CBP published the quarterly Internal Revenue Service interest rates used to calculate interest on overdue accounts (underpayments) and refunds (overpayments) of customs duties. For the quarter beginning Jan. 1, 2020, and ending March. 31, 2020, the interest rates for overpayments remains 4 percent for corporations and 5 percent for non-corporations, and the interest rate for underpayments will be 5 percent for both corporations and non-corporations. These interest rates are subject to change for the calendar quarter beginning April 1, 2020, and ending on June 30, 2020, CBP said.
CBP released its Dec. 26 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 53, No. 47), which includes the following ruling actions:
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
CBP released its Dec. 18 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 53, No. 46). While it does not contain any customs rulings, it contains a CBP general notice and Court of International Trade decisions.
In the Dec. 11 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 53, No. 45), CBP published notices that propose to revoke or modify rulings and similar treatment for rigid plastic coolers and multiple types of chemical compounds.
CBP posted information about how industry and government agencies can request that the 484(f) Committee make changes to units of quantity in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S. Proposals for changing an HTSUS statistical suffix UOQ must be submitted to 484f@usitc.gov by March 15, 2020, for the consideration at the spring meeting, and by July 15, 2020, for the fall meeting. Any changes would take effect on Jan. 1 in the following year, it said. “For the 484(f) Committee to consider a UOQ change request, the group or individual submitting the proposal is required to demonstrate that the replacement UOQ being proposed is better aligned with the entire industry’s measurement standards than the one that is currently listed in the HTSUS,” it said.
CBP scheduled its semiannual customs broker license exams for Wednesday, April 1, and Thursday, Oct. 8, 2020, the agency said in a notice. The exams are typically given on the fourth Wednesday in April and in October. “Due to the limited availability of testing sites and to ensure the integrity of exam conditions by preventing commingling of the administration of the broker exams with other types of exams, CBP has decided to change the regularly scheduled dates of the examination,” the agency said.
The current Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act procedures should continue to be used for any CBMA claims with a date of import in 2020, CBP said in a CSMS message. The CBMA was recently extended to last through 2020 (see 1912170067). “Under the CBMA, reduced tax rates and/or tax credits are applicable to importations of certain limited quantities of distilled spirits, beer or wine imported from each assigning entity,” CBP said.
CBP decided not to go forward with its proposed ruling revocation on garments with 50/50 blends of fiber (see 1904050037), the agency said in its Dec. 11 Customs Bulletin (Vol 53, No. 45). CBP's proposal involved garments made with 50/50 fiber blends and the basis for classifying such garments. “Upon reconsideration of the matter, CBP has determined that no revocation is appropriate. Accordingly, we have determined that the tariff classification of the garments under consideration in the rulings at issue in the April 3, 2019 Customs Bulletin Notice will remain as determined in those rulings.”
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters: