CBP Lengthens Deadline for DIS Submissions on Mixed Use Drawback Claims

CBP will now allow 30 days for drawback filers to submit supporting documentation for “mixed use” claims for Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act drawback on entries previously claimed for “core” drawback, it said in a CSMS message. “Revised language updates the interim policy document” issued by CBP in early February on TFTEA drawback (see 1802120020) “to allow filers to submit [Document Image System (DIS)] uploads for mixed-use claims within 30-days from the time the filer receives the mixed-use informational message in ACE,” CBP said.

A similar change is being made for drawback claims on entries subject to reconciliation, CBP said. “Revised language also updates the interim policy document to allow filers to submit DIS uploads for reconciliation within 30-days of the liquidation of all reconciliation entries associated with imports on the drawback claim,” it said.

CBP had previously required both types of DIS uploads within 24 hours of the original claim, which came as a surprise to some in the trade community that saw the short window as an “impediment” to claims (see 1802260057). “The Policy office stands behind our commitment to work with the trade during ACE Drawback deployment, the transition period and beyond.” The change is “much appreciated,” said Michael Cerny of Sandler Travis on the daily ACE update call with CBP held shortly after the CSMS message was issued.

The DIS uploads for mixed use claims are necessary to allow CBP to process TFTEA substitution drawback claims on entries already claimed for “core” drawback. "Because line item reporting is not required for non-TFTEA drawback claims, CBP will have to perform manual verifications for TFTEA substitution drawback claims (refund calculation based on per unit averaging) when they designate any line items from import entries previously designated on non-TFTEA drawback claims (refund calculation based on invoice values),” CBP said in its interim guidance. The information submitted allows CBP to make sure drawback isn’t being claimed twice on the same line.

Overall, CBP has so far the ACE drawback transition that began on Feb. 23 received a total of 330 drawback submissions, and rejected 297 of them. When looking only at unique claims, CBP has accepted 33 claims out of a total of 74 filings, an acceptance rate of about 45 percent, said a CBP official on the March 1 ACE call. CBP plans to fix duty calculations issues the night of March 1 or on March 2, and issues related to validation of taxes and fees once it completes a data migration as early as March 2, the official said.