"First Sale" Rule Comment Period Extended to April 23, 2008
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) today announced in the Federal Register that it will extend the deadline for interested parties to submit comments on CBP's proposed change to the interpretation of the phrase "sold for exportation to the United States'' for purposes of applying the transaction value method of valuation in a series of sales importation scenario (commonly known as the "first sale" rule). The new deadline for submitting comments is April 23, 2008.
Under CBP's proposal issued on January 24, 2008, in a transaction involving a series of sales, the price actually paid or payable for the imported goods when sold for exportation to the U.S. would be changed to the price paid in the last sale occurring prior to the introduction of the goods into the U.S., instead of the first (or earlier) sale. As a result, the entered value for duty assessment purposes would be determined on the basis of the price paid by the buyer in the U.S. (the last sale), rather than the first sale.
CBP's proposal has generated a great deal of criticism by U.S. importers and retailers since this change in CBP's long-standing interpretation will increase the duties paid on U.S. imports.
Labels: Customs