[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4337 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4337

 To amend the customs laws of the United States relating to procedures 
            with respect to the importation of merchandise.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 13, 2000

  Mr. Thomas introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the customs laws of the United States relating to procedures 
            with respect to the importation of merchandise.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. MINIMAL DATA REQUIRED TO RELEASE IMPORTED MERCHANDISE FROM 
              CUSTOMS CUSTODY.

    (a) Entry of Merchandise.--Section 484(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930 
(19 U.S.C. 1484(a)) is amended--
            (1) by striking clause (i) of paragraph (1)(A) and 
        inserting the following:
                            ``(i) only such documentation or, pursuant 
                        to an electronic data interchange system, only 
                        such information as is necessary to enable the 
                        Customs Service to determine whether the 
                        merchandise may be released from customs 
                        custody, and'';
            (2) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) and (C) as 
                subparagraphs (C) and (D), respectively;
                    (B) by striking ``(2)(A)'' and inserting ``(B)''; 
                and
                    (C) by inserting before subparagraph (B), as 
                redesignated by this paragraph, the following:
            ``(2)(A) Unless the Customs Service has granted the 
        importer an alternative means to obtain release, the 
        information required by paragraph (1) shall include--
                    ``(i) a description of the imported merchandise;
                    ``(ii) the classification of the merchandise under 
                the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to 
                the sixth digit;
                    ``(iii) the country of origin of the imported 
                merchandise; and
                    ``(iv) other import documentation or certification 
                required to determine whether the merchandise may be 
                admitted into the United States.''.
    (b) Examination of Merchandise.--Section 499(a)(1) of the Tariff 
Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1499(a)(1)) is amended by striking ``until the 
merchandise has been inspected, appraised, or examined and is reported 
by the Customs Service to have been truly and correctly invoiced and 
found to comply with the requirements of the laws of the United 
States'' and inserting ``until the merchandise has been determined 
through inspection, examination, or other method to pose no threat to 
the public health, safety, or welfare and that the merchandise 
description and origin are correctly stated''.
    (c) Definition of Electronic Entry.--Section 401(o)(1) of the 
Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1401(o)(1)) is amended by striking ``for 
the entry of merchandise'' and inserting ``to determine whether the 
merchandise may be released because it does not pose a threat to the 
public health, safety, or welfare and to determine that the merchandise 
description and origin are correctly stated.''

SEC. 2. REMOTE FILING.

    Section 414(a)(2)(A)(ii) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 
1414(a)(2)(A)(ii)) is amended by inserting ``or import activity summary 
statement'' after ``the electronic entry summary''.

SEC. 3. IMPORTER ACTIVITY SUMMARY STATEMENT CLARIFICATION.

    (a) Entry of Merchandise.--Section 484(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930 
(19 U.S.C. 1484(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)(B) by inserting ``as part of an entry 
        summary or, in the alternative, an import activity summary 
        statement'' after ``complete the entry by filing with the 
        Customs Service''; and
            (2) by inserting at the end of paragraph (2)(B) the 
        following:
        ``Information filed as part of an import activity summary 
        statement shall be sufficient for purposes of paragraph (1)(B) 
        if the monthly activity is totaled by tariff number, country of 
        origin, and any relevant special duty program indicators. Such 
        information, aggregated by tariff number, country of origin, 
        and relevant special duty program, may vary from the 
        information contained in the underlying documents, 
        electronically transmitted information, or written or oral 
        statements for individual shipments, and such variances shall, 
        in the absence of fraud, be considered to be clerical errors 
        for purposes of section 592.''.
    (b) Definition of Electronic Entry.--Section 401(o)(2) of the 
Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1401(o)(2)) is amended by inserting ``or 
import activity summary statement information'' after ``entry summary 
information''.
    (c) Definition of Import Activity Summary Statement.--Section 
401(r) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1401(r)) is amended by 
adding at the end the following: ``In the importer activity summary 
statement, information during the period may be provided in the 
aggregate by tariff numbers, country of origin, and any relevant 
special duty program indicators. Information relating to specific 
entries or shipments shall not be required. For purposes of the 
administration of the customs laws, the importer activity summary 
statement shall be treated as an `entry'.''.

SEC. 4. MIDPOINT INTEREST.

    Section 505(c) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1505(c)) is 
amended by striking ``For the period beginning on'' and all that 
follows through ``the Secretary may prescribe'' and inserting ``The 
Secretary shall prescribe''.

SEC. 5. RECONCILIATION CHANGES AND CLARIFICATION.

