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December 13, 2004 CUS 5 FO:TCF:CV MEMORANDUM FOR: DIRECTORS, FIELD OPERATIONS
FROM: Executive Director, Trade Compliance and Facilitation
SUBJECT: Elimination of Estimated CBPF 214 for Oil Refineries The direct delivery program outlined in 19 CFR 146.39 allows importers who have been approved for direct delivery to deliver their goods to the foreign-trade zone (FTZ) prior to receiving an authorization from Customs and Border Protection (CBP). For petroleum products this involves the carrier discharging directly from a vessel into the FTZ and into the existing inventory. CBP Officers have required importers of liquid bulk petroleum to file estimated Customs and Border Protection Form (CBPF) 214 in an effort to minimize the carrier’s exposure to penalties resulting from the misdelivery of merchandise. There is no statutory or regulatory authority that allows CBP to require an estimated CBPF 214 from an FTZ operator who is approved for direct delivery. The Automated Manifest System provides for the transfer and release of goods by giving carriers an electronic release message. At this time, the Automated Commercial System (ACS) is not programmed for electronic transmission by FTZ operators of CBPF 214. In order for the carrier to transfer merchandise to a foreign trade zone approved for direct delivery, the carrier may utilize the existing electronic permit to transfer (PTT) available in the Vessel Automated Manifest System. The electronic PTT will generate a “Permit to Transfer Authorized” message allowing the carrier to deliver the merchandise to the FTZ. The PTT does not close the AMS bill and CBP Officers will still need to manually post the CBPF 214 when it presented by the FTZ operator. This maintains an accurate audit trail for compliance purposes. The sequence of events is listed below. 1. The operator of the zone must be the owner or purchaser of the goods as a condition of direct delivery authorization. The FTZ must have a FIRMS (Facilities Information and Resources Management System) code and the FIRMS ACS record must indicate that the facility is bonded. 2. The carrier must transmit the cargo declaration information to CBP via Sea AMS. Once the carrier has received an acceptance message from CBP, the carrier must transmit the date and time of sailing message. 3. The carrier may then request the Permit to Transfer. The carrier will need to provide the bill of lading number, the FIRMS code of the FTZ and the bonded carrier identification number. Since the product is being delivered from the importing carrier directly into the FTZ, the carrier’s identification number (Internal Revenue number or port-assigned number) will be used. If accepted, the carrier will receive a “Permit to Transmit Authorized” message from CBP. Questions regarding FTZ policy and procedures may be referred to the CBP FTZ coordinator at the port of entry. Questions regarding vessel procedures may be directed to the CBP AMS coordinator at the port of entry. Telephone numbers for CBP ports of entry are available on the CBP Web site. (Lawrence J. Rosenzweig Signed For) Elizabeth G. Durant
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