CBP Updates Policies on 'First Filed,' 'Mixed Use' Claims in Interim Guidance on TFTEA Drawback

CBP on March 26 released a new version of its interim guidance on drawback claims filed under new Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act (TFTEA) procedures. Changes in this third version include a new policy that entry summary documents for imports affected by CBP’s “mixed claims” policy do not need to be included in the required document image system (DIS) upload, as was required by the original policy guidance, but may be required for verification. The latest version also clarifies that claims will not be rejected if they do not comply with the “first filed” rule, but that claims that do not comply may be liquidated with no refund, “depending on how the rule is implemented in the final regulations.” Claim amounts may require modifications if there is a violation of the first filed rule, and the modification may be reversed when the claim is perfected, if the final regulations do not implement the first filed rule, CBP said in the updated interim guidance.