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July 28, 2010 | Duty-Free Treatment for Holiday Goods Advances, but Importers Must Act to Continue to Preserve Rights
| Duty-free treatment for utilitarian articles with festive designs or motifs recently moved closer to reality with a key step by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. With the process still expected to take up to another year, however, importers are strongly advised to continue preserving their rights to eventual refunds of the duties paid on these articles.
On July 1, CBP filed a long-awaited request for the International Trade Commission to launch an investigation on the impact of Note 1(v) to Chapter 95 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S. This note excludes holiday-themed utilitarian articles entered on or after Feb. 3, 2007, from classification as duty-free “festive articles” under HTSUS heading 9505.
CBP has requested the creation of new duty-free provisions in Chapter 98 to ensure that the affected articles receive duty-free treatment when imported into the U.S. The HTSUS currently includes two such provisions, but they are limited to specific religious or cultural holiday articles (subheading 9817.95.01) and articles that are in the form of a 3-D representation of a festive symbol or motif (subheading 9817.95.05). CBP is now proposing to eliminate the 3-D requirement and establish a broad new legal note and new duty-free subheading intended to cover all plastic, ceramic and glass kitchenware, tableware and toilet articles (except baking pans, cookie cutters, cookie stamps and presses), textile carpets and floor coverings, table linens, apparel and made-up textile articles with festive designs or motifs, so long as they are (a) closely associated with a festive occasion and (b) used or displayed principally during that festive occasion and not typically at any other time.
Importers must act now to preserve their potential right to use the requested duty-free provisions, as well as the existing chapter 98 provisions, on previously filed entries. In addition, importers will have an opportunity to comment on the text of the proposed duty-free provisions, which will be published by the ITC in the Federal Register in the coming months.
For further information and guidance on the scope the proposed provisions and preserving your right to duty-free treatment, please contact:
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Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A., is a customs and international trade law firm concentrating in assisting clients with the global movement of goods, ideas and personnel and the setting of global trade policy. Our affiliated consulting company, Sandler & Travis Trade Advisory Services Inc., is a leading provider of trade-related management and consulting services to government and industry. For more information about ST&R and STTAS, please visit our Web site. |
Published by Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A.
NOTE: Information contained herein is of necessity a summary of complicated and fact-specific issues. It is not intended to convey legal advice, and receipt of it does not constitute or create an attorney-client relationship. Before you act on any information provided in this document, you should seek professional advice regarding its applicability to your specific circumstances.
© 2010, all rights reserved. July 28, 2010
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