2 ENTRY OF GOODS
Entry Process
When
a shipment reaches the United States, the importer of record (i.e., the owner, purchaser, or licensed customs broker
designated by the owner, purchaser, or
consignee) will file entry documents for the goods with the port
director at the goods' port of entry.
Imported goods are not legally entered until after the shipment has
arrived within the port of entry,
delivery of the merchandise has been authorized by CBP, and estimated duties have been paid. It is the
importer of record's responsibility to arrange for examination and release of the goods.
Pursuant
to 19 U.S.C. 1484, the importer of record must use reasonable care in making entry.
NOTE:
In addition to contacting CBP, importers should contact other agencies
when questions arise about particular
commodities. For example, questions about products regulated by the Food and Drug Administration
should be forwarded to the nearest FDA
district office (check local phone book under U.S. government listings)
or to the Import Division, FDA
Headquarters, 301.443.6553. The same is true for alcohol, tobacco, firearms, wildlife products (furs, skins,
shells), motor vehicles, and other products and
merchandise regulated by the other federal agencies for which CBP
enforces entry laws. Appropriate
agencies are identified on page 197.
Addresses
and phone numbers for these agencies are listed in the appendix.
Goods
may be entered for consumption, entered for warehouse at the port of arrival, or they may be transported in-bond
to another port of entry and entered there
under the same conditions as at the port of arrival. Arrangements for
transporting the merchandise in-bond to
an in-land port may be made by the consignee or by a customs broker or by any other person with an
interest in the goods for that purpose. Unless your merchandise arrives directly at the port
where you wish to enter it, you may be charged
additional fees by the carrier for transportation to that port unless
other arrangements have been made. Under
some circumstances, your goods may be released through your local port of entry, even if they arrive at a
different U.S. port from a foreign country.
Prior to the goods' arrival, arrangements for entry must be made at the
CBP port of entry where you intend to
file your duties and documentation.
Goods to be placed in a
foreign trade zone are not entered at the customhouse. See Chapter 41 for more information on foreign
trade zones.
Evidence Of Right To Make Entry
Goods
may only be entered by their owner, purchaser, or a licensed customs broker. When the goods are consigned “to
order,” the bill of lading, properly endorsed by the consignor, may serve as evidence
of the right to make entry. An air waybill may be used for merchandise arriving by air.
In
most instances, entry is made by a person or firm certified by the carrier bringing the goods to the port of entry. This
entity (i.e., the person or firm certified) is
considered the “owner” of the goods for customs purposes.
The
document issued by the carrier for this purpose is known as a “Carrier’s Certificate.” An example of this certificate
is shown in the Appendix. In certain
circumstances, entry may be made by means of a duplicate bill of lading
or a shipping receipt. When the goods
are not imported by a common carrier, possession of the goods by the importer at the time of arrival shall
be deemed sufficient evidence of the right to
make entry.
Entry For Consumption
Entering
merchandise is a two-part process consisting of: (1) filing the documents necessary to determine whether merchandise
may be released from CBP custody, and (2)
filing the documents that contain information for duty assessment and
statistical purposes. Both of these
processes can be accomplished electronically via the Automated Broker Interface (ABI) program of the
Automated Commercial System (ACS).
Entry Documents
Within 15 calendar days of the date that a
shipment arrives at a U.S. port of entry,
entry documents must be filed at a location specified by the port
director. These documents are:
• Entry Manifest (CBP Form 7533) or
Application and Special Permit for
Immediate Delivery (CBP Form 3461) or other form of merchandise release required by the port director,
•
Evidence of right to make entry,
•
Commercial invoice or a pro forma invoice when the commercial invoice cannot be produced,
•
Packing lists, if appropriate,
•
Other documents necessary to determine merchandise admissibility.
If the goods are to be released from CBP
custody at the time of entry, an entry
summary for consumption must be filed and estimated duties deposited at
the port of entry within 10 working days
of the goods' entry.
Surety
The
entry must be accompanied by evidence that a bond has been posted with CBP to cover any potential duties, taxes, and
charges that may accrue. Bonds may be
secured through a resident U.S. surety company, but may be posted in the
form of United States currency or certain United States government obligations.
In the event that a customs broker is
employed for the purpose of making entry, the broker may permit the use of his bond to provide the required
coverage.
