All drawback claims must be filed in ACE beginning on Jan. 14, 2017, CBP said in an update to its frequently asked questions on ACE drawback (here). “Yes, all types of drawback claims must be submitted in ACE starting on Saturday January 14, 2017,” CBP said, answering a question on whether manufacturing drawback claims must be submitted on that date. Open Automated Commercial System drawback claims submitted shortly before the transition will be migrated to ACE, it said in another recently added answer. CBP is also looking to move its other post-release capabilities into ACE in mid-January, a CBP spokeswoman said, without giving a firm date. "CBP is targeting mid-January for the deployment and mandatory transition of the remaining post-release capabilities, including drawback, reconciliation, liquidation, duty deferral, collections and statements. The precise date of deployment/mandatory transition is dependent on the publication of the liquidation Final Rule," she said. "CBP will issue additional guidance on the precise date of deployment/mandatory transition in the near future."
Drawback
A duty drawback is a refund by CBP of the duties, taxes, or fees paid on imported goods, which were imposed upon importation. More broadly, a drawback also includes the refund or remission of other excise taxes pursuant to other provisions of law. CBP's duty drawback scheme under the Customs Act of 1962 allows exporters to receive a refund on customs duties they paid on imported products that are then used or incorporated into other products for export or remain unused until importation.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
MIAMI -- CBP and the Customs Commercial Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) are ramping up efforts to improve the customs ruling process so importers can get quicker responses from CBP headquarters, said Brenda Smith, CBP executive assistant commissioner for trade, and Lenny Feldman of Sandler Travis, who co-chairs COAC’s trade modernization subcommittee. The COAC will announce a “public-private partnership” at its Nov. 17 meeting in Washington to build on its existing efforts to modernize the rulings process, Feldman said, speaking at the Florida Customs Brokers & Forwarders Conference of the Americas on Nov. 15.
MIAMI – CBP’s ACE priorities will include implementation of existing legislation and urgent fixes to the truck environment after it completes ACE “core” in January and moves into a more difficult “operations and maintenance” funding environment, said Josephine Baiamante of CBP’s ACE Business Office at the Florida Customs Brokers & Forwarders Conference of the Americas on Nov. 14. The agency will also look at ways to work with other Department of Homeland Security agencies through ACE, before turning to a list of other capabilities the trade community has requested.
ORLANDO – The U.S. government is considering how it would implement Trans-Pacific Partnership tariff phase-outs if the deal enters into force before ratification across all 12 parties, Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Market Access and Industrial Competitiveness, Office of U.S. Trade Representative, Sushan Demirjian said Oct. 19 at the National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones annual conference. Under the deal, if the full group of parties doesn’t approve TPP by Feb. 3, 2018, any group of six countries that together comprise 85 percent of TPP by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) -- which mathematically must include the U.S. and Japan -- would have 60 days to complete their respective legal procedures to implement the agreement, at which point it would provisionally enter into force for only those ratifying nations. If that doesn't happen, the deal would enter into force 60 days after six parties that make up 85% of combined TPP GDP ratify it. Only ratifying countries will realize TPP benefits upon its entry into force.
CBP recently issued a customs ruling providing further clarification of new requirements for goods returned duty-free under subheading 9801.00.10 of the tariff schedule that took effect in April pursuant to this year’s customs reauthorization law. Previously applicable only to goods of U.S. origin exported and returned to the U.S. after not having been improved or advanced in value, the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act extended duty-free access under the subheading to goods that are not of U.S. origin, as long as they are returned within three years (see 1603010043). As a result of the change, importers that enter goods of U.S. origin under subheading 9801.00.10 within three years of export no longer need to show that an article is a product of the U.S. if it is returned within three years, though other requirements in CBP’s regulations still apply, CBP said in HQ H276787 (here).
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
CBP officially revised its mandatory-use date for several post-release functions in ACE, the agency said in a notice (here). "The effective date is delayed until further notice" and CBP will publish a later notice establishing a new effective date, it said. The agency recently said it is aiming to require ACE for drawback, reconciliation, duty deferral, statements and liquidation in January next year (see 1609280072). "CBP has determined that industry partners need additional time to prepare for the transition to electronic post-release capabilities in ACE," CBP said.
NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE, Ontario -- The Canada Border Services Agency is “still stabilizing” its new Accounts Receivable Ledger (ARL) customs accounting and payment system, some nine months after it went live in January 2016, CBSA Comptroller Jen O’Donoughue said at the Canadian Society of Customs Brokers National Conference on Sept. 26. Many of the most serious issues are the result of payment misallocations that plagued the early stages of the transition, causing some importers to receive notices they owe debts despite having given money to their customs brokers to pay on their behalf. Those issues should no longer occur once CBSA works through a backlog of misallocated payments from February and March, which should be done in the next three months, she said.
CBP again delayed its mandatory use date for ACE drawback, reconciliation, duty deferral, statements and liquidation, the agency said on Sept. 28 (here). “In order to allow additional time for all stakeholders to prepare for this transition, and to provide the opportunity to solicit and receive public comment on the associated regulatory changes, CBP is rescheduling this transition which was previously scheduled for October 29, 2016,” it said. “CBP is targeting January 2017 for the revised deployment and mandatory date and will provide additional clarification regarding the precise transition date in the coming weeks.”