MEMORANDUM
April 2, 2018
Importers should continue to flag GSP-eligible importations with the SPI “A” and pay normal trade relations (column 1) duty rates until the effective date of the Act, April 22, 2018, at which time programming will obviate the duty payment.
Refund Programming
Shortly after April 22, 2018, CBP will begin refunding GSP duties without interest, to the importer of record, for goods on entry summaries filed with SPI “A” preceding the tariff number, during the lapse period.
Up-to-Date Importer of Record (IOR) Information
It is imperative that all importer of record information in ACE be up-to-date and valid, including the importer’s mailing address and banking information, if the importer is a member of CBP’s ACH refund program. Accurate records will allow refunds to be processed expeditiously.
Post-Importation GSP Claims for Importations Prior to Expiration
For importations made prior to expiration, CBP will continue to process post-importation GSP claims via post summary correction (PSC) and protest (19 USC 1514, 19 CFR 174). For importations made subsequent to expiration, CBP will not allow post-importation GSP claims made via PSC or protest.
Post-Importation GSP Claims for Importations During the Lapse
An importer may submit a duty refund request (post-importation GSP claim) for entry summaries submitted during the GSP lapse period on which the special program indicator “A” was not transmitted. Refund requests may be submitted as letters, Post Summary Corrections (PSC) or Protests. (Although the refund request may be submitted as a protest, do note that it is not truly a protest.)
The GSP refund request should include the following information:
– Entry number
– Line number
– HTSUS number
– Estimated total refund
– Signed statement that the goods are eligible for GSP
– Point of contact name, phone number and email address
Although importers may avail themselves of these post-importation GSP procedures at any time prior to September 19, 2018, CBP will begin processing these claims only after processing those submitted at entry summary. CBP reserves the right to reject claims without the aforementioned information.
Be advised that the failure to submit a post-importation GSP claim in accordance with the aforementioned requirements is not remediable via protest.
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Eligibility
In order to benefit from GSP, a good must be either wholly obtained or sufficiently manufactured in a GSP country. Sufficiently manufactured means that all 3rd-country materials have undergone a substantial transformation plus at least 35% of the good’s value has been added in the beneficiary country. Additionally, the good must be “imported directly”.
Eligible tariff items are identified by the symbols “A”, “A*” or “A+” in the “Special” sub-column of the HTSUS.
The symbol “A” indicates that all GSP countries are eligible (HTSUS General Note 4(a))
The symbol “A*” indicates that certain GSP countries are ineligible (HTSUS General Note 4(d))
The symbol “A+” indicates approximately 1,500 additional tariff items for which only the LDBDCs are eligible (HTSUS General Note 4(b))
