CUSTOMS ISSUES ADMINISTRATIVE RULING FOR DOMESTIC WAREHOUSES
Published: 18/08/20
U.S Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued an administrative ruling relating to certain imported products delivered to domestic warehouses or fulfillment centers.
The ruling applies to so-called Section 321, or de minimis, imports. Under Section 321, imported articles with a value of $800 or less imported by one "person" on one day can be entered into the US with very little formality and no duty-payment. The White House and CBP have been concerned about some foreign sellers using the Section 321 process to flood the U.S. market with counterfeit products.
Source: FBAforward
CBP issued the administrative ruling in an attempt to force greater accountability by foreign sellers who are often not identified upon entry. According to the ruling, when imported merchandise with a value of $800 is made by a nonresident importer and the product has not been sold to a U.S. consumer, CBP will consider the consignee (likely the US warehouse or fulfillment center) to be the "person" for purposes of determining CBP eligibility. This means that, to the extent the warehouse is the consignee of multiple low-value imported shipments in one day, those shipments are not be eligible to enter the U.S. under the Section 321 procedures. Instead a formal Customs entry would need to be filed by the importer.
The only way to avoid having the warehouse be considered the Section 321 "person" is for the name of the foreign seller or U.S. purchaser to be provided as the consignee "in care of" the domestic warehouse. IWLA members should discuss this ruling with any customers that import product using the Section 321 de minimis procedure.
IWLA will be assessing the impact of this CBP ruling on members and we invite your input. A copy of the complete ruling can be found here.
Source: www.iwla.com
