CBP Posts Post Entry Amendments FAQ, Etc.
In February 2008, U.S. Customs and Border Protection posted a Post Entry Amendment (PEA) frequently asked questions document to its Web site.
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The FAQ discusses CBP's August 2007 modifications to its PEA processing test; it also covers aspects of an October 2007 memo regarding the August 2007 changes.
(In August 2007, CBP issued a Federal Register notice announcing a modification to the PEA processing test. The changes to the test program were: (1) the elimination of the Supplementary Information Letter (SIL) effective September 20, 2007; (2) a new requirement that all single PEAs be submitted at least 20 working days before the scheduled liquidation date; and (3) the extension of the test program for another year.)
The following are highlights of the FAQ, as well as CBP's October 2007 memo (partial list):
Coversheet. Will filers continue using the "Post Summary Adjustment Correction to an Entry Summary PEA/SIL Only" coversheet for the single PEA scenario?
CBP states that the coversheet has been updated (and retitled) and is available at http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/import/cargo_summary/general_pea/post_summary_form.ctt/post_entry_amendment_form.pdf.
According to the October 2007 CBP memo, the PEA coversheet has been updated to (1) remove the "non-revenue SIL" box; and (2) add a "liquidation date" box (the filer is now required to provide the scheduled liquidation date in this box - see below).
Liquidation dates. How will a filer determine the liquidation date if the date has not been transmitted via the Automated Broker Interface or the filer does not have access to the ABI records of a particular entry?
CBP responds that every effort should be made to provide the liquidation date on the PEA coversheet. In those instances when it is not available, the filer should annotate "n/a" in the liquidation date field.
Protests. Can a PEA be converted to a protest as stated in the August 2007 Federal Register notice announcing the modification to the PEA test?
No, CBP will not treat a PEA filed prior to liquidation as a protest. CBP states that a revision of the PEA test, through a Federal Register notice, will be issued to eliminate the provision stating that some PEAs filed before liquidation may be treated as protests. If a PEA is filed timely and the entry summary liquidates, CBP may reliquidate the entry summary voluntarily under 19 USC 1501 or the importer may file a protest under 19 USC 1514.
Quarterly reports. The October 2007 memo states that quarterly reporting1 will only be submitted for non-revenue PEAs or PEAs with a bill or refund resulting in under $20 and a value below $10,000. Does the $10,000 refer to the total entered value of the entry, or the value of the line item in question?
CBP states that the $10,000 refers to the difference between the entered value of the line item and the corrected value of the line item. However, this should be more accurately stated as "Quarterly reporting will only be submitted for (1) non-revenue related errors that do not meet Census Bureau reporting levels and (2) non-AD/CVD revenue related errors of < $20."
(Note that CBP's November 20002Federal Register notice announcing the PEA test contains guidelines for determining when statistical information errors require the filing of a single PEA or a quarterly tracking report. See ITT's Online Archives or 11/30/00 news, 00112936, for BP summary.)
Additional Information Covered by FAQ
The FAQ also states that (partial list):
Only a single PEA requires a corrected CBP Form 7501 (quarterly tracking reports do not).
A PEA cannot be submitted to request entry summary cancellations and any such requests will be returned to the filer.
PEAs cannot be used for post entry free trade agreement claims under 19 USC 1520(d). These claims should be filed as set forth in 19 CFR Part 181. (The October 2007 memo adds that the PEA program cannot be used for informal entry summaries or entry summary deletions.)
Currently, brokers cannot use quarterly reporting to file a consolidated report that lists corrections for multiple importers; however, CBP is exploring the possibility of adding such a filing option in the future.
If a PEA request is denied, CBP will liquidate the entry summary as entered and will place the entry in the two-week liquidation cycle. If a filer disagrees with CBP's determination, they may file a protest under 19 USC 1514.
1The reporting quarters are defined as follows: January 1-March 31; April 1-June 30; July 1 to September 30; and October 1-December 31.
2CBP's General Notice announcing the PEA test (dated 11/28/00) available at http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2000_register&docid=00-30306-filed.pdf
(See ITT's Online Archives or 02/21/08 news, 08022145 1, for previous BP summary announcing that CBP posted a PEA FAQ and updated coversheet.
See ITT's Online Archives or 08/22/07 news, 07082205, for BP summary modifying the PEA test.)
PEA FAQ document (dated 02/05/08) available at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/import/cargo_summary/general_pea/pea_faqs.xml
PEA Memo (dated 10/23/07) available at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/import/cargo_summary/general_pea/pea_modification.xml