9903.03.06 (Ended): Section 122 Surcharge Exemption Explained

Key Points

• HTS 9903.03.06 was a Section 122 surcharge exemption heading, effective from February 24, 2026, and terminated on July 24, 2026; it is no longer in force as of October 18, 2026.
• The heading carried no additional duty of its own: it shielded the portion of an import's value that was already subject to a Section 232 duty from also bearing the 10 percent Section 122 surcharge.
• Its legal basis was Proclamation 11012 (published at 91 FR 9339), and CBP operational guidance appeared in CSMS message 67844987.
• Goods entered under a Section 232 line that was zero because the goods were excluded from the Section 232 duty did not qualify; goods on a Section 232 line that was zero only because the column 1 rate met the program's rate floor did qualify.
• No refund arises under 9903.03.06 itself; Section 122 duty deposited stays with CBP unless a court order or a CBP notice directs refunds, and the IEEPA refund process does not apply to it.

On this page

1. What 9903.03.06 was and when it ended
2. Covered goods and heading text
3. How the exemption worked: rate, scope, and the subject-to-232 condition
4. The two zero-duty cases: exclusions versus rate-floor goods
5. How an entry reported the heading
6. Interaction with other tariff provisions
7. What importers should do
8. Key references

HTS 9903.03.06 was a Chapter 99 exemption heading within the Section 122 surcharge program. It exempted the portion of an import's dutiable value that was already subject to a Section 232 duty from the 10 percent Section 122 surcharge that would otherwise have applied under the companion heading 9903.03.01. The heading carried a rate of 0 percent additional duty and was operative from February 24, 2026, through July 24, 2026, when it terminated alongside the surcharge itself. As of October 18, 2026, it is no longer in force.

The links in this article go to the primary documents: the proclamations, Federal Register notices, and official tariff schedule pages themselves. Read the source.

What 9903.03.06 was and when it ended

9903.03.06 was one of several Chapter 99 headings created under the Section 122 surcharge program established by Proclamation 11012 (91 FR 9339). That proclamation authorized a 10 percent surcharge on a broad range of imports, collected through the companion surcharge heading 9903.03.01. The role of 9903.03.06 was not to impose a rate but to carve out from that surcharge the share of an import's value already bearing a Section 232 duty.

The heading was effective beginning February 24, 2026. It terminated on July 24, 2026, when the Section 122 surcharge program ended. No entry filed on or after July 24, 2026 could properly claim this heading. CBP operational guidance for the heading was issued in CSMS message 67844987.

Covered goods and heading text

The official heading text covered a wide range of goods that were simultaneously subject to a Section 232 action:

Articles of aluminum, of steel, or of copper or derivative aluminum or steel articles; passenger vehicles (sedans, sport utility vehicles, crossover utility vehicles, minivans, and cargo vans) and light trucks; parts of passenger vehicles (sedans, sport utility vehicles, crossover utility vehicles, minivans, and cargo vans) and light trucks; medium- and heavy-duty vehicles; parts of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles; wood products; and semiconductor articles, of any country, as provided in subdivision (aa)(v) of U.S. note 2 to this subchapter.

The heading text noted that a modification was proclaimed after its expiration by 91 Fed. Reg. 18183, and directed readers to consult U.S. Customs and Border Protection with any questions. For the current state of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, confirm heading text and any successor provisions directly in the HTSUS.

The scope was broad by design: aluminum, steel, copper, derivatives, the full range of passenger and commercial vehicles, vehicle parts, wood products, and semiconductors all appeared in the heading. The common thread was not the commodity itself but the commodity's concurrent exposure to a Section 232 duty. A good that fell within this product list but was not subject to a Section 232 action did not qualify for the exemption.

How the exemption worked: rate, scope, and the subject-to-232 condition

The Section 122 surcharge, collected under 9903.03.01, was a 10 percent additional duty assessed on the value of covered imports. Without an exemption, an importer paying a Section 232 duty on aluminum, steel, or vehicles would have paid both the Section 232 rate on that value and the 10 percent Section 122 surcharge on top of it, producing a stacking effect.

9903.03.06 addressed that stack directly. Where a Section 232 duty applied to all or part of an import's value, that same portion of value was exempt from the Section 122 surcharge. The heading carried a 0 percent rate because its function was entirely protective: it removed the surcharge obligation on the Section 232-covered value rather than adding any new duty. Where the Section 232 duty priced the entire value of the article, the exemption covered the whole article and the Section 122 surcharge was zero for that entry line.

The operative condition was that the goods had to be subject to a Section 232 action. Goods that fell outside the Section 232 umbrella, even if they were the same commodity, did not satisfy this condition and remained fully subject to the 10 percent surcharge under 9903.03.01.