Entry Summary Documentation
Following presentation of the entry, the
shipment may be examined, or examination
may be waived. The shipment is then released if no legal or regulatory violations have occurred. Entry summary
documentation is filed and estimated duties are
deposited within 10 working days of the entry of the merchandise at a
designated customhouse. Entry summary
documentation consists of:
•
Return of the entry package to the importer, broker, or his authorized agent after merchandise is permitted release,
•
Entry summary (CBP Form 7501),
•
Other invoices and documents necessary to assess duties, collect
statistics, or determine that all import
requirements have been satisfied. This paper
documentation can be reduced or eliminated by using features of the
ABI.
Immediate Delivery
An
alternate procedure that provides for immediate release of a shipment may
be used in some cases by applying for a
special permit for immediate delivery on CBP Form 3461 prior to arrival of the merchandise.
Carriers participating in the Automated
Manifest System can receive conditional release authorizations after
leaving the foreign country and up to
five days before landing in the United States. If the application is approved, the shipment will be released
expeditiously after it arrives. An entry summary must then be filed in proper form, either on
paper or electronically, and estimated duties
deposited within 10 working days of release. Immediate-delivery release
using Form 3461 is limited to the
following types of merchandise:
•
Merchandise arriving from Canada or Mexico, if the port director approves it and an appropriate bond is on
file,
•
Fresh fruits and vegetables for human consumption arriving from Canada or Mexico and removed from the area
immediately contiguous to the border and
placed within the importer’s premises within the port of importation,
•
Shipments consigned to or for the account of any agency or officer of the U.S. government,
•
Articles for a trade fair,
•
Tariff-rate quota merchandise and, under certain circumstances, merchandise subject to an absolute quota.
Absolute-quota items require a formal
entry at all times,
•
In very limited circumstances, merchandise released from warehouse followed within 10 working days by a warehouse
withdrawal for consumption,
•
Merchandise specifically authorized by CBP Headquarters to be entitled to release for immediate delivery.
Entry For Warehouse
If
one wishes to postpone release of the goods, they may be placed in a CBP bonded warehouse under a warehouse entry. The
goods may remain in the bonded warehouse
up to five years from the date of importation. At any time during that
period, warehoused goods may be
re-exported without paying duty, or they may be withdrawn for consumption upon paying duty at the duty
rate in effect on the date of withdrawal. If
the goods are destroyed under CBP supervision, no duty is payable.
While
the goods are in the bonded warehouse, they may, under CBP supervision, be manipulated by cleaning, sorting,
repacking, or otherwise changing their condition by processes that do not amount to
manufacturing. After manipulation, and within the warehousing period, the goods may be exported
without the payment of duty, or they may
be withdrawn for consumption upon payment of duty at the rate applicable to
the goods in their manipulated condition
at the time of withdrawal. Perishable goods,
explosive substances, or prohibited importations may not be placed in a
bonded warehouse. Certain restricted
articles, though not allowed release from custody, may be warehoused.
Information
regarding bonded manufacturing warehouses is contained in section 311 of the Tariff Act (19 U.S.C. 1311).
Unentered Goods
If
no entry has been filed for the goods at the port of entry, or at the port
of destination for in-bond shipments,
within 15 calendar days after their arrival, the goods may be placed in a general-order warehouse at
the importer’s risk and expense. If the
goods are not entered within six months from the date of importation,
they can be sold at public auction or
destroyed. Perishable goods, however, and goods subject to depreciation and explosive substances may be
sold sooner.
Storage
charges, expenses of sales, internal revenue or other taxes, duties, fees, and amounts for the satisfaction of liens
must be taken out of the money obtained from
the sale of the unentered goods. Claims for the surplus proceeds of sale
may be filed with the port director at
whose instruction the merchandise was sent to sale. Any claim for such proceeds must be filed within 10 days of
sale and supported with an original bill of
lading.
A
photostatic copy or certified copy of the bill of lading may be used if only
part of a shipment is involved in the
sale. Carriers, not port directors, are required to notify a bonded warehouse of unentered merchandise.
Once notified, the bonded warehouse
operator/manager shall arrange for the unentered merchandise to be
transported to his or her premises for
storage at the consignee’s risk and expense. If the goods are subject to internal revenue taxes, but will not bring
enough to pay the taxes if sold at public auction, they are subject to
destruction.
