International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Jan. 12-16 in case they were missed.
Drawback
A duty drawback is a refund by CBP of the duties, taxes, or fees paid on imported goods, which were imposed upon importation as prescribed in 19 U.S.C. 1313(d). More broadly, a drawback also includes the refund or remission of other excise taxes pursuant to other provisions of law.
All drawback entries filed before Dec. 3, 2004 deemed liquidated one year later and can no longer be reviewed by CBP, said the Court of International Trade on Dec. 13 as it ruled in favor of Ford Motor Company in a long-running dispute over a series of decade-old drawback claims (here). A law passed by Congress in 2004 providing for deemed liquidation of drawback entries also had the effect of cleaning out the backlog of claims existing at the time, regardless of whether the underlying import entries had liquidated, said the court.
The customs broker’s license examination scheduled for April 2015 will be on Monday, April 13, said CBP in a notice (here). While CBP didn't provide any additional information, the exam typically consists of 80 multiple-choice questions. Exam topics usually include: Entry, Classification, Country of Origin, Trade Agreements, Antidumping/Countervailing Duty, Value, Broker Responsibilities, FP&F, Protests, Marking, Prohibited and Restricted Merchandise, Drawback, Intellectual Property Rights, and other subjects pertinent to a broker's duties. The agency said it will post more information soon.
CBP is extending the comment period until Dec. 24 for an existing information collection related to drawback process regulations. CBP proposes to extend the expiration date of this information collection with no change to the burden hours, it said in a notice (here).
CBP is requesting comments by Nov. 21 for an existing information collection related to drawback process regulations. CBP proposes to extend the expiration date of this information collection with no change to the burden hours.
Taiwan continues to be an active participant in World Trade Organization multilateral and plurilateral negotiations, namely on the Trade Facilitation Agreement, said Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Michael Punke at the WTO review of Taiwan on Sept. 16. The country is a staunch supporter of the Environmental Goods Agreement, as well as the Information Technology Agreement and Trade in Services Agreement, Punke added.
The driving of a truck out of the U.S. for export constitutes "use" for drawback claims, said CBP in a June 16 ruling, HQ H240038. The ruling, a further review of protest, involves a truck imported and entered into the U.S. that was eventually driven out of the country after sitting unused at the work site it was imported for. CBP previously denied the drawback claims filed by the importer/exporter because "the exported merchandise did not meet the requirements," said CBP.
CBP posted a notice announcing that the next customs broker license exam will be on Monday, Oct. 6. The notice says test-takers will have 4.5 hours, a half hour longer than the agency previously allowed, to complete the exam. "The time was raised from the former limit of 4 hours to allow sufficient time for completion," said an agency spokeswoman. CBP said last year it would allow for 4.5 hours for the 2013 October exam, but eventually said the notice was incorrect (see 13062019 and 13062803).
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues:
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.