CBP Adding Five FTAs to Reconciliation Pilot
CBP will add five additional free trade agreements (FTAs) that importers can claim post-importation preferential tariff treatment on, the agency said in a general notice. The additional agreements to be included in the reconciliation pilot are: U.S.-Oman Free Trade Agreement (OFTA), the U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (PTPA), the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (UKFTA), the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (CTPA), and the U.S.-Panama Trade Promotion (PANTPA), said CBP. Reconciliation entries for imports from the new FTAs will be available Aug. 12, said CBP.
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The reconciliation prototype test, started over a decade ago, allows automated commercial system processing of post-importation claims for certain free trade agreements and trade promotion agreements that permit an importer, who did not claim tariff benefits at the time of importation, to file a claim for a refund of any excess duties, taxes, and/or fees paid within a year after importation. Reconciliation "allows the importer, using reasonable care, to file entry summaries with CBP with the best available information, with the mutual understanding that certain elements, such as the declared value, remain outstanding," according to CBP. "At a later date, when the specifics have been determined, the importer files a Reconciliation which provides the final and correct information. The Reconciliation is then liquidated, with a single bill or refund, as appropriate."
The paper procedures for filing post-importation claims for preferential tariff treatment are waived for reconciliation participants, to avoid duplicate filings for the same entry summaries, said CBP. The agency notes an OFTA, PTPA, UKFTA, CTPA, or PANTPA reconciliation entry is limited to covering only OFTA, PTPA, UKFTA, CTPA, and PANTPA claims. The other currently included FTAs -- NAFTA, Chile and CAFTA---are similarly limited, said CBP. CBP provided an update for filing applications for the pilot earlier this year (see 13013028).
(Federal Register 05/13/13)