CBP Discusses its Rulings Process at the Trade Symposium
At the December 2009 Trade Symposium, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials and others discussed CBP's rulings process and certain international rulings issues.
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Highlights from CBP's presentation include:
New Edition of CBP Valuation Encyclopedia Expected to be Issued
CBP is expected to issue a new edition of its Valuation Encyclopedia, possibly within the next few months. CBP's Valuation Encyclopedia was last updated in 2004 and contains a variety of information, including (depending on the chapter) statutory provisions, portions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) Valuation Agreement, summaries of judicial precedent, and CBP Headquarters ruling summaries/excerpts.
6,821 Rulings Issued in FY 2009, NY's Usually Issued in 18-19 Days
CBP issued 6,821 rulings with respect to prospective transactions in fiscal year (FY) 2009. Officials note that CBP Headquarters' Office of Regulations and Rulings (OR&R) strives to issue its rulings within 90 days and the National Commodity Specialist Division in New York strives to issue its rulings in 30 days or less. In FY 2009, the NCSD issued its rulings in an average of 18-19 days.
CBP-Trade Shared Responsibility in Rulings Process
The responsibilities CBP and the trade share regarding the rulings process include:
Each ruling is issued on the assumption that all of the information furnished in connection with the ruling request and incorporated in the ruling either directly by reference or by implication is accurate and complete in every material respect.
The application of a ruling by a CBP field office to the transaction to which it is purported to relate is subject to verification of the facts incorporated in the ruling, a comparison of the transaction described therein to the actual transaction, and the satisfaction of any conditions on which the ruling is based.
CBP Provides Advice on Requesting Rulings
When requesting rulings, the trade should remember that:
Rulings are generally limited to prospective transactions.
The NCSD in New York can answer most tariff classification, marking and North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) requests. Headquarters OR&R will handle most others.
NY is quick; e-rulings are available but you still have to provide complete information.
GRIs, Chapter and Section notes, ENs, past rulings, court cases and in the case of NAFTA, the latest Rules of Origin, should always be researched.
CROSS and other search tools using various terms should be researched.
CBP's Valuation Encyclopedia should also be consulted for valuation issues.
The regulations and statutes for non-tariff rulings (value, entry, drawback, carriers, etc) should be reviewed.
Advise CBP if there are court cases pending.
Each request must state whether the issue has been considered by, or is pending before CBP, CIT, CAFC, etc.
WTO to Consider U.S. Proposal That Members Issue Rulings
According to CBP, the U.S., Canada, Australia and Turkey have submitted a proposal to require all World Trade Organization members to have a program that issues customs rulings to those who request them.
The draft text of this proposal was circulated at the July 2, 2009 meeting of the WTO's Negotiating Group on Trade Facilitation. The proposal is expected to be discussed at the Group's next meeting in February 2010.
CBP Trade Symposium presentation on the rulings process available at http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/trade/trade_outreach/presentations09/rulings_present.ctt/rulings_present.pdf.