By David Verkaik, VP of Drawback Development, J. M. Rodgers Co., Inc.
On September 13, 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection released CSMS (Cargo Systems Messaging Service) #49358330, which gave drawback claimants specific instructions concerning the transition to the Centers of Excellence and Expertise. The Centers of Excellence and Expertise (CEE) are part of a restructuring of the original four drawback centers, creating five new trade-specific centers. This restructuring means that the personnel at each of the CEEs are experts in duty drawback for specific industries or trades, generating more consistency between the claimant and CBP. Drawback claimants will be working with a CEE assigned to them based on the HTS numbers under which they import.
Claimants should submit any new privilege applications, general manufacturing ruling requests, and related drawback correspondence to their assigned Center. However, privilege applications and general manufacturing ruling requests submitted before September 14, 2021, will remain at the physical drawback office location where they were filed to be processed by that office. Additionally, any related documentation requested by CBP should be sent to that same physical drawback office location.
If a drawback claimant is not aware of their assigned Center, they should submit their requests to the drawback email that best aligns with their industry. If they make an incorrect choice, that Center will notify them of the correct Center for their company. In addition, drawback filers with access to the ACE portal may run the ACE ES-001 or the ES -007 report. This report will identify the correct CEE for your company.
Claimants may continue to file their drawback claims similarly and to the same location they had in the past. A claim will automatically route to the correct CEE after being transmitted in ACE.
All of the paper claims that were filed via ACS will physically remain at the drawback office where it was initially filed. These paper claims will continue to be processed by that local drawback office. If a drawback specialist from another CEE requires this documentation, they may submit a request to that drawback office, and the documentation will be scanned and sent to them.
Each of the CEEs, their location, and their drawback emails are listed below for your reference.
| CEE | Location | Email Address |
|---|---|---|
| Automotive & Aerospace / Electronics | New York | DetroitDrawback@cbp.dhs.gov |
| Apparel, Footwear & Textiles / Consumer Products & Mass Merchandising | San Francisco | SanFranciscoDrawback@cbp.dhs.gov |
| Base Metals / Industrial & Manufacturing Materials | Chicago | ChicagoDrawback@cbp.dhs.gov |
| Petroleum, Natural Gas & Minerals / Machinery | Houston | HoustonDrawback@cbp.dhs.gov |
| Pharmaceuticals, Health & Chemicals / Agriculture & Prepared Products | New York | NewYorkDrawback@cbp.dhs.gov |
