Merchandise of every description may be admitted into a zone unless prohibited by law. A distinction is made between prohibited and conditionally admissible merchandise.

(a) Prohibited merchandise. Port directors shall not admit prohibited merchandise. If there is a question as to whether the merchandise may be prohibited, port directors may permit the temporary deposit of the merchandise in a zone pending a final determination of its status. Any prohibited merchandise which is found within a zone will be disposed of in the manner provided for in the laws and regulations applicable to that merchandise.

(b) Conditionally admissible merchandise. The admission of this merchandise into a zone is subject to the regulations of the Federal agency concerned.

(a)(1) Application on CBP Form 214 and permit. Merchandise may be admitted into a zone only upon application on a uniquely and sequentially numbered CBP Form 214 (“Application for Foreign Trade Zone Admission and/or Status Designation”) and the issuance of a permit by the port director. Exceptions to the CBP Form 214 requirement are for merchandise temporarily deposited (§ 146.33), transiting merchandise (§ 146.34), or domestic merchandise admitted without permit (§ 146.43). The applicant for admission shall present the application to the port director and shall include a statistical copy on CBP Form 214-A for transmittal to the Bureau of Census, unless the applicant has made arrangements for the direct transmittal of statistical information to that agency.

(2) CBP Form 214 and Importer Security Filing submitted via a single electronic transmission. If an Importer Security Filing is filed pursuant to part 149 of this chapter via the same electronic transmission as CBP Form 214, the filer is only required to provide the following fields once to be used for Importer Security Filing and CBP Form 214 purposes:

(i) Country of origin; and

(ii) Commodity HTSUS number if this number is provided at the 10-digit level.

(b) Supporting documents—(1) Commercial documentation. The applicant shall submit with the application two copies of an examination invoice meeting the requirements of subpart F, part 141, of this chapter, for any merchandise, other than that excepted in paragraph (a) of this section, to be admitted to a zone. The notation of tariff classification and value required by § 141.90 of this chapter need not be made, unless the merchandise is to be admitted in privileged status.

(2) Evidence of right to make entry. The applicant for admission shall submit with the application a document similar to that which would be required as evidence of the right to make entry for merchandise in Customs territory under § 141.11 or § 141.12 of this chapter.

(3) Release order. Merchandise will not be authorized for delivery by Customs to a zone until a release order has been executed by the carrier which brought the merchandise to the port, unless the merchandise is released back to that same carrier for delivery to the zone (see § 141.11 of this chapter). When a release order is required, it will be made on any of the forms specified in § 141.111 of this chapter, or by the following statement attached to CBP Form 214:

(4) Application to unlade. For merchandise unladen in the zone directly from the importing carrier, the application on CBP Form 214 will be supported by an application to unlade on Customs Form 3171.

(5) Other documentation. The port director may require additional information or documentation as needed to conduct an examination of merchandise under Customs selective entry processing criteria, or to determine whether the merchandise is admissible to the zone.

(c) Conditions for issuance of a permit. The port director will issue a permit for admission of merchandise to a zone when:

(1) The application is properly executed and includes the zone status desired for the merchandise, as provided in subpart D of this part;

(2) The operator's approval appears either on the application or in a separate specific or blanket approval;

(3) The merchandise is retained for examination at the place of unlading, the zone, or other location designated by the port director, except for merchandise for direct delivery to a zone under §§ 146.39 and 146.40. The merchandise may be examined as if it were to be entered for consumption or warehouse; and

(4) All requirements have been fulfilled.

(d) Blanket application for admission of merchandise. Merchandise may be admitted to a zone under blanket application upon presentation of a CBP Form 214 covering more than one shipment of merchandise. A blanket application for admission is for:

(1) Shipments which arrive under one transportation entry as described in § 141.55 of this chapter, or

(2) Shipments which are destined to the same zone applicant on a single business day, in which case the applicant shall:

(i) Present the examination invoices required by paragraph (b) of this section to the port director before the merchadise is admitted into the zone,

(ii) Have been approved for the direct transmittal of statistical trade information to the Bureau of Census under an agreement with that agency; and

(iii) Have examination invoices containing a unique identifier to trace the shipment to the manifest of the carrier that brought the merchandise to the port having jurisdiction over the zone, as well as to the inventory control and recordkeeping system of the operator as described in subpart B.

Imported merchandise for which an entry has been made and which has remained in continuous Customs custody may be brought temporarily to a zone for manipulation and return to Customs territory under Customs supervision, pursuant to section 562, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1562), and § 19.11 of this chapter. That merchandise will not be considered within the purview of the Act but will be treated as though remaining in Customs territory. No zone form or procedure will be considered applicable, but the merchandise will remain subject to any requirements necessary for the enforcement of section 562 and other Customs laws while in the zone.

