General manufacturing drawback ruling
A general manufacturing drawback ruling means a description of a manufacturing or production operation for drawback and the regulatory requirements and interpretations applicable to that operation (see § 190.7).

GSP (Generalized System of Preferences)
The Generalized System of Preferences Program (GSP Program) is set out in title IV of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2461 et seq.). It authorizes the President, subject to certain conditions and limitations, to provide duty-free treatment for eligible articles imported from beneficiary developing countries. Before designating an article as eligible for duty-free treatment, the President must obtain the advice of the Commission on the probable economic effect of such designation (19 U.S.C. 2463(a)(1)(A), 2463(e)). Similarly, the President, before waiving the competitive need limitation in the statute, must obtain the Commission’s advice on whether any U.S. industry would be adversely affected (19 U.S.C. 2463(d)) by such a waiver.

HMF (Harbor Maintenance Fee)
Port use fee imposed at select channels or harbors, which are not considered inland waterways, where commercial cargo is loaded on or unloaded from a commercial vessel. HMF is enforced if the loading or unloading occurs at a port listed in §24.24(b)(1). Additionally, exemptions from HMF can be found in §24.24(c).

House Bill Number
An alphanumeric identifier that references an individual cargo shipment consolidated under a master bill of lading.

HS (Harmonized System)
The Harmonized System (HS) is an international classification system administered by the World Customs Organization. The 2-, 4-, and 6-digit HS headings and subheadings are the basis for the 10-digit statistical classification systems used in the United States. The HS is revised approximately every five years. For more information, see The World Customs Organization.
In the United States, the import classification system is called the “Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSA)” while the export system is called the “Schedule B”.

HTSUS (Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated)
The Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) sets out the tariff rates and statistical categories for all merchandise imported into the United States. The HTS is based on the international Harmonized System, which is the global system of nomenclature applied to most world trade in goods. The Commission publishes and maintains the HTS in its various forms, and periodically makes recommendations to the President regarding modifications needed to keep the HTS consistent with international nomenclature. U.S. Customs and Border Protection administers the HTS at U.S. ports of entry and also provides advice and rulings on matters relating to the classification of imports.

HTSUS Number or Tariff Number
An 8- or 10-position alphanumeric code assigned to various commodities listed in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated.

Importer of Record
The party who makes (or on whose behalf an agent or broker makes) an import declaration, and who is liable for the payment of liable duties on the imported goods; also known as consignee in the shipping documents and/or as the buyer in the exporter’s invoice

Imports for Consumption
Measures the total of merchandise that has physically cleared through Customs either entering consumption channels immediately or entering after withdrawal for consumption from bonded warehouses or Foreign Trade Zones under CBP custody. Many countries use the term “special imports” to designate statistics compiled on this basis.

In-bond
The act of transporting a cargo shipment from a port of unlading to another port for entry or disposition under bond.

Informal Entry
Informal entries are filed for personal shipments of any value, for certain commercial shipments valued at $1250 or less and for certain textile shipments valued at $250 or less. Informal entries can be filed on the Entry Summary, CBPF-7501, and are identified by the numeric entry type code 11 in block 2. They can also be filed on an Informal Entry, CBPF-5119A.

Informal Merchandise Fee
An assessment for Informal entry summaries. The class code is 311.

Inland freight
The cost to ship goods between points inland and the seaport, airport, or land border port of exportation, other than baggage, express mail, or regular mail.

Intermediate consignee
The person or entity in the foreign country who acts as an agent for the principal party in interest with the purpose of effecting delivery of items to the ultimate consignee. The intermediate consignee may be a bank, forwarding agent, or other person who acts as an agent for a principal party in interest.

Intermediate party
Intermediate party means any party in the chain of commerce leading to the exporter (or destroyer) from the importer and who has acquired, purchased, or possessed the imported or substituted merchandise (or any intermediate or finished article, in the case of manufacturing drawback) as allowed under the applicable regulations for the type of drawback claimed, which authorize the transfer of the imported or other drawback eligible merchandise by that intermediate party to another party.

Intermediate consignee
The person or entity in the foreign country who acts as an agent for the principal party in interest with the purpose of effecting delivery of items to the ultimate consignee. The intermediate consignee may be a bank, forwarding agent, or other person who acts as an agent for a principal party in interest.

