19 CFR 10.207 – Procedures for filing duty-free treatment claim and submitting supporting documentation
(a) Filing claim for duty-free treatment. Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, a claim for duty-free treatment under the ATPA may be made at the time of filing the entry summary by placing the symbol “J” as a prefix to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States subheading number applicable to each article for which duty-free treatment is claimed on that document.
Terms Used In 19 CFR 10.207
- Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
- Center director: means the person who manages their designated Center and is responsible for certain trade decisions and functions concerning that Center and the importers that are processed by that Center. See 19 CFR 101.1
- Country: means the political entity known as a nation. See 19 CFR 134.1
- Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Exportation: means a severance of goods from the mass of things belonging to this country with the intention of uniting them to the mass of things belonging to some foreign country. See 19 CFR 101.1
- Importer: means the person primarily liable for the payment of any duties on the merchandise, or an authorized agent acting on his behalf. See 19 CFR 101.1
- Shipment: means the merchandise described on the bill of lading or other document used to file or support entry, or in the oral declaration when applicable. See 19 CFR 101.1
- United States: includes all territories and possessions of the United States, except the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Wake Island, Midway Islands, Kingman Reef, Johnston Island, and the island of Guam. See 19 CFR 134.1
(b) Shipments covered by a formal entry—(1) Articles not wholly the growth, product, or manufacture of a beneficiary country—(i) Declaration. In a case involving an article covered by a formal entry for which duty-free treatment is claimed under the ATPA and which is not wholly the growth, product, or manufacture of a single beneficiary country as defined in § 10.202(a), the exporter or other appropriate party having knowledge of the relevant facts in the beneficiary country as defined in § 10.202(a) where the article was produced or last processed shall be prepared to submit directly to the Center director, upon request, a declaration setting forth all pertinent detailed information concerning the production or manufacture of the article. When requested by the Center director, the declaration shall be prepared in substantially the following form:
I, ____________ (name), hereby declare that the articles described below (a) were produced or manufactured in ____________ (country) by means of processing operations performed in that country as set forth below and were also subjected to processing operations in the other beneficiary country or countries (including the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and any CBI beneficiary country) as set forth below and (b) incorporate materials produced in the country named above or in any other beneficiary country or countries (including the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and any CBI beneficiary country) or in the customs territory of the United States (other than the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico) as set forth below:
| Number and date of invoices | Description of articles and quantity | Processing operations performed on articles | Material produced in a beneficiary country or in the U.S. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Description of processing operations and country of processing | Direct costs of processing operations | Description of material, production process, and country of production | Cost or value of material | ||
(ii) Retention of records and submission of declaration. The information necessary for the preparation of the declaration shall be retained in the files of the party responsible for its preparation and submission for a period of 5 years. In the event that the Center director requests submission of the declaration during the 5-year period, it shall be submitted by the appropriate party directly to the Center director within 60 days of the date of the request or such additional period as the Center director may allow for good cause shown. Failure to submit the declaration in a timely fashion will result in a denial of duty-free treatment.
(iii) Value added after final exportation. In a case in which value is added to an article in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or in the United States after final exportation of the article from a beneficiary country as defined in § 10.202(a), in order to ensure compliance with the value requirement under § 10.206(a), the declaration provided for in paragraph (b)(1)(i) of this section shall be filed by the importer or consignee with the entry summary. The declaration shall be completed by the party responsible for the addition of such value.
(2) Articles wholly the growth, product, or manufacture of a beneficiary country. In a case involving an article covered by a formal entry for which duty-free treatment is claimed under the ATPA and which is wholly the growth, product, or manufacture of a single beneficiary country as defined in § 10.202(a), a statement to that effect shall be included on the commercial invoice provided to Customs.
(c) Shipments covered by an informal entry. The normal procedure for filing a claim for duty-free treatment as set forth in paragraph (a) of this section need not be followed, and the filing of the declaration provided for in paragraph (b)(1)(i) of this section will not be required, in a case involving a shipment covered by an informal entry. However, the Center director may require submission of such other evidence of entitlement to duty-free treatment as deemed necessary.
(d) Evidence of direct importation—(1) Submission. The Center director may require that appropriate shipping papers, invoices, or other documents be submitted within 60 days of the date of entry as evidence that the articles were “imported directly”, as that term is defined in § 10.204.
(2) Waiver. The Center director may waive the submission of evidence of direct importation when otherwise satisfied, taking into consideration the kind and value of the merchandise, that the merchandise was, in fact, imported directly and that it otherwise clearly qualifies for duty-free treatment under the ATPA.
(e) Verification of documentation. The documentation submitted under this section to demonstrate compliance with the requirements for duty-free treatment under the ATPA shall be subject to such verification as the Center director deems necessary. In the event that the Center director is prevented from obtaining the necessary verification, the Center director may treat the entry as fully dutiable.