On Sunday, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order temporarily extending deadlines for certain estimated payments. Today, the U.S. Department of Treasury and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued CSMS #4243171 postponing the payment of certain estimated duties, taxes, and fees for importers experiencing a significant financial hardship due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
This 90-day postponement applies to formal entries (type 01) of merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption (including entries for consumption from a Foreign Trade Zone) in March 2020 or April 2020. Please note that CBP will not return deposits of estimated duties, taxes, and fees that have already been paid.
This postponement does not apply to entries subject to anti-dumping duties, countervailing duties, or duties assessed pursuant to Section 232, Section 201, and Section 301.
In order to qualify for this postponement, an importer must have a “significant financial hardship†due to full or partial suspension of operations during March 2020 or April 2020 due to governmental authority limiting commerce due to COVID-19. This would be demonstrated through the gross receipts showing that March 13-31, 2020 or April 2020 are less than 60 percent of the gross receipts for the comparable period in 2019. The importer does not need to file documentation with CBP to be eligible for this relief. However, the importer must be able to produce the financial documentation to CBP if requested.
If you have questions regarding this postponement of certain duties, please contact the U.S. Regulatory Team at transitionus@willsonintl.044d949.netsolhost.com or call 716.260.1580 option 4 and we will be happy to assist.