(a) General. Section 313(j)(1) of the Act, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1313(j)(1)), provides for drawback upon the exportation or destruction under Customs supervision of imported merchandise upon which was paid any duty, tax, or fee imposed under Federal law because of its importation, if the merchandise has not been used within the United States before such exportation or destruction.

(b) Time of exportation or destruction. Drawback shall be allowed on imported merchandise if, before the close of the 3-year period beginning on the date of importation, the merchandise is exported from the United States or destroyed under Customs supervision.

(c) Operations performed on imported merchandise. In cases in which an operation or operations is or are performed on the imported merchandise, the performing of any operation or combination of operations, not amounting to manufacture or production under the provisions of the manufacturing drawback law, on the imported merchandise is not a use of that merchandise for purposes of this section.

(a) General. Section 313(j)(2) of the Act, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1313(j)(2)), provides for drawback on merchandise which is commercially interchangeable with imported merchandise if the commercially interchangeable merchandise is exported, or destroyed under Customs supervision, before the close of the 3-year period beginning on the date of importation of the imported merchandise, and before such exportation or destruction, the commercially interchangeable merchandise is not used in the United States (see paragraph (e) of this section) and is in the possession of the party claiming drawback.

(b) Requirements. (1) The claimant must have possessed the substituted merchandise that was exported or destroyed, as provided in paragraph (d)(1) of this section;

(2) The substituted merchandise must be commercially interchangeable with the imported merchandise that is designated for drawback;

(3) The substituted merchandise exported or destroyed must not have been used in the United States before its exportation or destruction (see paragraph (e) of this section); and

(4) For purposes of drawback of internal revenue tax imposed under Chapters 32, 38 (with the exception of Subchapter A of Chapter 38), 51, and 52 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (IRC), drawback granted on the export or destruction of substituted merchandise will be limited to the amount of taxes paid (and not returned by refund, credit, or drawback) on the substituted merchandise.

(c) Determination of commercial interchangeability. In determining commercial interchangeability, Customs shall evaluate the critical properties of the substituted merchandise and in that evaluation factors to be considered include, but are not limited to, Governmental and recognized industrial standards, part numbers, tariff classification and value. A party may seek a nonbinding predetermination of commercial interchangeability directly from the appropriate drawback office. A determination of commercial interchangeability can be obtained in one of two ways:

(1) A formal ruling from the Entry Process and Duty Refunds Branch, Regulations and Rulings, Office of International Trade; or

(2) A submission of all the required documentation necessary to make a commercial interchangeability determination with each individual drawback claim filed.

(d) Time limitations. For substitution unused merchandise drawback:

(1) The claimant must have had possession of the exported or destroyed merchandise at some time during the 3-year period following the date of importation of the imported designated merchandise; and

(2) The merchandise to be exported or destroyed to qualify for drawback must be exported, or destroyed under Customs supervision, before the close of the 3-year period beginning on the date of importation of the imported designated merchandise.

(e) Operations performed on substituted merchandise. In cases in which an operation or operations is or are performed on the substituted merchandise, the performing of any operation or combination of operations, not amounting to manufacture or production under the provisions of the manufacturing drawback law, on the commercially interchangeable substituted merchandise is not a use of that merchandise for purposes of this section.

(f) Designation by successor; 19 U.S.C. 1313(s)—(1) General rule. Upon compliance with the requirements of this section and under 19 U.S.C. 1313(s), a drawback successor as defined in paragraph (f)(2) of this section may designate either of the following as the basis for drawback on merchandise possessed by the successor after the date of succession:

(i) Imported merchandise which the predecessor, before the date of succession, imported; or

(ii) Imported and/or commercially interchangeable merchandise which was transferred to the predecessor and for which the predecessor received, before the date of succession, a certificate of delivery from the person who imported and paid duty on the imported merchandise.

(2) Drawback successor. A “drawback successor” is an entity to which another entity (predecessor) has transferred, by written agreement, merger, or corporate resolution:

(i) All or substantially all of the rights, privileges, immunities, powers, duties, and liabilities of the predecessor; or

(ii) The assets and other business interests of a division, plant, or other business unit of such predecessor, provided that the value of the transferred assets and interests (realty, personality, and intangibles, exclusive of the drawback rights) exceeds the value of such drawback rights, whether vested or contingent.

