Documentation Required to Support NAFTA and other FTA Claims
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Issue 36, October 19, 2007
To support the duty preference benefits claimed in association with any of the existing Free Trade Acts, Free Trade Agreements, and programs (FTAs), importers & exporters must be prepared to supply U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) with any requested documentation necessary to support that the subject articles indeed meet the requirements specified within the FTA to qualify for the duty preference benefit.
This documentation includes, but is not limited to,
- Records concerning the purchase of, cost of, value of and payment for the good.
- Records concerning the purchase of, cost of, value of and payment for all the materials used in the production of the good.
- A Costed bill of Materials for the good reflecting breakout of material values, production costs, etc.
- Overview of production that occurred to produce the good.
- Supporting documentation from the material suppliers reflecting materials “originating” status under the FTA.
- Other supporting documentation as required.
There has been a recent increase in the issuance of Requests for Information by CBP requesting the above referenced documentation to validate FTA claims made at time of entry and to support FTA claims being made on a post-entry basis.
Under Reasonable Care guidelines, companies should have this supporting documentation in place prior to making any FTA claims or completing any FTA declarations or forms. And, therefore, this information should be read and available to submit to CBP upon request.
CBP provides a short time window to reply to their requests for this information so it is imperative that companies are prepared respond upon receipt. Failure to respond timely may result in denial of FTA benefits and potential penalties from CBP.
Details on the requirements associated with making FTA claims can be found on the CBP website at, http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/import/international_agreements/free_trade/
Sincerely,
Brian Lindholm
Executive Vice President and Country Head - USA