The following procedure is applicable when merchandise is to be unladen from any carrier in the zone for immediate transfer to Customs territory, or if it is to be transferred from Customs territory through the zone for immediate lading on any carrier in the zone:

(a) Application. Application for permission to lade or unlade will be filed with the port director on Customs Form 3171 prior to transfer of the merchandise into the zone.

(b) Permit. The port director shall permit the transfer unless he has reason to believe that the merchandise will not be moved promptly from the zone or will be made the subject of an application for admission in accordance with § 146.32(a).

(c) Treatment of merchandise. Upon the issuance of a permit to lade, or unlade, the merchandise will be treated as though the lading or unlading were in the Customs territory.

(d) Delay in zone transit. Merchandise delayed while transiting a zone must be made the subject of an application for admission in accordance with § 146.32, or it must be removed from the zone.

(a) General. Temporary deposit of merchandise in a zone is allowed in circumstances where the information or documentation necessary to complete the Customs Form 214 is not available at the time of arrival of merchandise within the jurisdiction of the port. The merchandise will be subject to examination as provided in § 146.36.

(b) Application. An application for temporary deposit will be made to the port director on a properly signed and uniquely numbered Customs Form 214, annotated clearly “Temporary Deposit in a Zone”.

(c) Conditions. Merchandise temporarily deposited under the provisions of this section has no zone status and is considered to be in the Customs territory. It will:

(1) Be physically segregated from all other zone merchandise;

(2) Be held under the bond and at the risk of the operator; and

(3) Be manipulated only to the extent necessary to obtain sufficient information about the merchandise to file the appropriate admission or entry documentation.

(d) Approval. The port director shall approve the application for temporary deposit of merchandise in a zone if the provisions of paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section are met.

(e) Submission of CBP Form 214. A complete and accurate CBP Form 214 must be submitted, as provided in § 146.32, within 15 calendar days with no exceptions granted by the port director, or the merchandise will be placed in general order.

Except for direct delivery procedures provided for in § 146.39, all merchandise covered by a Customs Form 214 may be retained for Customs examination at the place of unlading, the zone, or another location, as designated by the port director. The port director may authorize release of the merchandise without examination, as provided in § 151.2 of this chapter. If a physical examination is conducted, the Customs officer shall note the results of the examination on the examination invoices.

(a) Maintenance of admission documentation. The operator shall maintain either:

(1) Lot file. The operator shall open and maintain a lot file containing a copy of the Customs Form 214, the examination invoice, and all other documentation necessary to account for the merchandise covered by each Customs Form 214. The lot file will be maintained in sequential order by using the unique number assigned to each Customs Form 214 as the file reference number; or

(2) Authorized inventory method. Where a Customs authorized inventory method other than a lot system (specific identification of merchandise) is used, e.g., First-In-First-Out (FIFO), no lot file is required but the operator shall maintain a file of all Customs Form's 214 in sequential order.

(b) Examination invoice. The operator shall give a copy of the examination invoice to the person making entry to transfer the merchandise from the zone upon request of that person or the port director.

(c) Liability for merchandise. The operator will be held liable under its bond for the receipt of merchandise admitted in the quantity and condition as described on the Customs Form 214, except as modified by a discrepancy report:

(1) Signed jointly by the operator and carrier on the Customs Form 214 or other approved form within 15 days after admission of the merchandise, and reported to the port director within 2 working days thereafter; or

(2) Submitted on Customs Form 5931 under the provisions of subpart A, part 158, of this chapter within 20 days after admission of the merchandise. The operator may file a Customs Form 5931 on behalf of the person who applied for admission of merchandise to the zone.

(d) Supervision of merchandise. The port director may authorize the receipt of zone status merchandise at a zone without physical supervision by a Customs officer (see § 146.3). In that case, the operator shall supervise the receipt of merchandise into the zone, report the receipt and condition of the merchandise, and mark packages with the unique Customs Form 214 number so that the merchandise can be traced to a particular Customs Form 214. Packages that are accounted for under a Customs-authorized inventory method other than specific identification, need not be marked with a unique Customs Form 214 number but must be adequately identified so Customs can conduct an inventory count. The operator shall submit the Custom Form 214 to Customs at the location specified by the port director.

Whenever a certificate prepared by Customs as to the arrival of any merchandise in a zone is required by a Federal agency, the port director shall issue the document certifying only that authorization to deliver the merchandise to a zone has been made. The operator shall issue a certificate of arrival of merchandise at a zone.