(3) Certifications and required evidence—(i) Records of predecessor. The predecessor or successor must certify in an attachment to the drawback claim that the successor is in possession of the predecessor's records which are necessary to establish the right to drawback under the law and regulations with respect to the imported and/or commercially interchangeable merchandise.

(ii) Merchandise not otherwise designated. The predecessor or successor must certify in an attachment to the drawback claim, that the predecessor has not and will not designate, nor enable any other person to designate, the imported and/or commercially interchangeable merchandise as the basis for drawback.

(iii) Value of transferred property. In instances in which assets and other business interests of a division, plant, or other business unit of a predecessor are transferred, the predecessor or successor must specify, and maintain supporting records to establish, the value of the drawback rights and the value of all other transferred property.

(iv) Review by Customs. The written agreement, merger, or corporate resolution, provided for in paragraph (f)(2) of this section, and the records and evidence provided for in paragraph (f)(3)(i) through (iii) of this section, must be retained by the appropriate party(ies) for 3 years from the date of payment of the related claim and are subject to review by Customs upon request.

(a) Direct identification. (1) Under 19 U.S.C. 1313(j)(1), the exporter (or destroyer) shall be entitled to claim drawback.

(2) The exporter or destroyer may waive the right to claim drawback and assign such right to the importer or any intermediate party. A drawback claimant under 19 U.S.C. 1313(j)(1) other than the exporter or destroyer shall secure and retain a certification signed by the exporter or destroyer that such party waived the right to claim drawback, and did not and will not authorize any other party to claim the exportation or destruction for drawback (see § 191.82 of this part). The certification provided for under this section may be a blanket certification for a stated period. The claimant shall file such certification at the time of, or prior to, the filing of the claim(s) covered by the certification.

(b) Substitution. (1) Under 19 U.S.C. 1313(j)(2), the following parties may claim drawback:

(i) In situations where the exporter or destroyer of the substituted merchandise is also the importer of the imported merchandise, that party shall be entitled to claim drawback.

(ii) In situations where the exporter or destroyer receives from the person who imported and paid the duty on the imported merchandise a certificate of delivery documenting the transfer of imported merchandise, commercially interchangeable merchandise, or any combination of imported and commercially interchangeable merchandise, and exports or destroys such transferred merchandise, that exporter or destroyer shall be entitled to claim drawback. (Any such transferred merchandise, regardless of its origin, will be treated as imported merchandise for purposes of drawback under § 1313(j)(2), and any retained merchandise will be treated as domestic merchandise.)

(iii) In situations where the transferred merchandise described in paragraph (b)(1)(ii) of this section is the subject of further transfer(s), such transfer(s) shall be documented by certificate(s) of delivery, and the exporter or destroyer shall be entitled to claim drawback (multiple substitutions are not permitted).

(2) The exporter or destroyer may waive the right to claim drawback and assign such right to the importer or to any intermediate party, provided that the claimant had possession of the substituted merchandise prior to its exportation or destruction. A drawback claimant under 19 U.S.C. 1313(j)(2) other than the exporter or destroyer shall secure and retain a certification signed by the exporter or destroyer that such party waived the right to claim drawback, and did not and will not authorize any other party to claim the exportation or destruction for drawback (see § 191.82 of this part). The certification provided for under this section may be a blanket certification for a stated period. The claimant shall file such certification at the time of, or prior to, the filing of the claim(s) covered by the certification.

(a) Direct identification; purpose; when required. If the exported or destroyed merchandise claimed for drawback under 19 U.S.C. 1313(j)(1) was not imported by the exporter or destroyer, a properly executed certificate of delivery must be prepared by the importer and each intermediate party. Each such transfer of the merchandise must be documented by its own certificate of delivery.

(1) Completion. The certificate of delivery shall be completed as provided in § 191.10 of this part. Each party must also certify on the certificate of delivery that the party did not use the transferred merchandise (see § 191.31(c) of this part).

(2) Retention; submission to Customs. The certificate of delivery shall be retained by the party to whom the merchandise or article covered by the certificate was delivered. Customs may request the certificate from the claimant for the drawback claim based upon the certificate (see §§ 191.51, 191.52). If the certificate is requested by Customs, but is not provided by the claimant, the part of the drawback claim dependent on that certificate will be denied.

