19 U.S.C. § 1558: No remission or refund after…

Summary

Customs will not cancel, lower, or refund duties just because goods are exported or destroyed after they leave government control, except in three situations. First, when another law specifically allows a drawback for exported goods. Second, when prohibited goods were properly declared in good faith and later exported or destroyed under U.S. law and Treasury rules. Third, when goods entered under a bond are destroyed during the bonded period (including by death, fire, or accident) and the Treasury is shown proof, duties can be refunded and the bond’s export condition treated as met. If goods are exported or destroyed under customs supervision after release, you still must pay duties. The only duty that may not be required is the marking duty.

Title 19, §1558

Customs Duties, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Exceptions

No remission, abatement, refund, or drawback of estimated or liquidated duty shall be allowed because of the exportation or destruction of any merchandise after its release from the custody of the Government, except in the following cases:

(1)When articles are exported with respect to which a drawback of duties is expressly provided for by law;

(2)When prohibited articles have been regularly entered in good faith and are subsequently exported or destroyed pursuant to a law of the United States and under such regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe; and

(3)When articles entered under bond, under any provision of law, are destroyed within the bonded period as provided for in section 1557 of this title, or are destroyed within the bonded period by death, accidental fire, or other casualty, and proof of such destruction is furnished which shall be satisfactory to the Secretary of the Treasury, in which case any accrued duties shall be remitted or refunded and any condition in the bond that the articles shall be exported shall be deemed to have been satisfied.

(b)Payment of duties required notwithstanding export or destruction of articles; exception

When articles are exported or destroyed under customs supervision after once having been released from customs custody, as provided for in subsection (h) of section 1304 of this title, such exportation or destruction shall not exempt such articles from the payment of duties other than the marking duty provided for in such subsection (h).

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Subsection (h) of section 1304 of this title, referred to in subsec. (b), was redesignated subsection (i) and a new subsection (h) of section 1304 was added by Pub. L. 106–36, title II, § 2423(a), June 25, 1999, 113 Stat. 180.

Prior Provisions

Provisions similar to those in this section were contained in R.S. § 2978, as amended by act Feb. 27, 1877, ch. 69, § 1, 19 Stat. 247, and in R.S. § 3025, both of which were superseded by act Sept. 21, 1922, ch. 356, title IV, § 558, 42 Stat. 977, and were repealed by section 642 thereof. section 558 of the 1922 act was superseded by section 558 of act June 17, 1930, comprising this section, and repealed by section 651(a)(1) of the 1930 act.

Amendments

1999—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 106–36 substituted “subsection (h)” for “subsection (c)” in two places. 1938—Act June 25, 1938, amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section disallowed remission or refund of estimated or liquidated duty on the exportation of merchandise after its release from Government control or custody, with exceptions for articles made from imported materials or not conforming to specifications, on which drawback was provided by law.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1938 AmendmentAmendment by act

June 25, 1938, effective on thirtieth day following

June 25, 1938, except as otherwise specifically provided, see section 37 of act

June 25, 1938, set out as a note under section 1401 of this title.

§1558 No Remission or Refund After Release of Merchandise