ACS is Now Programmed for CAFTA-DR ( ABI Entries May be Filed)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued an administrative message stating that the system changes associated with the U.S. - Central America - Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) have now been completed in ACS.
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As a result, the trade can now file CAFTA-DR claims through the Automated Broker Interface (ABI) ACS system.
CBP adds that at the present time, only the following countries are eligible to file CAFTA-DR claims:
| Country | ISO Code | Effective Date of CAFTA-DR Benefits |
| El Salvador | SV | 03/01/2006 |
| Honduras | HN | 04/01/2006 |
| Nicaragua | NI | 04/01/2006 |
ABI System Requirements for Filing CAFTA-DR Claims Have Already Been Issued
In March 2006, CBP issued the ABI system requirements for filing the four types of CAFTA-DR claims. (See ITT's Online Archives or 03/15/06 news, 06031505 for BP summary of CBP's ABI system requirements.)
In its ABI system requirements, message, CBP stated that the CAFTA-DR has different types of claims, some of which are as follows:
| originating DR-CAFTA claims (SPI 'P') |
|---|
| The SPI indicator of 'P' must be filed in the appropriate entry summary record. In addition, the country of origin and the country of export must both be eligible for DR-CAFTA benefits. Such goods are also exempt from the Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF). |
| qualifying DR-CAFTA claims (SPI 'P') |
| The SPI indicator of 'P' must be filed in the appropriate entry summary record. In addition, the country of origin and the country of export must both be eligible for DR-CAFTA benefits. These goods are exempt from the MPF. |
| TPLs 991561XX - 991562XX |
| No SPI is required for these tariff preference levels (TPLs). The country of origin and the country of export must both be eligible for DR-CAFTA benefits. TPL claims require that all value and quantity amounts be reported on the alternate tariff numbers (non-Chapter 9915 tariff numbers). The MPF will be required for TPL claims. (Not all CAFTA-DR countries have TPLs.) |
| 9822.05.10 |
| The country of origin must be eligible for SPI 'P' benefits. A second tariff number is required and no SPI indicators are allowed for either the 9822.05.10 tariff number or the alternative tariff number. The American Value of the product and the Foreign Value are required. No MPF is required. |
Included in CBP's March 2006 instructions on the ABI system requirements are detailed descriptions for filing the above types of claims using ABI, such as the new country code fields in record identifier 202 (output), where the SPI indicator P must be filed in the entry summary record, etc.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 06/04/0615 news, 06040615 for BP summary stating that CBP is working to complete this programming by May 1, 2006. See ITT's Online Archives for Part I of BP series of summaries on CBP's instructions on the filing and acceptance of claims for the DR-CAFTA in general and for El Salvador in particular. See ITT's Online Archives or 04/11/06 news, 06041105 for BP summary of CBP's instructions on the filing and acceptance of claims for the DR-CAFTA for Honduras and Nicaragua.)
CBP contact: Tony Casucci (202) 722-2041
CBP Adm: 06-0506 (dated 04/26/06) announcing ABI entries can now be filed, available at http://www.brokerpower.com/cgi-bin/adminsearch/admmsg.view.pl?article=2006/2006-0506.ADM
CBP Adm: 06-0315 (dated 03/08/06) containing the ABI system requirements for filing CAFTA-DR claims, available at http://www.brokerpower.com/cgi-bin/adminsearch/admmsg.view.pl?article=2006/2006-0315.ADM