CBP to Give CEE Directors Duty Refund Authority, Other Port Director Authority in Pilot Project

CBP will test giving new authority to directors of the established Centers for Excellence and Expertise (CEEs), it said in a Federal Register notice Aug. 28. The pilot program will allow the CEE directors to have similar authority as port directors as a step towards achieve uniformity in the treatment at ports of entry for certain industries.

(See ITT's Online Archives 12052327 for discussion of the pilot during the May COAC meeting.)

Initial Participants Decided by Sept. 27

The selection of initial test participants will begin no later than Sept. 27, 30 days after the FR publication. Applications will be accepted throughout the duration of this test. Selected applicants will be individually notified of their participation date. The test will give "broad decision-making authority" to the Electronic CEE in Long Beach, Calif., the Pharmaceuticals, Health and Chemicals CEE in New York, the Automotive and Aerospace CEE in Detroit, and the Petroleum, Natural Gas and Minerals CEE in Houston. Pilot participants must predominantly import goods within the CEEs' industry and must have an ACE portal account.

Regulations Waived

Current CBP regulations (Title 19 of the Code of Federal Regulations) give port directors authority to make decisions on products imported into ports. Under the pilot, a number of those regulations will be waived to give the CEE directors that same authority. When test participants file an entry in a port, the required entry documents will be routed to the CEE assigned to that importer and certain revenue-related functions, including but not limited to those indicated below, will be performed by the applicable CEE director instead of the port director:

• determinations, notifications, and processing concerning duty refund claims based on 19 U.S.C. 1520(d) (see 19 CFR 10.441, 10.442, 10.591, 10.592, 181.33,10.870, and 10.871);
• requests for computed value information (see 19 CFR 141.88);
• waivers of invoice requirements (see 19 CFR 141.92);
• determinations concerning the time of submission for all entry summaries and estimated duties (see 19 CFR 142.13);
• issuances of all Requests for Information (CBP Form 28) (see 19 CFR 151.11);
• issuances of all Notices of Action (CBP Form 29) (see 19 CFR 152.2);
• notifications and processing concerning any commingling of merchandise (see 19 CFR 152.13);
• processing of requests for application of the computed value method (see 19 CFR 152.101);
• extensions and suspensions of liquidations (see 19 CFR 159.12);
• reviewing and correcting for errors in transactions (see 19 CFR 173.1); and
• reviewing and acting on protests (see 19 CFR 173.2, 174.21, and 174.29).

For this test, § 162.74(e)(1) is also waived insofar as test participants will be required to file any prior disclosures with their designated CEE rather than at the port of entry. CBP notes note that 19 CFR 134.54(a) will be waived only to the extent to provide the CEE directors with the authority to extend the number of days from the date of the notice of redelivery for the importer to properly mark or redeliver all merchandise previously released to him. The Port Director will continue to retain the authority for demanding liquidated damages incurred under the bond in an amount equal to the entered value of the articles not properly marked or redelivered.

The CEE directors will also perform all validation activities; review and process of post entry amendments and post summary corrections; and fix the final appraisement of merchandise and the classification and duty rate of such merchandise. These actions are also typically handled by port directors, but don't require regulation waivers to transfer them to CEE directors.

Contact: Lori Whitehurst, Office of Field Operations (202) 344-2356