On December 18, 2018, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published a Federal Register Notice (FRN) finalizing the modernized drawback rules, as directed by the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (TFTEA).
According to the FRN, the changes to drawback will, “liberalize the merchandise substitution standard, simplify recordkeeping requirements, extend and standardize timelines for filing drawback claims, and require the electronic filing of drawback claims.”
Some of the key topics covered in the FRN include:
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Transition period and interim guidance;
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Filing requirements – deadlines, recordkeeping, protests, and proof of export;
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Refunds – methodology, valuation, and first filed and mixed claims;
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Bonds – types and joint and several liability;
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Federal excise tax and substitution drawback claims.
The final rule is effective on December 17, 2018. The effective date for the amendments regarding the drawback of excise taxes is February 19, 2019.
The FRN may be found here:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/12/18/2018-26793/modernized-drawback
