By: Bill Connolly | Director of Compliance at OCEANAIR
With all the Free Trade Programs and legislation in the news it’s probably a good time for you to review your company’s imports and whether or not you have outstanding transactions with FTA implications. The General System of Practices (GSP) has finally been renewed and many importers will be looking for refunds or duties paid while the program lapsed. While the final process has yet to be rolled out most are expecting auto refunds if the transactions were properly tagged as GSP. Many companies had given up hope and stopped making the claims, so now what happens? There will be a process by which the entries can be petitioned or protested for refund, but let me ask a question, “when was the last time you verified the criteria with your supplier?” If it has been a while, then this is the time to kick your compliance up a notch or two. If you have any FTA claims being made at the time of entry, you best be able to back your claim up. What instructions have you given to your service providers in regards to preference claims? As the Importer of Record you own the liability, not your service provider. Speak with the import compliance team lead of your provider and discuss the issue. Protect yourself and as they say, a word to the wise is sufficient.
If you have questions about SPI’s, the GSP renewal, or any other compliance related issue, please contact OCEANAIR compliance at (781) 286-2700.