(b) Substitution. For purposes of substitution unused merchandise drawback, 19 U.S.C. 1313(j)(2), if the importer, or a party who received imported merchandise and a certificate of delivery for that imported merchandise, directly or indirectly, from the importer, transfers to another party imported merchandise, duty-paid merchandise, commercially interchangeable merchandise, or any combination thereof, the transferor shall prepare and issue in favor of such party a certificate of delivery covering the transferred merchandise. The certificate of delivery must expressly state that it is prepared pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1313(j)(2). Merchandise so transferred for which drawback is allowed under 19 U.S.C. 1313(j)(2) may not be designated for any other drawback purposes. Each transfer, whether of the imported merchandise or of imported merchandise, duty-paid merchandise, commercially interchangeable merchandise, or any combination thereof, must be documented by its own certificate of delivery. Certificates of delivery under this paragraph are subject to the provisions for completion and retention of certificates of delivery in paragraphs (a)(1) and (a)(2) of this section.

(c) Warehouse transfer and withdrawals. The person in whose name merchandise is withdrawn from a bonded warehouse shall be considered the importer for drawback purposes. No certificate of delivery need be prepared covering prior transfers of merchandise while in a bonded warehouse, because such transfers will be recorded in the warehouse entry (see § 144.22 of this chapter).

(a) Notice. A notice of intent to export merchandise which may be the subject of an unused merchandise drawback claim (19 U.S.C. 1313(j)) must be provided to the Customs Service to give Customs the opportunity to examine the merchandise. The claimant, or the exporter, must file at the port of intended examination a Notice of Intent to Export, Destroy, or Return Merchandise for Purposes of Drawback on Customs Form 7553 at least 2 working days prior to the date of intended exportation unless Customs approves another filing period or the claimant has been granted a waiver of prior notice (see § 191.91 of this part).

(b) Required Information. The notice shall certify that the merchandise has not been used in the United States before exportation. In addition, the notice shall provide the bill of lading number, if known, the name and telephone number, mailing address, and, if available, fax number and e-mail address of a contact person, and the location of the merchandise.

(c) Decision to examine or to waive examination. Within two (2) working days after receipt of the Notice of Intent to Export, Destroy, or Return Merchandise for Purposes of Drawback (see paragraph (a) of this section), Customs will notify the party designated on the Notice in writing of Customs decision to either examine the merchandise to be exported, or to waive examination. If Customs timely notifies the designated party, in writing, of its decision to examine the merchandise (see paragraph (d) of this section), but the merchandise is exported without having been presented to Customs for examination, any drawback claim, or part thereof, based on the Notice of Intent to Export, Destroy, or Return Merchandise for Purposes of Drawback shall be denied. If Customs notifies the designated party, in writing, of its decision to waive examination of the merchandise, or, if timely notification of a decision by Customs to examine or to waive examination is absent, the merchandise may be exported without delay.

(d) Time and place of examination. If Customs gives timely notice of its decision to examine the export merchandise, the merchandise to be examined shall be promptly presented to Customs. Customs shall examine the merchandise within five (5) working days after presentation of the merchandise. The merchandise may be exported without examination if Customs fails to timely examine the merchandise after presentation to Customs. If the examination is completed at a port other than the port of actual exportation, the merchandise shall be transported in-bond to the port of exportation.

(e) Extent of examination. The appropriate Customs office may permit release of merchandise without examination, or may examine routinely (to the extent determined to be necessary) the items exported.

(a) General; application. Merchandise which has been exported without complying with the requirements of § 191.35(a) or § 191.91 of this part may be eligible for unused merchandise drawback under 19 U.S.C. 1313(j) subject to the following conditions:

(1) Application. The claimant must file a written application with the drawback office where the drawback claims will be filed. Such application shall include the following:

(i) Required information.