    Section 484(b)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1484(b)(1)) 
is amended--
            (1) by inserting after the third sentence the following new 
        sentence: ``However, a party shall not be required to indicate 
        on an individual import entry, entry summary, or import 
        activity summary statement basis whether a reconciliation will 
        be filed except to the extent that the party wishes to allocate 
        information specifically to an import entry, entry summary, or 
        importer activity summary statement.''; and
            (2) by striking the first sentence and inserting the 
        following: ``A party may elect to file a reconciliation with 
        respect to any information required to be filed under 
        subsection (a)(1)(B) as identified by the party in a manner 
        prescribed by the Secretary pursuant to regulations.''.

SEC. 6. NETTING AND OFFSETTING.

    Section 592 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1592) is amended--
            (1) by adding at the end of subsection (a)(2) the 
        following: ``Absent fraud, variances between any document or 
        electronically transmitted information, or written or oral 
        statements, with respect to individual shipments and the 
        aggregate information properly filed as part of an entry 
        summary, an import activity summary statement, or a 
        reconciliation under part III of title IV shall be considered 
        to be clerical errors.'';
            (2) by adding at the end of subsection (a) the following:
            ``(3) Material incorrect statements and omissions.--To the 
        extent that the effect of incorrect information presented or 
        information omitted by a person in an entry, entry summary, 
        import activity summary statement, or reconciliation is reduced 
        by other information in or relating to the same or other 
        entries, entry summaries, import activity summary statements, 
        or reconciliations during the relevant period, the violation 
        shall be material only to the extent of the net error or 
        omission.''; and
            (3) by adding at the end of subsection (d) the following: 
        ``To the extent that the deprivation of duties, taxes, or fees 
        is offset by overpayments of duties, taxes, or fees during the 
        relevant period, the Customs Service shall collect only the net 
        underpayment.''.

SEC. 7. CIRCUMSTANCES OF SALE.

    Section 402(b)(2) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1401(b)(2)) 
is amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
    ``(D) In determining whether the circumstances of the sale of the 
imported merchandise indicate that the relationship between the buyer 
and seller did not influence the price actually paid or payable, there 
shall be taken into account other sales during a representative 
timeframe in the normal course of trade in merchandise of the same 
class or kind.''.

SEC. 8. DESTRUCTION DRAWBACK.

    Section 313 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1313) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (i)--
                    (A) by inserting ``or Destruction'' after 
                ``Exportation'' in the subsection heading;
                    (B) by striking ``No drawback'' and inserting 
                ``Unless otherwise provided for in this section, no 
                drawback''; and
                    (C) by inserting ``or destroyed under Customs 
                supervision'' after ``is exported''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(x) Destruction Defined.--
            ``(1) For purposes of this section, the term `destruction' 
        means the complete destruction, as items of commerce, of 
        merchandise or articles such that no valuable waste or scrap 
        results, except as provided in paragraph (2).
            ``(2) If waste or scrap resulting from the destruction of 
        merchandise or articles has commercial value, then drawback 
        under this section is allowable based on the quantity of 
        merchandise or articles destroyed, reduced by an amount equal 
        to the quantity of the destroyed merchandise or articles that 
        the value of the waste or scrap would replace.''.

SEC. 9. INSTRUMENTS OF INTERNATIONAL TRAFFIC.

    (a) International Traffic and Rescue Work.--Section 322(a) of the 
Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1322(a)) is amended by amending the first 
sentence to read as follows: ``Vehicles and any other instruments of 
international traffic, of any class specified by the Secretary of the 
Treasury, shall be exempted from the application of the customs laws to 
such extent and subject to such terms and conditions as may be 
prescribed in regulations or instructions of the Secretary of the 
Treasury. The term `instruments of international traffic' includes all 
types of containers and shipping devices such as lift vans, cargo vans, 
shipping tanks, skids, pallets, racks, boxes, materials for stuffing 
containers, and other similar items.''.
    (b) Exclusion From Harmonized Tariff Schedule.--General Note 16 of 
the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (e) by striking ``and'' after the comma at 
        the end:
            (2) in paragraph (f) by adding ``and'' after the comma at 
        the end: and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (f) the following new 
        paragraph:
        ``(g) containers and shipping devices such as lift vans, cargo 
        vans, shipping tanks, skids, pallets, racks, boxes, materials 
        for stuffing containers, and other similar items,''.

SEC. 10. ENTIRETIES.

    The General Notes of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United 
States is amended by adding at the end the following new General Note:
``22. Entireties. Importations of any part or component for the 
        complete or finished dies under subheading 8207.30, machinery 
        tools and equipment under chapter 84 or 85, and machinery tools 
        and equipment under chapter 90 may, at the option of the 
        importer, be classified under the specific heading or 
        subheading for the complete or finished article with which it 
        is to be used, installed, or assembled if the importer--
        ``(i) files an election with or before the filing of any one of 
                the following with respect to such part or component: 
                entry summary, importer activity summary statement, or 
                reconciliation; and
        ``(ii) demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Customs Service 
                a preexisting binding agreement for the purchase by the 
                importer of the complete article for which the part or 
                component is being imported.''.
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