[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 233 (Friday, December 4, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67169-67170]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-32321]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Customs Service
Renewal of the Generalized System of Preferences
AGENCY: Customs Service, Treasury.
ACTION: General notice.
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SUMMARY: The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) is a renewable
preferential trade program that allows the eligible products of
designated developing countries to directly enter the United States
free of duty. The GSP program expired on June 30, 1998, but has been
renewed, effective October 21, 1998, with retroactive effect to July 1,
1998, by a provision in the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency
Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999, Pub. L. 105-277. This document
provides notice to importers that Customs will begin processing refunds
on all duties paid, with interest from the date the duties were
deposited, on GSP-eligible merchandise that was entered on July 1,
1998, through October 20, 1998, and that Customs will accept claims for
GSP duty-free treatment for merchandise entered, or withdrawn from a
warehouse, for consumption on or after October 21, 1998, through June
30, 1999, the provision's current sunset date.
DATES: Customs began the processing of refunds on duties paid--with
interest as set forth in this document--on October 27, 1998.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general operational questions:
Formal entries--John Pierce, 202-927-1249
Informal entries--William Kotlowy, 202-927-1364
Mail entries--Robert Woods, 202-927-1236
Passenger Claims--Michael Perron, 202-927-1325
For specific questions relating to ABI processing: James Halpin,
Office of Information and Technology, 202-927-7128.
Questions from filers regarding ABI transmissions should be
directed to their ABI client representatives. Persons with other
questions regarding this notice may contact John Pierce, Trade
Agreements, 202-927-1249.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Section 501 of the Trade Act of 1974 (the 1974 Act), as amended (19
U.S.C. 2461), authorizes the President to establish a Generalized
System of Preferences (GSP) to provide duty-free treatment for eligible
articles imported directly from designated beneficiary countries.
Pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 2465, as amended by section 981(a) of Pub. L.
105-34, 111 Stat. 902, duty-free treatment under the GSP program
expired on June 30, 1998.
On October 21, 1998, the President signed into law the Omnibus
Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999, Pub.
L. 105-277. Section 1011 of the ``Tax and Trade Relief Extension Act of
1998'' (within Division J of that Appropriations Act) provides for the
extension of GSP duty-free treatment to eligible articles from
designated beneficiary countries that are entered, or withdrawn from a
warehouse, for consumption on or after October 21, 1998, through June
30, 1999. Section 1011 also provides for the refund of any duty paid
with respect to entries made after June 30, 1998, through October 20,
1998, to which duty-free treatment would have applied, provided that a
request for liquidation or reliquidation is filed with Customs by April
19, 1999, (i.e., within 180 days after the date of enactment of the
Appropriations Act) and contains sufficient information to enable
Customs to locate the entry or to reconstruct the entry if it cannot be
located.
Recognizing the impact that retroactive renewal and consequent
numerous reliquidations will have on both importers and Customs,
Customs developed a mechanism to facilitate refunds (see, Federal
Register Notice of June 16, 1998, 63 FR 32911) that began the
processing of refunds on October 27, 1998. Customs expects the
processing of refunds to take from four to eight weeks for certain
formal Automated Broker Interface (ABI) entries. If refunds are not
received within the specified time, importers are advised to direct
inquiries regarding the status of their refunds to the appropriate
Customs port of entry.
Duty-Free Entries
Effective October 21, 1998, filers again will be entitled to file
GSP-eligible entries without the payment of estimated duties.
Refunds With Interest
A. Formal Entries
Customs will liquidate or reliquidate all affected entries and
refund any duties deposited for items qualifying for GSP. Field
locations shall not issue GSP refunds except as instructed to do so by
Customs Headquarters.
If an ABI entry was filed with payment of estimated duties using
the Special Program Indicator (SPI) for the GSP (the letter ``A'') as a
prefix to the tariff number, no further action by the filer is
required; filings with the SPI ``A'' will be treated as conforming
requests for refunds.
Non-ABI filers who either did or did not request a refund by using
the SPI ``A'' must request a refund in writing from the Port Director
at the port of entry by April 19, 1999. The letter may cover either
single entries or all entries filed by an individual filer at a single
port. To expedite refunds, Customs recommends the following information
be included in each letter:
1. A statement requesting a refund, as provided by section 1011 of
the ``Tax and Trade Relief Extension Act of 1998;''
2. The entry numbers and line items for which refunds are
requested; and
3. The amount requested to be refunded for each line item and the
total amount owed for all entries.
Interest on duties deposited will be paid, pursuant to section 505
of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1505), based on the
quarterly Internal Revenue Service interest rates used to calculate
interest on refunds of Customs duties as follows:
July 1, 1998--July 31, 1998--7%
August 1, 1998--August 31, 1998--7%
September 1, 1998--September 30, 1998--7%
October 1, 1998--October 20, 1998--7%
[[Page 67170]]
B. Informal Entries
Refunds with interest on informal entries filed via ABI on a
Customs Form 7501 with the SPI ``A'' will be processed in accordance
with the procedures discussed above.
C. Mail Entries
The addressees must request a refund of GSP duties and return it,
along with a copy of the CF 3419A, to the appropriate International
Mail Branch (address listed on bottom right hand corner of CF 3419A).
It is essential that a copy of the CF 3419A be included as this will be
the only means of identifying whether GSP products have been entered
and estimated duties and fees have been paid.
D. Baggage Declarations and Non-ABI Informal Refunds
If travelers/importers wrote a statement directly on their Customs
declarations (CF 6059B) or informal entries (CF 363 or CF 7501)
requesting a refund, no further action by the traveler/importer will be
required; the statement will be treated as a conforming request for
refunds. Failing to request a refund in this manner will not preclude a
traveler/importer from otherwise making a timely request in writing, as
described above for non-ABI filers.
Dated: November 24, 1998.
Peter J. Baish,
Acting Assistant Commissioner, Field Operations.
[FR Doc. 98-32321 Filed 12-3-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4820-02-P
