[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 233 (Friday, December 4, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67169-67170]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-32321]


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

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Customs Service


Renewal of the Generalized System of Preferences

AGENCY: Customs Service, Treasury.

ACTION: General notice.

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

SUMMARY: The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) is a renewable 
preferential trade program that allows the eligible products of 
designated developing countries to directly enter the United States 
free of duty. The GSP program expired on June 30, 1998, but has been 
renewed, effective October 21, 1998, with retroactive effect to July 1, 
1998, by a provision in the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency 
Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999, Pub. L. 105-277. This document 
provides notice to importers that Customs will begin processing refunds 
on all duties paid, with interest from the date the duties were 
deposited, on GSP-eligible merchandise that was entered on July 1, 
1998, through October 20, 1998, and that Customs will accept claims for 
GSP duty-free treatment for merchandise entered, or withdrawn from a 
warehouse, for consumption on or after October 21, 1998, through June 
30, 1999, the provision's current sunset date.

DATES: Customs began the processing of refunds on duties paid--with 
interest as set forth in this document--on October 27, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general operational questions:

Formal entries--John Pierce, 202-927-1249
Informal entries--William Kotlowy, 202-927-1364
Mail entries--Robert Woods, 202-927-1236
Passenger Claims--Michael Perron, 202-927-1325

    For specific questions relating to ABI processing: James Halpin, 
Office of Information and Technology, 202-927-7128.
    Questions from filers regarding ABI transmissions should be 
directed to their ABI client representatives. Persons with other 
questions regarding this notice may contact John Pierce, Trade 
Agreements, 202-927-1249.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Section 501 of the Trade Act of 1974 (the 1974 Act), 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. 
Pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 2465, as amended by section 981(a) of Pub. L. 
105-34, 111 Stat. 902, duty-free treatment under the GSP program 
expired on June 30, 1998.
    On October 21, 1998, the President signed into law the Omnibus 
Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999, Pub. 
L. 105-277. Section 1011 of the ``Tax and Trade Relief Extension Act of 
1998'' (within Division J of that Appropriations Act) provides for the 
extension of GSP duty-free treatment to eligible articles from 
designated beneficiary countries that are entered, or withdrawn from a 
warehouse, for consumption on or after October 21, 1998, through June 
30, 1999. Section 1011 also provides for the refund of any duty paid 
with respect to entries made after June 30, 1998, through October 20, 
1998, to which duty-free treatment would have applied, provided that a 
request for liquidation or reliquidation is filed with Customs by April 
19, 1999, (i.e., within 180 days after the date of enactment of the 
Appropriations Act) and contains sufficient information to enable 
Customs to locate the entry or to reconstruct the entry if it cannot be 
located.
    Recognizing the impact that retroactive renewal and consequent 
numerous reliquidations will have on both importers and Customs, 
Customs developed a mechanism to facilitate refunds (see, Federal 
Register Notice of June 16, 1998, 63 FR 32911) that began the 
processing of refunds on October 27, 1998. Customs expects the 
processing of refunds to take from four to eight weeks for certain 
formal Automated Broker Interface (ABI) entries. If refunds are not 
received within the specified time, importers are advised to direct 
inquiries regarding the status of their refunds to the appropriate 
Customs port of entry.

Duty-Free Entries

    Effective October 21, 1998, filers again will be entitled to file 
GSP-eligible entries without the payment of estimated duties.

Refunds With Interest

A. Formal Entries

    Customs will liquidate or reliquidate all affected entries and 
refund any duties deposited for items qualifying for GSP. Field 
locations shall not issue GSP refunds except as instructed to do so by 
Customs Headquarters.
    If an ABI entry was filed with payment of estimated duties using 
the Special Program Indicator (SPI) for the GSP (the letter ``A'') as a 
prefix to the tariff number, no further action by the filer is 
required; filings with the SPI ``A'' will be treated as conforming 
requests for refunds.
    Non-ABI filers who either did or did not request a refund by using 
the SPI ``A'' must request a refund in writing from the Port Director 
at the port of entry by April 19, 1999. The letter may cover either 
single entries or all entries filed by an individual filer at a single 
port. To expedite refunds, Customs recommends the following information 
be included in each letter:
    1. A statement requesting a refund, as provided by section 1011 of 
the ``Tax and Trade Relief Extension Act of 1998;''
    2. The entry numbers and line items for which refunds are 
requested; and
    3. The amount requested to be refunded for each line item and the 
total amount owed for all entries.
    Interest on duties deposited will be paid, pursuant to section 505 
of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1505), based on the 
quarterly Internal Revenue Service interest rates used to calculate 
interest on refunds of Customs duties as follows:

July 1, 1998--July 31, 1998--7%
August 1, 1998--August 31, 1998--7%
September 1, 1998--September 30, 1998--7%
October 1, 1998--October 20, 1998--7%

[[Page 67170]]

B. Informal Entries

    Refunds with interest on informal entries filed via ABI on a 
Customs Form 7501 with the SPI ``A'' will be processed in accordance 
with the procedures discussed above.

C. Mail Entries

    The addressees must request a refund of GSP duties and return it, 
along with a copy of the CF 3419A, to the appropriate International 
Mail Branch (address listed on bottom right hand corner of CF 3419A). 
It is essential that a copy of the CF 3419A be included as this will be 
the only means of identifying whether GSP products have been entered 
and estimated duties and fees have been paid.

D. Baggage Declarations and Non-ABI Informal Refunds

    If travelers/importers wrote a statement directly on their Customs 
declarations (CF 6059B) or informal entries (CF 363 or CF 7501) 
requesting a refund, no further action by the traveler/importer will be 
required; the statement will be treated as a conforming request for 
refunds. Failing to request a refund in this manner will not preclude a 
traveler/importer from otherwise making a timely request in writing, as 
described above for non-ABI filers.

    Dated: November 24, 1998.
Peter J. Baish,
Acting Assistant Commissioner, Field Operations.
[FR Doc. 98-32321 Filed 12-3-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4820-02-P