[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 144 (Tuesday, July 28, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44986-44987]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-18459]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Renewal of the Generalized System of Preferences and Retroactive
Application for Certain Liquidations and Reliquidations Under the GSP
AGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland
Security.
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 beneficiary developing countries to directly enter the
United States free of duty. The GSP program expired on July 31, 2013,
but has been renewed through December 31, 2017, effective July 29,
2015, with retroactive effect between August 1, 2013 to July 28, 2015,
by a provision in the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015. This
document provides notice to importers that U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) will again accept claims for GSP duty-free treatment
for merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption
and that CBP will process refunds on duties paid, without interest, on
GSP-eligible merchandise that was entered during the period that the
GSP program was lapsed. Formal and informal entries that were filed
electronically via the Automated Broker Interface (ABI) using Special
Program Indicator (SPI) Code ``A'' as a prefix to the tariff number
will be automatically processed by CBP and no further action by the
filer is required to initiate the refund process. Non-ABI filers, and
ABI filers that did not include SPI Code ``A'' on the entry, must
timely submit a duty refund request to CBP. CBP will continue
conducting verifications to ensure that GSP benefits are available to
eligible entries only.
DATES: Effective July 29, 2015, the filing of GSP-eligible entry
summaries may be resumed without the payment of estimated duties, and
CBP will initiate the automatic liquidation or reliquidation of formal
and informal entries of GSP-eligible merchandise that was entered on or
after August 1, 2013 through July 28, 2015 and filed via ABI with SPI
Code ``A'' notated on the entry. Requests for refunds of GSP duties
paid on eligible non-ABI entries, or eligible ABI entries filed without
SPI Code ``A,'' must be filed with CBP no later than December 28, 2015.
ADDRESSES: Instructions for submitting a request to CBP to liquidate or
reliquidate entries of GSP-eligible merchandise that was entered on or
after August 1, 2013 through July 28, 2015 are located at http://www.cbp.gov/trade/priority-issues/trade-agreements/special-trade-legislation/generalized-system-preferences.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: General questions concerning this
notice should be directed to Maggie Gray, Office of International
Trade, Trade Agreements Branch, 202-863-6621. For operational questions
regarding: Formal/Informal Entries and Baggage Declarations: Celestine
Harrell, 202-863-6937; Mail Entries: Katherine Changes, 202-344-1767 or
Robert Woods, 202-344-1236; Non-ABI Informal Entries: contact the port
of entry where goods were entered. Questions from filers regarding ABI
transmissions should be directed to their assigned ABI client
representative.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Section 501 of the Trade Act of 1974, 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 for specific
time periods. Pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 2465, as amended by section 1011(a)
of Public Law 105-277, 112 Stat. 2681, duty-free treatment under the
GSP program expired on July 31, 2013. On June 29, 2015, the President
signed the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015 (Publ. L. 114-27).
Section 201 of Public Law 114-27 pertains to the extension of duty-free
treatment and the retroactive application for certain liquidations and
reliquidations under the GSP. Section 201(b)(1) provides that GSP duty-
free treatment will be applied to eligible articles from designated
beneficiary countries that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse,
for consumption on or after July 29, 2015 through December 31, 2017.
Section 201(b)(2) provides that for entries made on or after August 1,
2013 through July 28, 2015, to which duty-free treatment would have
applied if GSP had been in effect during that time period (``covered
entries''), any duty paid with respect to such entry will be refunded
provided that a request for liquidation or reliquidation of that entry,
containing sufficient information to enable U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) to locate the entry or to reconstruct the entry if it
cannot be located, is filed with CBP by December 28, 2015 (180 days
after enactment of Pub. L. 114-27). Section 201(b)(2)(C) provides that
any amounts owed by the
[[Page 44987]]
United States pursuant to section 2(b)(2)(A) will be paid without
interest.
Field locations will not issue GSP refunds except as instructed to
do so by CBP Headquarters. The processing of retroactive GSP duty
refunds will be administered by CBP according to the terms set forth
below.
Duty-Free Entry Summaries
Effective July 29, 2015, filers may resume filing GSP-eligible
entry summaries without the payment of estimated duties.
GSP Duty Refunds
Formal/Informal Entries
CBP will automatically liquidate or reliquidate formal and informal
entries of GSP-eligible merchandise that were entered on or after
August 1, 2013 through July 28, 2015 and filed electronically via the
Automated Broker Interface (ABI) using Special Program Indicator (SPI)
Code ``A'' as a prefix to the listed tariff number. Such entry filings
will be treated as a conforming request for a liquidation or
reliquidation pursuant to section 201(b)(2)(B) of Public Law 114-27,
and no further action by the filer will be required to initiate a
retroactive GSP duty refund. CBP expects to begin processing automatic
refunds for these entries shortly after July 29, 2015.
CBP will not automatically process GSP duty refunds for formal
covered entries that were not filed electronically via ABI, nor for
formal and informal covered entries that were filed electronically via
ABI with payment of estimated duties, but without inclusion of the SPI
Code ``A'' as a prefix to the listed tariff number. In both situations,
requests for liquidation or reliquidation of covered entries must be
made by December 28, 2015 pursuant to the procedures set forth in
http://www.cbp.gov/trade/priority-issues/trade-agreements/special-trade-legislation/generalized-system-preferences.
Mail Entries
For merchandise that was imported via the mail, addressees must
request liquidation or reliquidation of covered entries by December 28,
2015 pursuant to the procedures set forth in http://www.cbp.gov/trade/priority-issues/trade-agreements/special-trade-legislation/generalized-system-preferences.
Baggage Declarations and Non-ABI Informals
Travelers/importers must request liquidation or reliquidation of
covered entries by December 28, 2015 pursuant to the procedures set
forth in http://www.cbp.gov/trade/priority-issues/trade-agreements/special-trade-legislation/generalized-system-preferences.
Countries Eligible for Retroactive Benefits
The Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015 reauthorization of GSP
provides retroactive benefits only to goods from a country that is a
beneficiary of the GSP program as of July 29, 2015. As such, this
excludes countries such as Bangladesh \1\ and Russia \2\ that lost
eligibility between July 31, 2013 and July 29, 2015.
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\1\ See 78 FR 39949 (July 2, 2013).
\2\ See 79 FR 60945 (October 8, 2014).
Dated: July 23, 2015.
Brenda Smith,
Assistant Commissioner, Office of International Trade.
[FR Doc. 2015-18459 Filed 7-27-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111-14-P