State Dept Says Imports to a Foreign Diplomatic Mission, Etc. Must Clear U.S. Customs Using a State Dept Clearance Form (Not a CBP Form)
According to a State Department notice and government sources, effective April 25, 2006, any shipment sent from abroad to any foreign diplomatic or consular mission [in the U.S.], or to its personnel [in the U.S.] must be cleared by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) solely through the State Department's diplomatic customs clearance procedure and form.
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According to the notice and government sources, this decision makes it unlawful for any person or entity (e.g., customs brokers1) to assist foreign missions in clearing shipments through U.S. Customs by any other means. Private entities as well as foreign missions are required to comply with the Department of State's diplomatic customs clearance procedure and it is the intended effect of this rule to increase such compliance.
Government sources state that the correct clearance form to use is DS 1504, entitled "Request for Customs Clearance of Merchandise", which is available at http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/22637.pdf .
Sources add that DS 1504 is completed by the foreign diplomatic or consular mission or its personnel and then is submitted to the State Department's Office of Foreign Mission for approval. The form is then returned to the foreign mission or its personnel, to be used to clear the merchandise with CBP. No CBP form is used. In addition, the DS 1504 must be used even if diplomatic duty-free treatment is not sought.
1The State Department notice actually uses the term 'freight forwarders' instead of 'customs brokers'; however, government sources acknowledge that as the notice deals with imports into the U.S., 'customs brokers' might have been the better term.
| Cliff Seagroves (202) 895-3541 (technical information) |
| Susan Benda (202) 647-0308 (legal information) |
State Department Public Notice 5382 (FR Pub 04/25/06) available at
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20061800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2006/pdf/E6-6184.pdf.
Instructions on completing the DS 1504, available at http://www.state.gov/ofm/resource/imp/customs/20297.htm