Dear Importers and Friends,

The Office of Intl Trade is set to begin retroactively billing for the increase in the Merchandise Processing Fee which became effective on October 01, 2011.

As the programming of CBP’s automated system was not completed until the start of business on November 5, 2011, the increased MPF was not properly collected between October 01, 2011 and November 04, 2011.  With refund processing just about completed for various Trade Promotion programs, OIT is poised to begin billing for these outstanding funds.

Entries processed during this time will be subject to additional billing to account for the uncollected funds resulting from the increased MPF.  As per CBP’s “de minimis” rule, monetary differences of $20.00 usd or less will not be processed for retroactive MPF collection.  Entries which are subject to the collection of additional MPF fees will be subject to reconciliation of the original entry.

Customs formal message and guidelines regarding this matter are available via the following link.  CSMS# 12-000217

Please give us call if any questions.

Best Regards

Beth Raymond
Vice President – Imports