(a) General. This procedure is for delivery of merchandise to a zone without prior application and approval on Customs Form 214.

(b) Application. An operator, meeting the criteria of paragraph (c) of this section, shall file a written application with the port director at least 30 days before the special procedure is to become effective. The application will describe the merchandise to be handled or processed, and the kind of operation which it will undergo in the zone.

(c) Criteria. The port director shall approve the application if the following criteria are met:

(1) The merchandise is not restricted or of a type which requires Customs examination or documentation review before or upon its arrival at the zone;

(2) The merchandise to be admitted to the zone, and the operations to be conducted therein, are known well in advance, are predictable and stable over the long term, and are relatively fixed in variety by the nature of the business conducted at the site; and

(3) The operator is the owner or purchaser of the goods.

(d) Application decision. The port director shall promptly notify the operator, in writing, of Customs decision on the application. If the application is denied, the port director shall specify the reason for denial in his reply. The port director's decision will constitute the final Customs administrative determination concerning the application.

(e) Revocation of approval. The port director may revoke the approval given under this section if it becomes necessary for Customs routinely to examine the merchandise or documentation before or upon admission to the zone.

(a) Arrival of conveyance. Upon arrival at a subzone or zone site of a conveyance containing foreign merchandise, the operator shall:

(1) Collect in-bond or cartage documentation from the carrier;

(2) Check the condition of any seal affixed to the conveyance, and if broken, missing or improperly affixed, notify the port director and receive instructions before unloading the merchandise;

(3) Check each incoming in-bond and cartage shipment to determine if the manifested quantity or the quantity on the cartage document agrees with the quantity actually received;

(4) Sign and date the in-bond or cartage documentation to accept responsibility for the merchandise under the Foreign Trade Zone Operator's Bond and to relieve the carrier of responsibility.

(5) Forward the in-bond or cartage documentation so as to reach the port director within 2 working days after the date of arrival of the conveyance at the subzone or zone site;

(6) Maintain a file of open in-bond manifests in chronological order of date of conveyance arrival to identify shipments that have arrived but the entire contents of which have not been admitted to the subzone or zone site; and

(7) Notify the port director, by annotation on the Customs Form 214, when the entire contents of a shipment have been admitted.

(b) Transportation by operator. If merchandise is transported to a subzone or zone site by the foreign trade zone operator from a location in the district (see definition of “district” at § 112.1) in which the subzone or zone site is situated, the merchandise is deemed admitted at the time the foreign trade zone operator picks it up. At the time of pick-up, the operator is responsible for:

(1) Receipting for the merchandise and recording on the appropriate document any discrepancies regarding quantity, condition or the status of the seals;

(2) Transporting the merchandise to the zone or subzone; and

(3) Ensuring that the zone records reflect that the merchandise is received in the zone.

(c) Admission of merchandise: alternative procedures—(1) Cumulative Customs Form 214. If the operator has an agreement with the Bureau of Census for direct transmittal of statistical information, he shall submit to the port director each business day a properly signed and uniquely numbered Customs Form 214 listing all merchandise except for domestic status merchandise admitted under § 146.43 recorded into the inventory control and recordkeeping system during the previous business day. The Customs Form 214 must contain a list of all in-bond (I.T.) numbers or the unique number of any cartage document, as well as the number of invoices for each I.T. or cartage document, pertaining to merchandise which has been entered into the system.

(2) Individual Customs Form 214. If a cumulative Customs Form 214 is not submitted as provided in paragraph (b)(1) of this section, the operator shall file with the port director each business day an individual Customs Form 214 and 214-A covering each shipment recorded into the inventory control and recordkeeping system during the previous business day. The forms shall be submitted within 10 days after the end of the month in which the merchandise was received in the zone, and no extension beyond that time will be approved by the port director.

(3) General order. Merchandise not admitted into a subzone or zone site as provided in this section within 15 calendar days after its arrival there shall be disposed of in accordance with the applicable procedures in § 4.37 or § 122.50 or § 123.10 of this chapter.

(4) Inventory control and recordkeeping system. The operator shall establish and maintain a continuing input quality control program to ensure that information concerning merchandise in admission documents, verified or corrected by counts and checks, is accurately recorded in the inventory control and recordkeeping system. Quantities recorded in the system, after allowance by the port director for any discrepancies, will be the quantities of merchandise for which the operator shall be held liable under its bond for admission to the subzone or zone site. A discrepancy involving a within-case shortage (or overage) need not be reported on Customs Form 5931, if the operator is able to report that information in another manner so that the port director can determine whether there is liability for the discrepancy under the bond of any party to the importation.