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How to get a refund of duty paid by a courier (Fedex, DHL, UPS, etc.) service?
First try to determine if your goods are eligible for duty free entry. The most common misconceptions are that the following items should be entered duty free: 1. Gifts. Gifts sent to U.S. residents are subject to duty, however, duty is waived for gifts sent to an individual that are under $100 in value. If the gift(s) are valued at more than $100, or if the total value of all gifts (sent to the same person) arriving in the U.S. on the same day exceed $100, then duty will be owed. (This second condition often occurs when many wedding, birthday, or holiday gifts addressed to the same person from different senders arrive in the U.S. on the same day.) 2. Items sent home that were purchased during a trip abroad. Many people think that the $800 personal exemption applies to all goods that were purchased during a trip abroad. This is incorrect. The $800 exemption may only be applied to purchases that accompany a traveler when they re-enter the U.S. (Exceptions apply for goods purchased in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and Caribbean Basin countries, please see the Chapter on Unaccompanied Goods in our brochure 'Know Before You Go.') CBP will waive duty if the total amount of goods that arrive on the same day is under $200 in value. (Yes, the waiver is less for goods sent as gifts then for goods sent on a traveler's own behalf.) 3. 'Art' glass, handicrafts,etc. Many people are aware that art is duty free - however, the definitiion of art for customs purposes is often very different from what is considered art by the general public. For customs purposes - as a general rule - art must be an original painting, sculpture or other item that is created by an artist who has exhibited in galleries. This can be a very high bar to clear. Expensive glass works, carpets, etc. may have artistic merit, but they are dutiable as the items they are, i.e. floor coverings, glass objects. For more information on what consititues Art for duty-free purposes, please see Chapter 97 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. 4. Antiques must be 100 years old or more to qualify for duty free entry. Replacements for goods that were damaged in transit or were not the item ordered. Both the original item and it's replacement are dutiable, however, you can file a request for a refund of the original item if you can demonstrate to CBP that the original item was either returned to the sender or destroyed under CBP supervision (call your local port for further instructions on how to do this). The most common mistakes that result in duty being paid when an item could have been entered duty free are: 1. Sender did not fill out the shipping paperwork correctly. This is very common for items that are American goods returned - a category that is eligible for duty-free entry. Examples include things that were left behind by accident, used goods sent home to make room in luggage for new purchases, used personal effects sent to people in the U.S. on a work or study visa. In all these instances, the description of the items being sent should indicate that the goods are used personal effects. 2. Goods are sent for testing, repair, alteration, etc. but will be re-exported. Some examples of items sent & returned for repair, alteration are electronic equipment and men's suits, respectively. Items claimed under the tariff schedule's provisions for duty free entry of goods for scientific, educational, or religious use MUST be imported on behalf of legitimate institutions, not individuals. Many examples of each can be found in the tariff schedule under Ch. 9810. 3. Goods are under $200 in value, but duty was paid. CBP generally does not require a customs entry to be filed or duty to be paid when the value of the item is under $200. CAUTION: Falsely declaring items as used personal effects or American goods returned is customs fraud and can result in fines and penalties being levied against the recipient of the shipment. Likewise, an addressee is liable for fines if a false declaration of the value of a shipment is made. In both instances, the goods are subject to seizure. If you believe that duty was paid when it should not have been, you may file a protest with the CBP port where the entry was filed. You will need to ask the courier service that delivered your goods where that is. Address the protest to the CBP Entry Branch/Protest at whichever port you file it with. The protest should be filed on Form 19. If you do not have an IRS issued Employer Identification Number, Box #4 will be your social security number. The courier service can provide you with the port number, filer code, entry number, and liquidation date (usually 24 hours after the entry date) required in Box #5. It is recommended that you include with your protest a copy of the original declaration and a photo of the item(s) to bolster any claim you make regarding the dutiablility of the goods. If there is a sales receipt, include a copy of that as well. CBP will notify you within approximately 60 days of our decision to approve or disapprove your protest. In either case, you are responsible for paying the courier service for all charges they incurred clearing the shipment on your behalf. Keep in mind, most erroneous duty charges are a result of inadequate or incorrect descriptions of the goods being sent. The courier company is not responsible for those errors, they can only process the paperwork and pay duties based on information provided on the shipping documents.
United States Council for International Business (USCIB)
http://www.uscib.org
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