The two zero-duty cases: exclusions versus rate-floor goods

The subject-to-232 condition created a distinction that tripped up some entries: not every import on a Section 232 tariff line was actually subject to the Section 232 action, and the difference determined whether 9903.03.06 applied.

Excluded goods: not subject to the 232 action

Goods entered on a Section 232 line that carried a zero rate because the goods were excluded from the Section 232 duty, including lines covering U.S.-content values or specific product exclusions, were not subject to that Section 232 action. Because they were not subject to the action, they did not satisfy the condition for 9903.03.06. Those goods remained subject to the 10 percent Section 122 surcharge under 9903.03.01, and the exemption heading was not available to them.

Rate-floor goods: still subject to the 232 action

A different situation arose for goods on a Section 232 line whose rate happened to be zero because the column 1 general rate of duty already met or exceeded the Section 122 program's rate floor. These goods were still subject to the Section 232 action; the zero duty was an artifact of the rate arithmetic, not a removal from the program's scope. Accordingly, they retained eligibility for the 9903.03.06 exemption and were not required to also bear the Section 122 surcharge on that value.

Keeping these two cases apart was essential to correct entry preparation. An entry that mistakenly claimed 9903.03.06 for excluded goods understated the surcharge owed. An entry that failed to claim 9903.03.06 for rate-floor goods overstated it. For any entries where this distinction was not applied correctly during the heading's operative window, confirm the appropriate correction path with a licensed customs broker or by reviewing post-summary correction and protest procedures at CBP.gov.

How an entry reported the heading

Like other Chapter 99 exemption and surcharge headings, 9903.03.06 rode alongside the regular Chapter 1-97 classification line on ACE entry summaries. The importer or broker reported the underlying commodity classification in Chapters 1 through 97, and then added 9903.03.06 as a secondary Chapter 99 line covering the value exempt from the surcharge.

On the portion of value subject to the Section 232 duty, the entry reported 9903.03.06 rather than 9903.03.01. On any remaining value not covered by a Section 232 duty, the surcharge heading 9903.03.01 still applied. An entry for a mixed shipment could therefore carry both Chapter 99 headings simultaneously, each covering a different slice of dutiable value.

Brokers preparing entries during the February 24, 2026 through July 24, 2026 window needed to parse each line carefully: the correct heading depended on whether the value in question was Section 232-covered, Section 232-excluded, or not Section 232-touched at all. See 9903.81.90 (Ended): Section 232 Steel Derivative Full-Value Duty and 9903.81.91 (Ended): Section 232 Steel Derivative Duty on Steel Content for background on how Section 232 derivative headings interacted with value-based reporting in the same period.

Interaction with other tariff provisions

The Section 122 surcharge under 9903.03.01 was structured to stack on top of other applicable duties. 9903.03.06 was the mechanism that prevented a second stack specifically for Section 232 goods. Other duties, including any IEEPA-based additional duties, continued to apply according to their own provisions and were not affected by this exemption heading.

Because the heading ended on July 24, 2026, entries liquidated after that date for goods imported during the operative window were still evaluated against the law in effect at the time of entry. Confirm the status of any pending liquidation with CBP directly. For a broader overview of Chapter 99 coding in 2026, see our 2026 tariff code overview.

What importers should do

• Review any entry filed between February 24, 2026, and July 24, 2026, that reported Section 232-covered goods to confirm that 9903.03.06 was claimed correctly on the Section 232-subject portion of value and that 9903.03.01 was not applied to that same value.
• If the exemption was not claimed on an eligible entry, or was claimed on an ineligible one, consult a licensed customs broker about whether a post-summary correction or protest remains available for that entry at CBP.gov.
• Note that Section 122 duty deposited stays with CBP unless a court order or a CBP notice directs refunds; the IEEPA refund process does not apply to Section 122 duty, so do not treat that process as a recovery path for this program.
• For any open questions about heading text or successor provisions, check the current HTSUS at hts.usitc.gov or consult CBP directly, as the compiler's note in the heading text directs.

Key references

• Proclamation 11012, 91 FR 9339: the legal authority that established the Section 122 surcharge and created the 9903.03.06 exemption heading.
• CBP CSMS 67844987: CBP operational guidance on the Section 122 surcharge and exemption headings, including 9903.03.06.
• Harmonized Tariff Schedule (hts.usitc.gov): official source for current and historical heading text, including U.S. note 2 to subchapter III of Chapter 99.
• CBP.gov: post-summary correction, protest procedures, and direct CBP guidance for entries affected by the heading's termination.
• 9903.81.90 (Ended): Section 232 Steel Derivative Full-Value Duty: background on Section 232 derivative heading structure and value-based entry reporting.
• 9903.81.91 (Ended): Section 232 Steel Derivative Duty on Steel Content: companion article on Section 232 steel derivative duty on steel content value.