International Trade Today is a service of Warren Communications News.

CBP Posts User Fee Table (Reflects Increased COBRA Fees)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted to its Web site a table regarding the user fees that are collected by CBP.

Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article

If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.

List of User Fees Covered in the Table

CBP's table provides the fee, the authority to collect and spend, the date established and the date of last change, the party liable for the payment, where and how the fee is collected, the nature of spending those funds, and the amount for each fee listed below:

COBRA Commercial Vessel Fee1

COBRA Commercial Vehicle (Truck) Fee1

COBRA Rail Car Fee1

COBRA Private Aircraft/Vessel Fee1

COBRA Air/Sea Passenger Fee1

COBRA Cruise Vessel Passenger Fee1

COBRA Ferry Passenger Fee1

COBRA Dutiable Mail Fee1

COBRA Broker Permit Fee1

COBRA Barge/Bulk Carrier Fee1

Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF)

Harbor Maintenance Fee (HMF): Imports

HMF: Domestic Movements

HMF: Foreign-Trade Zone (FTZ) Admissions

HMF: Cruise Vessel Passengers

Agriculture: Beef Imports Assessment

Agriculture: Pork Imports Assessment

Agriculture: Honey Imports Assessment

Agriculture: Cotton Imports Assessment

Agriculture: Potato Imports Assessment

Agriculture: Mushroom Imports Assessment

Agriculture: Watermelon Imports Assessment

Agriculture: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Commercial Vessel User Fee2

Agriculture: APHIS Commercial Truck User Fee3

1CBP's chart reflects the April 1, 2007 increase in certain COBRA user fees. (CBP issued a final rule, effective April 1, 2007, that, among other things, amended 19 CFR Parts 24 and 111 by increasing the fees charged for certain customs inspectional services under section 13031 of the Consolidated Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1985, as amended (COBRA). (See ITT's Online Archives or 01/31/07 news, 07013110, for BP summary.))

2 Effective March 1, 2007, commercial vessels entering the U.S. from Canada were no longer exempt from the APHIS agricultural quarantine and inspection (AQI) fee.

3 Though not reflected in this CBP table, effective June 1, 2007 commercial trucks and railroad cars entering the U.S. from Canada are scheduled to no longer be exempt from the APHIS AQI fees. According to APHIS sources, the commercial railroad car fees are not listed in this table because these fees are directly remitted to APHIS, unlike the commercial truck user fee which will be collected by CBP on behalf of APHIS. (See ITT's Online Archives or 02/27/07 news, 07022710, for BP summary of APHIS delaying these AQI fees until June 1. See ITT's Online Archives or 03/23/07 news, 07032310, for BP summary of CBP updating information on user fee decals and transponders, which reflects the COBRA user fee increases, and provides information on the AQI fees.)

CBP User Fee Table (posted 03/29/07) available at http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/import/carriers/userfeetable.ctt/userfee0407.xls

BP Note on HMF for Exports

Although CBP's user fee table continues to list the HMF for exports, it notes that on March 31, 1998, the Supreme Court issued a judgment that the HMF as assessed on exports is unconstitutional and beginning April 27, 1998, exporters were advised to stop payment of the fee.