CBP ANNOUNCES TEMPORARY POSTPONEMENT OF TIME TO DEPOSIT CERTAIN ESTIMATED DUTIES, TAXES AND FEES
May 1, 2020
On April 20, 2020, the Secretary of the Treasury and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) announced in two messages through their Cargo Systems Messaging Service, available here and here, that for 90 calendar days will be postponing the deadline for payment for the deposit of certain estimated duties, taxes, and fees for importers experiencing a significant financial hardship due to the COVID-19 epidemic. The temporary postponement applies to formal entries of merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption (including entries for consumption from a Foreign Trade Zone) in March or April 2020. This temporary postponement of payment of estimated duties, taxes, and fees does not apply to any entry, or withdrawal from warehouse, for consumption, where the entry summary includes merchandise subject to antidumping duties, countervailing duties and/or Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1964, and Section 201 or 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.
An importer will be considered to have a significant financial hardship if the operation of such importer is fully or partially suspended during March 2020 or April 2020 due to orders from a competent governmental authority limiting commerce, travel, or group meetings due to COVID-19, and as a result of such suspension, the gross receipts of such importer for March 13-31, 2020 or April 2020 are less than 60 percent of the gross receipts for the comparable period in 2019. Importers do not need to file documentation with CBP to be eligible for this relief but must maintain documentation as part of its books and records establishing that it meets the requirements for relief. CBP may also conduct a review of the documentation at a future date to ensure compliance with the requirements.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com or 202-659-6622); Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com or 202-659-6665), or Andy Orr (aorr@eckertsemans.com or 202-659-6625).
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