Mail Entries
Importers
have found that in some cases it is to their advantage to use the national postal service—that is, a country's mail
system, rather than courier services—to import
merchandise into the United States. Some benefits to be gained are:
•
Ease in clearing shipments through CBP. The duties on parcels valued at $2,000 or less are collected by the letter
carrier who delivers the parcel to the
addressee (see note on page 16),
•
Savings on shipping charges: smaller, low-valued packages can often be
sent less expensively through the
mails,
•
No formal entry required on duty-free merchandise not exceeding $2,000 in value,
•
No need to clear shipments personally if under $2,000 in value.
Joint CBP and postal regulations provide that
all parcel post packages must have a CBP
declaration securely attached to the outer wrapping giving an accurate
description of the contents and their
value. This declaration can be obtained at post offices worldwide. Commercial shipments must also be
accompanied by a commercial invoice
enclosed in the parcel bearing the declaration.
Each
mail parcel containing an invoice or statement of value should be marked
on the outer wrapper, on the address
side, “Invoice enclosed.” If the invoice or statement cannot be conveniently enclosed within the
sealed parcel, it may be securely attached to
the parcel. Failure to comply with any of these requirements will delay
clearance of the shipment through
CBP.
Packages
other than parcel post—for example, letter-class mail, commercial papers, printed matter, or samples of merchandise—must
bear on the address side a label, Form
C1, provided by the Universal Post Union, or the endorsement “May be opened
for customs purposes before delivery,”
or similar words definitely waiving the privacy of the seal and indicating that CBP officers may
open the parcel without recourse to the
addressee. Parcels not labeled or endorsed in this manner and found to
contain prohibited merchandise, or
containing merchandise that is subject to duty or tax, are subject to forfeiture.
A
CBP officer prepares the CBP entry (a form) for mail importations not exceeding $2,000 in value, and the letter
carrier at the destination delivers the parcel to the addressee upon payment of duty. If the
value of a mail importation exceeds $2,000,
the addressee is notified to prepare and file a formal CBP entry (also
called a consumption entry) for it at the CBP port nearest him. A commercial
invoice is required with the entry.
A
CBP processing fee of $5.00 will be assessed on each item of dutiable mail for which a CBP officer prepares documentation.
The postal carrier will collect this nominal
fee on all dutiable or taxable mail along with the duty owed. There is
also a postal fee (in addition to
prepaid postage) authorized by international postal conventions and agreements as partial reimbursement to the
Postal Service for its extra work in clearing
packages through CBP and delivering them.
NOTE: The following general
exceptions apply to the $2,000 limit:
•
Articles classified in Subchapters III and IV, Chapter 99, Harmonized Tariff Schedule,
•
Billfolds and other flat goods,
•
Feathers and feather products,
•
Flowers and foliage, artificial or preserved,
•
Footwear,
•
Fur, articles of,
•
Gloves,
•
Handbags,
•
Headwear and hat braids,
•
Leather, articles of,
•
Luggage,
•
Millinery ornaments,
•
Pillows and cushions,
•
Plastics, miscellaneous articles of,
•
Rawhides and skins,
•
Rubber, miscellaneous articles of,
•
Textile fibers and products,
•
Toys, games, and sports equipment, and
•
Trimmings.
The
limit for these articles is $250, except for textiles (fibers and
products). Virtually all commercial
shipments of textiles require formal entry, regardless of value. Unaccompanied shipments of made-to-measure
suits from Hong Kong, a category that
includes single suits for personal consumption, also require a formal
entry regardless of the suit’s
value.
Transportation
Of Merchandise In Bond
Not
all merchandise imported into the United States and intended for domestic commerce is entered at the port where it
arrives.
The
importer may prefer to enter the goods
at a different location in the United States, in which case the merchandise
will have to be further transported to that location. In order to protect
United States revenue in these cases,
the merchandise must travel in a bonded status from the port of arrival to the intended port of entry. This process is
referred to as traveling under Immediate
Transportation procedures and is accomplished by the execution of CBP
Form 7512 (Transportation Entry and
Manifest of Goods Subject to CBP Inspection and Permit).
The
merchandise is then placed with a carrier who accepts it under its bond
for transportation to the intended
destination, where the normal merchandise entry process will occur.