CBP Proposes Informal Entry Limit Increase to $2500 (from $2000), Etc.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a proposed rule to increase the informal entry limit from $2,000 to $2,500. CBP also proposes to remove the language requiring formal entry for certain articles, because with the elimination of absolute quotas under the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing, CBP no longer needs to require formal entries for these articles. The proposed rule would also make what CBP describes as nonsubstantive, editorial and nomenclature changes.
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.
Comments are due by December 27, 2011.
Informal Entry Limit Would Increase to Account for Inflation
CBP explains that Section 662 of the Customs Modernization provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act raised the statutory limit by which the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to prescribe rules and regulations for the declaration and entry of, among other things, imported merchandise when the aggregate value of the shipment does not exceed an amount specified, but not greater than $2,500.
The current informal entry limit of $2000 was established in 1998, and while that dollar amount has been unchanged, inflation over the intervening years has reduced the value of that amount in real terms. Consequently, CBP proposes to raise the current informal entry amount to its maximum statutory limit in response to inflation that has occurred and thereby to reduce the administrative burden on importers and other entry filers.
Outdated Formal Entry Requirement for Certain Textile/Apparel Would Be Eliminated
CBP also proposes to remove language under 19 CFR 102.24 stating that formal entry is required for certain “articles valued in excess of $250” that are classified in specified parts of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. It is proposing to remove this language because CBP no longer needs to require formal entries for these articles due to the elimination of absolute quotas and visa requirements for textile articles.
(See future issue of ITT for further details of the proposed rule as appropriate.)
CBP contact - Cynthia Whittenburg (202) 863-6512
(FR Pub 10/28/11, D/N USCBP-2011-0042)