Customs and Border Protection has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to change the way liquidation notices are provided to the trade. Currently, notices of liquidation for formal entry or by operation of law are physically posted in the custom house. The physical posting is the legal evidence that CBP has given a final computation of duties. The date of liquidation is relevant to an importer who may wish to file a protest to challenge any of the decisions about an entry made by CBP.
By CBP estimates, approximately 2,500 people physically take trips to the custom houses to view official bulleting notices. In addition, 23,500 paper courtesy notices are mailed annually.
The proposal eliminates the paper courtesy liquidation notices and the posting of the notice at the customs station. The more recent liquidation notices instead would be available to the trade through the CBP website with specific search criteria. Historical liquidation information would be available through the ACE portal.
CBP welcomes any comments regarding this proposal on or by November 14, 2016. To read the notice in its entirety, please click this link.