Commerce Ends Entry Summary Certification Requirement for Organic Exemption From Italy Pasta Duties
The Commerce Department is ending a requirement that importers of organic pasta from Italy submit an organic certification with their entry summary to qualify for an exemption from antidumping and countervailing duties, it said in the final results of a changed circumstances review on AD/CV duties on pasta from Italy (A-475-818/C-475-819) (here). Effective Jan. 13, importers only have to maintain the organic certificates in their records and provide them to CBP and Commerce to prove their eligibility upon request, Commerce said.
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As in Commerce's proposal, unchanged in these final results, both the importer and exporter are required to keep a copy of the original certification in their respective records, as well as supporting documentation. The exporter and importer will be required to submit the certification in response to a request from CBP or Commerce, “in the form or manner required by the requesting agency,” Commerce said. The certification would have to be “issued, signed and dated prior to the merchandise being exported from Italy.” Entries for which an exporter or importer is unable to produce the required certification may be subject to antidumping or countervailing duties, it said.
The change to a recordkeeping requirement "should not be construed as an indication" that Commerce "relinquishes its ability to require the filing of the organic certification for each entry of pasta subject to the AD/CVD Italy Pasta Orders. If, at any time, either CBP or the Department becomes aware of evidence indicating that the elimination of the requirement to file the organic certification with each entry is undermining the enforcement of the AD/CVD Italy Pasta Orders, the Department can reconsider whether to require that the organic certification be filed with each entry, using the [Document Imaging System (DIS)] for entries filed in ACE or through other means as appropriate," it said.
Commerce is also amending the scope language for the organic exemption from AD/CV duties on pasta from Italy to reflect the change to a recordkeeping requirement. The revised scope language says: “Also excluded are imports of organic pasta from Italy that are certified by an EU authorized body in accordance with the United States Department of Agriculture's National Organic Program for organic products. The organic pasta certification must be retained by exporters and importers and made available to U.S. Customs and Border Protection or the Department of Commerce upon request.”
(Federal Register 01/13/17)