CBP Clarifies New Documentation Requirements for US Goods Returned Duty-Free
CBP recently issued a customs ruling providing further clarification of new requirements for goods returned duty-free under subheading 9801.00.10 of the tariff schedule that took effect in April pursuant to this year’s customs reauthorization law. Previously applicable only to goods of U.S. origin exported and returned to the U.S. after not having been improved or advanced in value, the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act extended duty-free access under the subheading to goods that are not of U.S. origin, as long as they are returned within three years (see 1603010043). As a result of the change, importers that enter goods of U.S. origin under subheading 9801.00.10 within three years of export no longer need to show that an article is a product of the U.S. if it is returned within three years, though other requirements in CBP’s regulations still apply, CBP said in HQ H276787 (here).
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Customs lawyer Damon Pike requested the ruling on behalf of Hunter Douglas (HDI), seeking clarification on the applicability to its imported fabric of the recently amended language governing subheading 9801.00.10, which now covers: “[p]roducts of the United States when returned after having been exported, or any other products when returned within 3 years after having been exported, without having been advanced in value or improved in condition by any process of manufacture or other means while abroad.” CBP had issued another ruling in July that said importers must specify the exportation date of non-U.S. goods returned under the subheading, rather than simply rely on a blanket statement that the goods were returned within three years (see 1609070047).
HDI had previously been keeping a “manufacturer’s affidavit” on file for each U.S.-origin good prior to export, containing the U.S. manufacturer’s attestation of the good’s U.S. origin, as well as information about the product and the manufacturer and a declaration that the buyer will be notified if the origin or place of manufacture changes after the date of the affidavit. However, because goods of any origin may now be entered under subheading 9801.10.00 within three years of export, the affidavit is no longer necessary for U.S.-origin goods entered within that time frame, CBP said. “Products of the United States may continue to be returned without a time restriction,” it said. “Therefore, we find that the amendment does not require an importer to show that an article is a product of the United States, if it is returned within 3 years.”
Though the manufacturer’s affidavit is no longer required for U.S. goods returned within three years, other documentation requirements of 19 CFR 10.1(a) remain valid, CBP said. For example, the regulation requires “the foreign shipper to declare that the articles were exported from the United States, from a particular port and the date of their exportation, and that they were not advanced in value or improved in condition by any process of manufacture or other means,” it said. The “owner, importer, consignee, or agent” must also “declare that the foreign shipper’s statement is true and that the articles were not manufactured or produced in the United States under subheading 9813.00.05,” and also “that the articles were exported from the United States without benefit of drawback.” The port director may still require other documentation to substantiate the claim.
For U.S. goods returned more than three years after the date of export, the importer must still demonstrate that the goods are U.S.-origin, CBP said. “We do not find that the amendment to subheading 9801.00.10, HTSUS, changes any prior requirements to prove the U.S. origin of the articles if more than three years have elapsed between the date of import from the date of export,” it said. The manufacturer’s affidavit or a NAFTA certificate of origin, along with the documentation required by 19 CFR 10.1, including declarations by the foreign shipper and the owner, importer, consignee or agent, “should be sufficient to prove eligibility for subheading 9801.00.10, HTSUS, treatment,” CBP said.