Bahrain FTA Claims Can Now be Filed Using ABI
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued an administrative message on the automation of the Bahrain Free Trade Agreement (BFTA) in the Automated Commercial System (ACS).
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BFTA Claims Can Be Filed Using ABI Effective September 21, 2006
According to CBP, the ACS System has been programmed to allow BFTA claims to be filed using ABI (Automated Broker Interface) effective September 21, 2006.
CBP Has Already Issued System Requirements for Filing BFTA Claims Using ABI
In an earlier administrative message, CBP had advised the trade of the ABI system requirements needed to file BFTA claims, highlights of which include (partial list):
SPI 'BH' must be filed. The Special Program Indicator (SPI) of 'BH' must be filed. ('BH' is the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) code for Bahrain.)
Country of origin and export. The country of origin and export must be 'BH.'
TRQs, other special provisions. The Bahrain FTA has tariff numbers that are subject to tariff-rate quota (TRQ) and other special provisions (tariff numbers beginning with 9914).
MPF exempt for BFTA claims, except for TPL 9914.99.20. The merchandise processing fee (MPF) (class codes 499/311) is exempt for BFTA claims (SPI 'BH') except for the BFTA tariff preference level (TPL) 9914.99.20 which requires the MPF.
CBP also states that if merchandise associated with a duty-free tariff number qualifies under BFTA provisions, the MPF will be exempt by transmitting the SPI 'BH.'
(See ITT's Online Archives or 08/08/06 news, 06080815 for BP summary of CBP's ABI system requirements for filing BFTA claims for full details.)
CBP Adm: 06-1094 (dated 09/21/06) available at http://www.brokerpower.com/cgi-bin/adminsearch/admmsg.view.pl?article=2006/2006-1094.ADM