International waters
Waters located outside the U.S. territorial sea, which extends 12 nautical miles measured from the baselines of the United States, and outside the territory of any foreign country, including the territorial waters thereof. Note that vessels, platforms, buoys, undersea systems, and other similar structures that are located in international waters, but are attached permanently or temporarily to a country’s continental shelf, are considered to be within the territory of that country.

Interplant correspondence
Records or documents from a U.S. firm to its subsidiary or affiliate, whether in the United States or overseas.

In-transit
Goods shipped through the United States, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands from one foreign country or area to another foreign country or area without entering the consumption channels of the United States.

IRS Tax (Internal Revenue Service tax)
IRS tax is paid in addition to duty on shipments of alcohol and tobacco.

ISF (Importer Security Filing)
Electronic filing elements required for cargo arriving by vessel, with the exception of any bulk cargo, including  (1) Seller, buyer, importer of record number / foreign trade zone applicant identification number, and consignee number(s); (2) Manufacturer or supplier, ship to party, country of origin, and commodity HTSUS number; (3) Container stuffing location and consolidator; (4) data elements required for FROB; and (5) data elements required for shipments intended to be transported in bond as an immediate exportation or transportation and exportation. All data elements are required no later than 24 hours before the cargo is laden aboard the vessel at the foreign port except for Container stuffing location and consolidator information which are required no later than 24 hours prior to arrival in the U.S.

ISO Code (International Organization for Standardization Code)
A 2-position alphabetic International Organization for Standardization (ISO) code for countries. For example, the ISO code for Mexico is MX, while the code for Spain is ES. A complete listing is included in Schedule C of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS).

IT (Immediate Transportation)
In-bond movement transporting a cargo shipment from the port of unlading to the in-land port of destination under bond for entry or disposition.

ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations)
Regulations administered by the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls within the U.S. State Department that provide for the control of the export and temporary import of defense articles and defense services. These regulations are located in 22 CFR 120-130.

ITN (Internal Transaction Number)
The AES generated number assigned to a shipment confirming that an EEI transaction was accepted and is on file in the AES.

KPC (Kimberley Process Certificate)
A forgery-resistant document used to certify the origin of rough diamonds from sources which are free of conflict.

Liquidation Date
The date an entry has been liquidated by CBP.

Low to High Drawback Accounting Method
In the case of the low-to-high accounting method, three alternatives are provided. Under the ordinary low-to-high method, withdrawals from the inventory are from the merchandise or articles in the inventory at the time of withdrawal with the least drawback amount per unit, including merchandise or articles with no drawback attributable to them. Under the low-to-high method with established average inventory turn-over period, withdrawals from the inventory are from the merchandise or articles received into the inventory during the established average inventory turn-over period which have not already been identified. Under the low-to-high blanket method, withdrawals from the inventory are from the merchandise or articles received into the inventory during the period preceding the withdrawal equal to the statutory period for export for the kind of drawback involved which have not already been identified. All receipts, whether imported or not, and all withdrawals, whether or not for export, from the inventory must be accounted for in the accounting record in the case of all methods, except for the low-to-high method with established average inventory turnover period and the low-to-high blanket method. In the case of those alternatives of the low-to-high method, domestic withdrawals (not for export) from the inventory need not be accounted for.

Manufacture or production
Manufacture or production means a process, including, but not limited to, an assembly, by which merchandise is either made into a new and different article having a distinctive name, character or use; or is made fit for a particular use even though it is not made into a new and different article.

Manifest
A collection of documents, including forms, such as the cargo declaration and annotated bills of lading, that lists and describes the cargo contents of a carrier, container, or warehouse.

Method of transportation (aka Mode of Transportation or MOT)
The method by which goods are exported from the United States by way of seaports, airports, or land border crossing points. Methods of transportation include vessel, air, truck, rail, mail or other. Method of transportation is synonymous with mode of transportation.

MID (Manufacturer identification code)
Manufacturer identification code constructed using specific segments of the manufacturer’s or shipper’s, name and address. Refer to CBP Directive 3500-13 dated November 24, 1986, for instructions on determining the manufacturer ID.

Mod Act
A short and informal title used to refer to the CBP modernization provisions contained in Title VI of the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (Public Law 103-182). The primary purpose of Title VI is to streamline and automated the commercial operations of the CBP. The Title is also intended to improve compliance with CBP laws and provide safeguards, uniformity, and due process rights for importers.

