CBP, the ISA program is a voluntary trade facilitation partnership between CBP and importers, which allows interested importers to assess their own compliance with Customs laws and regulations. CBP states that once an importer volunteers for and is accepted into the ISA program, that importer becomes eligible for various benefits.)

Highlights of CBP's information on the new ISA participation benefits are listed as follows:

U.S. Goods Returned (HTS 9801.00.10)

CBP states that it will allow importers to claim HTS 9801.00.10 status, retaining appropriate documentation and presenting it to CBP on request. There is no requirement to provide this documentation with each entry.

In addition, absent special circumstances, CBP will not request supporting documentation (e.g., manufacturer's affidavits, CF3311, Foreign Shipper's Declaration, Importer's Declaration) for items claimed under HTS 9801.00.10 having an entered value of $25,000 or less.

(Required internal controls - the importer has controls to research, determine eligibility, and properly declare imports of returned U.S. goods under HTS 9801.00.10.)

HTS 9801.00.10, 9802.00.60 and 9802.00.80 Duty-Free Goods

CBP will uniformly accept the NAFTA certificate in lieu of the Manufacturer's Affidavit for HTS 9801.00.10, 9802.00.60 and 9802.00.80 duty-free goods.

(Required internal controls - the importer has controls requiring valid proof of origin for all articles claimed to be of U.S. origin. When used for this purpose, the NAFTA certificates must be signed by the producer of the article and indicate the country of origin as U.S.)

Tracking of Assists

Importers will have the ability to declare assists in lump sum on the first shipment, or a subsequent shipment under the same purchase contract with the foreign supplier.

(Required internal controls - the importer has processes in place to identify, declare, and record all assists provided to foreign suppliers, regardless of the method of allocation. Controls must also assure that assists are not purposely declared against duty free entries to avoid payment of duty or not purposely loaded on entries subject to drawback.)

American Goods Returned, Tools of Trade, or Repairs or Alterations

An alternative method for value declaration of the article(s) originally exported will be provided for articles returned to the U.S. as American Goods Returned under HTS 9801.00.10, tools of trade under HTS 9801.00.85, or after repairs or alterations under HTS 9802.00.40 or 9802.00.50.

(Required internal controls - importer has process and documentation in place to substantiate that the standard values declared reflect, as closely as possible, the fair market value of those articles.)

Civil Aircraft Agreement

A uniform process for submission of evidence demonstrating eligibility for the Civil Aircraft Agreement (CAA) will be established. Documentation will be submitted to CBP upon request.

(Required internal controls - importer has process to obtain and maintain documentation supporting entry under Civil Aircraft Agreement.)

Original Benefits for ISA Participation

According to CBP, the new benefits outlined above are in addition to the original benefits found in the ISA handbook, which have been previously listed as including (partial list):

The importer will be removed from the Regulatory Audit Division's audit pool established for Focused Assessments. (Importers will also be removed from the audit pool for drawback and foreign trade zones if they request to have these programs included in the ISA Program.) The audit exemption will apply to each specific area when it is determined that adequate internal controls are in place, to ensure compliance with CBP laws and regulations. (Importers may be subject to on-site examination for single-issue reviews);

The importer will receive entry summary trade data, including analysis support;

In the event that civil penalties or liquidated damages are assessed against an importer, the importer's participation in ISA will be considered in the disposition of the case;

With regard to prior disclosures, if CBP becomes aware of errors in which there is an indication of a violation of 19 USC 1592 or 1593a, CBP will provide a written notice to the importer of such errors and allow 30 days from the date of the notification for the importer to file a prior disclosure pursuant to 19 CFR 162.74. This benefit does not apply if the matter is already the subject of an ongoing CBP investigation or fraud is involved.

(See ISA Handbook for the complete list of benefits of participation in ISA.)

(See ITT's Online Archives or 09/09/05 news, 05090910, for BP summary of the September 2005 revision of CBP's information on the ISA program.)

List of new ISA participation benefits (posted 11/16/05) available at http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/import/regulatory_audit_program/importer_self_assessment/isa_benefits.ctt/isa_benefits.doc.

ISA Handbook (dated September 2005) available at http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/import/regulatory_audit_program/importer_self_assessment/isahb.ctt/isahb.doc.