[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 86 (Monday, May 5, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 24374-24375]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-11545]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Customs Service

19 CFR Parts 111 and 163

RIN 1515-AB77


Recordkeeping Requirements; Correction

AGENCY: Customs Service, Department of the Treasury.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking, correction.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This document makes corrections to the document published in 
the Federal Register on April 23, 1997, which set forth proposed 
amendments to the Customs Regulations relating to recordkeeping.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stan Hodziewich, Regulatory Audit 
Division, Washington, D.C. at (202-927-0999) or Howard Spencer, 
Regulatory Audit Division, Atlanta Branch at (770-994-2273, Ext.158).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On April 23, 1997, Customs published in the Federal Register (62 FR 
19704) a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking which covered recordkeeping 
requirements and reflected legislative changes to the Customs laws 
regarding recordkeeping, examination of books and witnesses, regulatory 
audit procedures and judicial enforcement. These statutory amendments 
are contained in the Customs Modernization provisions of the North 
American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act. This document 
corrects some errors published in the NPRM.
    Several errors involved the discussion under the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION portion of the document. As part of the background 
discussion under the heading ``Recordkeeping Requirements'', in the 
center column of page 19705, in the first full paragraph which refers 
to section 163.4 and discusses drawback documentation retention 
requirements, the document misstates the period of time that drawback 
records may be necessary to be retained. Customs did not include the 
three-year period after exportation that the claimant could wait before 
filing the drawback claim in setting forth the number of years 
necessary to retain drawback documentation. Thus, the second sentence 
of the first full paragraph in the center column on page 19705 is 
incorrect. A drawback claimant has the ability to file a claim up to 
almost eight years from the date of importation: the export on which 
the claim is made may occur up to five years from the date of 
importation and the claim can be filed within three years from the date 
of exportation. The recordkeeping requirement runs from the date of 
payment, including a payment made under the accelerated payment 
program. If the claimant takes advantage of the full eight-year period 
and Customs pays the claim under the accelerated payment program, the 
supporting record must be kept three years from the payment date: a 
period

[[Page 24375]]

of about eleven years from the date of importation.
    It is noted that the same sentence discussed above on page 19705 
also contains a typographical error by repeating the same clause that 
is being corrected in this document twice at the end of the sentence.
    An additional error occurred in the ``Other Sections Affected'' 
portion of the background discussion. In the third column of page 
19706, in the second full paragraph, the document refers to the 
definition of records in ``Sec. 111.1(f)''. The listing of definitions 
in Sec. 111.1 has been alphabetized and the reference to paragraph (f) 
was inadvertently retained. It should be removed. This oversight was 
also repeated in the text of the proposed amendment itself. In the 
center column of page 19708, in the proposed amendment of 
Sec. 111.23(a), the reference to Sec. 111.1(f) should read simply 
Sec. 111.1.

Corrections of Publication

    Accordingly, the document (FR Doc. 97-10130) published in the 
Federal Register on April 23, 1997 (62 FR 19704) is corrected as set 
forth below:

Corrections of the Background Section

    1. On page 19705, in the center column in the first full paragraph, 
the second sentence should be removed and in its place, the following 
should be inserted: ``It is noted that with this retention period for 
drawback records, it is possible that the total retention requirement 
for drawback records could extend to about eleven years from the date 
of importation. (A drawback claimant has the ability to file a claim up 
to almost eight years from the date of importation: the export on which 
the claim is made may occur up to five years from the date of 
importation and the claim can be filed within three years from the date 
of exportation. The recordkeeping requirement runs from the date of 
payment, including a payment made under the accelerated payment 
program. If the claimant takes advantage of the full eight-year period 
and Customs pays the claim under the accelerated payment program, the 
supporting records must be kept three years from that payment date: a 
period of about eleven years from the date of importation.)''
    2. On page 19706, in the third column, in the second full 
paragraph, in the fourth line, the reference to ``records in 
Sec. 111.1(f)'' is corrected to read ``records in Sec. 111.1''.

Correction to Proposed Regulation

    1. On page 19708, in the center column, in Sec. 111.23(a)(1), in 
the second and third lines, the phrase ``defined in Sec. 111.1(f)'' is 
corrected to read ``defined in Sec. 111.1''.

    Dated: April 29, 1997.
Stuart P. Seidel,
Assistant Commissioner, Office of Regulations and Rulings.
[FR Doc. 97-11545 Filed 5-2-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4820-02-P