MPF (Merchandise Processing Fee)
Merchandise that is entered or released is subject to an ad valorem fee based on the net entered value of the merchandise for which CBP has imposed a minimum of $25.67 and maximum of $497.99 for formal import entries. MPF may be waived for certain products and countries of origin.

Multiple products
Multiple products mean two or more products produced concurrently by a manufacture or production operation or operations.

N.E.S.O.I.
An acronym, which means “Not Elsewhere Specified Or Included”.

N.S.P.F.
An acronym, which means “Not Specifically Provided For”.

NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement)
The formal agreement, or treaty, among Canada, Mexico, and the United States to promote trade amongst the three countries. It includes measures for the elimination of tariffs and nontariff barriers to trade, as well as numerous specific provisions concerning the conduct of trade and investment.

North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)
Replaced the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system in 1997 as the industry classification system used by the statistical agencies of the United States. Under NAICS, economic units that use like processes to produce goods or services are grouped together, creating a “production-oriented” system. NAICS codes are assigned by the Economic Classification Policy Committee at the U.S. Census Bureau. For more information, see the NAICS website.
U.S. international trade data are collected using the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (imports) and Schedule B (exports) which are based on the commodity type while NAICS are based on supply or industry type. Users should be aware of these differences when comparing NAICS Trade data with other NAICS datasets.

OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control)
An agency within the U.S. Department of the Treasury that administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions based on U.S. foreign policy and national security goals against targeted foreign countries, terrorists, international narcotics traffickers, and those engaged in activities related to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The OFAC acts under Presidential wartime and national emergency powers, as well as authority granted by specific legislation, to impose controls on transactions and freeze foreign assets under U.S. jurisdiction.

Per unit averaging
Per unit averaging means the equal apportionment of the amount of duties, taxes, and fees eligible for drawback for all units covered by a single line item on an entry summary to each unit of merchandise. This method of refund calculation is required for certain substitution drawback claims (see § 190.51(b)(ii)), which may also be subject to additional limitations under the “lesser of” rules, if applicable (see § 190.22(a)(1)(ii) and 190.32(b)).

Packing list
A list showing the number and kinds of items being shipped, as well as other information needed for transportation purposes.

Port of Entry
The port where the entry is filed.

Port of Unlading
The U.S. port of call in which cargo shipments are discharged.

Possession
Possession, for purposes of substitution unused merchandise drawback (19 U.S.C. 1313(j)(2)), means physical or operational control of the merchandise, including ownership while in bailment, in leased facilities, in transit to, or in any other manner under the operational control of, the party claiming drawback.

PPI (Principal parties in interest)
Those persons in a transaction that receive the primary benefit, monetary or otherwise, from the transaction. Generally, the principals in a transaction are the seller and the buyer. In most cases, the forwarding or other agent is not a principal party in interest.

Pro Forma Invoice
A provisional invoice provided by a supplier prior to the shipment of merchandise, informing the buyer of the supplier’s commitment to supply the kinds and quantities of goods to be sent, their value, and specifications (weight, size, etc.)

Provisional Entry
A temporary entry which is used to facilitate the release of goods, it is to be followed by a certified or a proper entry

Quota
Import quotas control the amount or volume of various commodities that can be imported into the United States during a specified period of time. Quotas are established by legislation, Presidential Proclamations or Executive Orders. Quotas are announced in specific legislation or may be provided for in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States. (Source: U.S. Customs and Border Protection).
Under a quota, only a certain amount of the designated merchandise can be entered into the commerce of the United States during a specific time period. Under an absolute quota, once the specified amount of merchandise has been entered, no more can be entered until the next opening. Under a tariff-rate quota, a certain amount may be entered at a reduced rate of duty. Once that amount has been entered, a higher rate of duty is charged.

Record Identifier
A collection of ACE CATAIR data elements that make up the full record.

Records
Records include, but are not limited to, written or electronic business records, statements, declarations, documents and electronically generated or machine readable data which pertain to a drawback claim or to the information contained in the records required by Chapter 4 of Title 19, United States Code, in connection with the filing of a drawback claim and which may include records normally kept in the ordinary course of business (see 19 U.S.C. 1508).

