In the Aug. 6 Issue of the Customs Bulletin (Vol. 48, No. 31), CBP issued a notice regarding the dates and draft agenda for the 54th Session of the World Customs Organization’s Harmonized System Committee (HSC), which will meet in Brussels from Sept. 18-26.
CBP issued its Aug. 6 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 48, No. 31), which contains the following ruling actions:
Comments submitted to CBP so far on the agency's plans to update an informed compliance publication with information on first sale valuation show some strong objections to the effort. Law firm Sandler Travis called for the proposed changes to be "withdrawn in their entirety," while the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) said uncertainty over documentation requirements point to a need for auditor training, not a revised ICP. Several others are expected to submit comments in coming days. The draft ICP includes a controversial list of documents the agency might request from industry to verify the use of first sale pricing (see 14071025).
CBP created a page (here) dedicated to frequently asked questions related to the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). The page includes a number of questions and sections, such as information related to exports, that are not included in a more detailed and technical set of FAQs CBP previously released (here).
The Port of New York/Newark adopted the recently revised CBP position on Importer Security Filing (ISF) enforcement, allowing for multiple warnings to a company prior to issuing liquidated damages, Acting New York/Newark Port Director Roderick Hudson said in an informational pipeline. CBP will maintain an internal database accessible around the country to keep track of violations, it said. CBP headquarters said in May it would shift its guidance on ISF enforcement in order to focus on the more serious violators (see 14052106).
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for July 28 - Aug. 1 in case they were missed.
The joint CBP and industry working group effort to improve entry summary decided on some initial steps during the group's first meeting July 15-17, according to a description of the first session posted by the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA). The group, known as the Simplified Summary Working Group, "was established to further improve the Entry Summary process and policies to improve usability and efficiency by modernizing the post- release processes to align with current business practices or the trade community," it said.
CBP Los Angeles will hold a seminar on "Steel Identification, Classification and Trade Law" on Sept.16-17, it said in a public bulletin. The seminar, which will include presentations from technical, commercial and legal experts from the industry, is meant to "enhance the knowledge level of steel importations" for the trade and customs brokers, it said. Registration is required by Aug. 25. The seminar will be at the Port of Los Angeles, 425 South Palos Verdes St., San Pedro, Calif.
CBP updated the Automated Commercial Environment to provide users breakdowns of merchandise processing fees (MPF), harbor maintenance fees (HMF) and other fees, the agency said. "ACE users may now modify any standard report from the Entry Summary Sub-Folder of ACE Reports and add the new data objects (to include itemized amounts of MPF, HMF and Other Fees) reported at the detail line level of an ACE entry summary," said CBP. "The three new data elements are classified as measures, which may be used in calculations and are identified by a gold ruler icon inside the universe outline panel."
The surety company that posts the required bond for accelerated drawback claims has a right to protest a denial of the claims, said CBP in a April 17 ruling. The surety, Washington International Insurance, protested the denial of accelerated drawback claims filed by SFE Citrus Processors in 1998 and 1999 that were eventually liquidated without drawback in 2004. The claims were for imported "concentrated orange juice for manufacturing" that the importer claimed was exported with added "essential oils and essences," creating a new article for drawback purposes. The further review of protest, ruling HQ W231539, also examined whether the regulations allow for a change in the basis of for the drawback claim.