(A) Name, address, and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) number (with suffix) of applicant;

(B) Name, address, and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) number(s) (with suffix) of exporter(s), if applicant is not the exporter;

(C) Export period covered by this application;

(D) Commodity/product lines of imported and exported merchandise covered in this application;

(E) The origin of the above merchandise;

(F) Estimated number of export transactions covered in this application;

(G) Estimated number of drawback claims and estimated time of filing those claims to be covered in this application;

(H) The port(s) of exportation;

(I) Estimated dollar value of potential drawback to be covered in this application; and

(J) The relationship between the parties involved in the import and export transactions;

(ii) Written declarations regarding:

(A) The reason(s) that Customs was not notified of the intent to export; and

(B) Whether the applicant, to the best of its knowledge, will have future exportations on which unused merchandise drawback might be claimed; and

(iii) A certification that the following documentary evidence will be made available for Customs review upon request:

(A) For the purpose of establishing that the imported merchandise was not used in the United States (for purposes of drawback under 19 U.S.C. 1313(j)(1)) or that the exported merchandise was not used in the United States and was commercially interchangeable with the imported merchandise (for purposes of drawback under 19 U.S.C. 1313(j)(2)), and, as applicable:

(1) Business records prepared in the ordinary course of business;

(2) Laboratory records prepared in the ordinary course of business; and/or

(3) Inventory records prepared in the ordinary course of business tracing all relevant movements and storage of the imported merchandise, substituted merchandise, and/or exported merchandise; and

(B) Evidence establishing compliance with all other applicable drawback requirements.

(2) One-Time Use. The procedure provided for in this section may be used by a claimant only once, unless good cause is shown (for example, successorship).

(3) Claims filed pending disposition of application. Drawback claims may be filed under this section pending disposition of the application. However, those drawback claims will not be processed or paid until the application is approved by Customs.

(b) Customs action. In order for Customs to evaluate the application under this section, Customs may request, and the applicant shall provide, any of the information listed in paragraph (a)(1)(iii)(A)(1) through (3) of this section. In making its decision to approve or deny the application under this section, Customs will consider factors such as, but not limited to, the following:

(1) Information provided by the claimant in the written application;

(2) Any of the information listed in paragraph (a)(1)(iii)(A)(1) through (3) of this section and requested by Customs under this paragraph; and

(3) The applicant's prior record with Customs.

(c) Time for Customs action. Customs will notify the applicant in writing within 90 days after receipt of the application of its decision to approve or deny the application, or of Customs inability to approve, deny or act on the application and the reason therefor.

(d) Appeal of denial of application. If CBP denies the application, the applicant may file a written appeal with the drawback office which issued the denial, provided that the applicant files this appeal within 30 days of the date of denial. If CBP denies this initial appeal, the applicant may file a further written appeal with CBP Headquarters, Office of International Trade, Trade Policy and Programs, provided that the applicant files this further appeal within 30 days of the denial date of the initial appeal. CBP may extend the 30 day period for appeal to the drawback office or to CBP Headquarters, for good cause, if the applicant applies in writing for such extension within the appropriate 30 day period above.

(e) Future intent to export unused merchandise. If an applicant states it will have future exportations on which unused merchandise drawback may be claimed (see paragraph (a)(1)(ii)(B) of this section), the applicant will be informed of the procedures for waiver of prior notice (see § 191.91 of this part). If the applicant seeks waiver of prior notice under § 191.91, any documentation submitted to Customs to comply with this section will be included in the request under § 191.91. An applicant which states that it will have future exportations on which unused merchandise drawback may be claimed (see paragraph (a)(1)(ii)(B) of this section) and which does not obtain waiver of prior notice shall notify Customs of its intent to export prior to each such exportation, in accordance with § 191.35.

A claimant may destroy merchandise and obtain unused merchandise drawback by complying with the procedures set forth in § 191.71 of this part relating to destruction.

(a) Maintained by claimant; by others. Pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1508(c)(3), all records which are necessary to be maintained by the claimant under this part with respect to drawback claims, and records kept by others to complement the records of the claimant, which are essential to establish compliance with the legal requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1313(j)(1) or (j)(2), as applicable, and this part with respect to drawback claims, shall be retained for 3 years after payment of such claims (under 19 U.S.C. 1508, the same records may be subject to a different retention period for different purposes).

(b) Accounting for the merchandise. Merchandise subject to drawback under 19 U.S.C. 1313(j)(1) and (j)(2) shall be accounted for in a manner which will enable the claimant:

(1) To determine, and Customs to verify, the applicable import entry or certificate of delivery;

(2) To determine, and Customs to verify, the applicable exportation or destruction; and

(3) To identify with respect to the import entry or certificate of delivery, the imported duty-paid merchandise.