Refund of Duty
Amounts found to be overpaid as duties that may be refunded by Customs to the relevant party within one year on application made by the importer, done on a “G Form”

Related party transaction
A transaction involving trade between a USPPI and an ultimate consignee where either party owns directly or indirectly 10 percent or more of the other party.

Relative value
Relative value means, except for purposes of § 190.51(b), the value of a product divided by the total value of all products which are necessarily manufactured or produced concurrently in the same operation. Relative value is based on the market value, or other value approved by CBP, of each such product determined as of the time it is first separated in the manufacturing or production process. Market value is generally measured by the selling price, not including any packaging, transportation, or other identifiable costs, which accrue after the product itself is processed. Drawback must be apportioned to each such product based on its relative value at the time of separation.

RLF (Remote Location Filing)
A program for electronic entry filers which allows the transmission of entry/ entry summary data from one location for cargo arriving at a second location in which the filer is not located (if an importer) or is not licensed (if a broker).

Schedule
A schedule means a document filed by a drawback claimant, under section 1313(a) or (b), as amended (19 U.S.C. 1313(a) or (b)), showing the quantity of imported or substituted merchandise used in or appearing in each article exported or destroyed that justifies a claim for drawback.

Schedule B
Schedule B means the Department of Commerce Schedule B, Statistical Classification of Domestic and Foreign Commodities Exported from the United States. These 10-digit commodity classification numbers are administered by the Census Bureau and cover everything from live animals and food products to computers and airplanes. It should also be noted that all import and export codes used by the United States are based on the Harmonized Tariff System.

Schedule C
The Classification of Country and Territory Designations. The Schedule C provides a list of country of origin codes. The country of origin is reported in terms of the International Standards Organization codes.

Schedule D
The Classification of CBP districts and ports. The Schedule D provides a list of CBP districts and ports and the corresponding numeric codes used in compiling U.S. foreign trade statistics.

Schedule K
The Classification of Foreign Ports by Geographic Trade Area and Country. The Schedule K lists the major seaports of the world that directly handle waterborne shipments in the foreign trade of the United States, and includes numeric codes to identify these ports. This schedule is maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Shipment
All goods being sent from one USPPI to one consignee located in a single country of destination on a single conveyance and on the same day. Except as noted in §30.2(a)(1)(iv), the EEI shall be filed when the value of the goods is over $2,500 per Schedule B or HTSUSA commodity classification code.

Shipping document
Documents that include but are not limited to commercial invoices, export shipping instructions, packing lists, bill of ladings and air waybills.

Shipping weight
The total weight of a shipment in kilograms including goods and packaging.

SITC (Standard International Trade Classification)
Commodity classification system defined by the United Nations.

Sought chemical element
A sought chemical element, under section 313(b), means an element listed in the Periodic Table of Elements that is imported into the United States or a chemical compound (a distinct substance formed by a chemical union of two or more elements in definite proportion by weight) consisting of those elements, either separately in elemental form or contained in source material.

Specific Duty
Duty assessed on an article of a given kind at a flat rate per unit of quantity (as a ton, bushel, or yard) without individual appraisal

Specific manufacturing drawback ruling
A specific manufacturing drawback ruling means a letter of approval (or its electronic equivalent) issued by CBP Headquarters in response to an application filed by a manufacturer or producer for a ruling on a specific manufacturing or production operation for drawback, as described in the format in Appendix B of this part.
Specific manufacturing drawback rulings are subject to the provisions in part 177 of this chapter.

SPI (Special Program Indicator)
Abbreviation which identifies an adjustment in applicable duty for a given entry line item and HTS number due to a special trade provision.

Split shipment
A shipment covered by a single EEI record booked for export on one conveyance, that is divided by the exporting carrier prior to export where the cargo is sent on two or more of the same conveyances of the same carrier leaving from the same port of export within 24 hours by vessel or 7 days by air, truck or rail.

