The Court of International Trade on Jan. 30 said that for drawback purposes the 10-digit Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheadings should be read starting with their directly adjacent text and not the superior indented text. Judge Claire Kelly said the "plain meaning" of the statute governing substituted unused merchandise drawbacks refers to the "words describing the article adjacent to the 10-digit number."
CBP CROSS Rulings
CBP issues binding advance rulings in connection with the importation of merchandise into the United States. They issue the rulings to give the trade community transparency of how CBP will treat a prospective import or carrier transaction. Common rulings include the tariff classification, country of origin, or free trade agreement applicability of merchandise, among other things. These rulings are available in CBP's Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) database.
Old leather sold at fair market value by a U.S. importer doesn't count as an "assist" for customs valuation purposes, CBP said in a recent ruling. CBP said the imported merchandise would only have constituted an assist if it was sold "free of charge or at reduced cost," ruling that sales made at “fair market value” are neither.
CBP ruled that it provided adequate notice of its extension of liquidation for entries bonded by Pennsylvania National Mutual Casualty Insurance Company that it had found subject to antidumping and countervailing duties, the agency said in a recent ruling. CBP found that there was no requirement to provide anything other than a notice beyond posting the notice on its website, and the courtesy notice provided for under the agency's regulations is not required.
The antidumping and countervailing duty orders on wooden cabinets and vanities from China covers cabinets and vanities made from phragmites, a type of reed, the Commerce Department said in a Jan. 12 scope ruling that found merchandise exported by Nanjing Kayling subject to AD/CVD.
A listing of recent Commerce Department antidumping and countervailing duty messages posted on CBP's website Jan. 23, along with the case number(s) and CBP message number, is provided below. The messages are available by searching for the listed CBP message number at CBP's ADCVD Search page.
CBP has released its Jan. 24 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 58, No. 03), which includes the following ruling action:
Logistics provider Your Special Delivery Services Specialty Logistics (YSDS) doesn't meet the criteria to act as the importer of record on a shipment, CBP said in a recent ruling. While the company would have a lien on shipments that it could exercise in the event of nonpayment, that doesn't qualify as enough of a financial interest in the shipment to give it the right to make entry, the agency said.
A listing of recent Commerce Department antidumping and countervailing duty messages posted on CBP's website Jan. 22, along with the case number(s) and CBP message number, is provided below. The messages are available by searching for the listed CBP message number at CBP's ADCVD Search page.
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CBP issued a ruling that found a company acted as a buying agent on a transaction, despite being listed as a buyer on shipping documentation. The agency said it would grant a protest from Tianjin Leviathan Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Leviathan Corporation, that found the buying commissions it earned should be deducted from the valuation of merchandise that was actually bought by its parent.