Substituted merchandise or articles
Substituted merchandise or articles means merchandise or articles that may be substituted as follows:
(1) For manufacturing drawback pursuant to section 1313(b), substituted merchandise must be classifiable under the same 8-digit HTSUS subheading number as the designated imported merchandise;
(2) For rejected merchandise drawback pursuant to section 1313(c)(2), substituted merchandise must be classifiable under the same 8-digit HTSUS subheading number and have the same specific product identifier (such as part number, SKU, or product code) as the designated imported merchandise;
(3) For unused merchandise drawback pursuant to section 1313(j)(2), substituted merchandise must be classifiable under the same 8-digit HTSUS subheading number as the designated imported merchandise except for wine which may also qualify pursuant to § 190.32(d), but when the 8-digit HTSUS subheading number under which the imported merchandise is classified begins with the term “other,” then the other merchandise may be substituted for imported merchandise for drawback purposes if the other merchandise and such imported merchandise are classifiable under the same 10-digit HTSUS statistical reporting number and the article description for that 10-digit HTSUS statistical reporting number does not begin with the term “other”; but when the first 8 digits of the 10-digit Schedule B number applicable to the exported merchandise are the same as the first 8 digits of the HTSUS subheading number under which the imported merchandise is classified, the merchandise may be substituted (without regard to whether the Schedule B number corresponds to more than one 8- digit HTSUS subheading number); and
(4) For substitution drawback of finished petroleum derivatives pursuant to section 1313(p), a substituted article must be of the same kind and quality as the qualified article for which it is substituted, that is, the articles must be commercially interchangeable or described in the same 8-digit HTSUS subheading number (see § 190.172(b)).

Subzone
A special purpose foreign trade zone established as part of a foreign trade zone project with a limited purpose that cannot be accommodated within an existing zone. Subzones are often established to serve the needs of a specific company and may be located within an existing facility of the company.

System Generated
Data elements provided by ACS from other records, files or the actual operating system.

Third Party Transactions
Drawback eligible transactions that involve multiple companies importing and exporting the drawback merchandise.

Trade Agreements
Any contractual arrangement between states concerning their trade relations, they may be bilateral or multilateral; they may be reciprocal or non-reciprocal.

Transaction Control Header Record
Commonly referred to as the A record, this header record identifies the user and signals the beginning of a transaction file.

Transaction Control Trailer Record
Commonly referred to as the Z record, this trailer record is paired with the transaction control header record and signals the end of the transaction file.

Transship
To transfer goods from one transportation line to another or to transfer goods from one vessel to another.

Transshipment
The transfer of merchandise from the country or countries of origin through an intermediary country or countries to the country of ultimate destination.

TRN (Transportation Reference Number)
A reservation number assigned by the carrier to hold space on the carrier for cargo being shipped. It is the booking number for vessel shipments, the master air waybill number for air shipments, the bill of lading number for rail shipments, and the freight or pro bill for truck shipments.

Ultimate consignee
The person, party, or designee that is located abroad and actually receives the export shipment. This party may be the end user or the FPPI.

Unlading
The physical removal of cargo from an aircraft, truck, rail, or vessel.

U.S. Postal Service customs declaration form
The shipping document, or its electronic equivalent, that a mailer prepares to declare the contents for the purposes of domestic and foreign customs authorizations and other relevant government agencies.

USPPI (U.S. principal party in interest)
The person or legal entity in the United States that receives the primary benefit, monetary or otherwise, from the export transaction. Generally, that person or entity is the U.S. seller, manufacturer, or order party, or the foreign entity while in the United States when purchasing or obtaining the goods for export.

Valuation
The procedure applied to determine the customs value of imported goods. If the rate of duty is ad valorem, the customs value is essential to determine the duty to be paid on an imported good.

Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)
A number issued by the manufacturer and used for the identification of a self-propelled vehicle.

Verification
Verification means the examination of any and all records, maintained by the claimant, or any party involved in the drawback process, which are required by the appropriate CBP officer to render a meaningful recommendation concerning the drawback claimant’s conformity to the law and regulations and the determination of supportability, correctness, and validity of the specific claim or groups of claims being verified.

Wholesaler/distributor
An agent who sells directly for a supplier and maintains an inventory of the supplier’s products.

Wine
Wine, for purposes of substitution unused merchandise drawback under 19 U.S.C. 1313(j)(2) and pursuant to the alternative standard for substitution (see 19 CFR 190.32(d)), refers to table wine. Consistent with Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) regulations, table wine is a “Class 1 grape wine” that satisfies the requirements of 27 CFR 4.21(a)(1) and having an alcoholic content not in excess of 14 percent by volume pursuant to 27 CFR 4.21(a)(2)).