Bonds, payments, fees and quota

This glossary covers Bonds, payments, fees and quota terms used by importers, customs brokers and trade-compliance teams.

drawback bond

The bond a drawback claimant posts to receive accelerated payment, guaranteeing repayment of drawback paid before liquidation; a CBP Form 301 bond; not the importer's entry bond.

continuous bond

A CBP Form 301 bond covering all of a principal's transactions of one activity type for a bond year, renewing until terminated; the standard importer bond; not a single transaction bond.

STB

Single transaction bond: a CBP Form 301 bond securing one entry or transaction, used when no continuous bond exists or CBP demands extra security; not a continuous bond.

bond sufficiency

CBP's ongoing test that a continuous bond's amount adequately protects the revenue given the principal's duties, taxes and fees paid and compliance history; not surety solvency.

insufficiency letter

CBP's notice to a principal and surety that a continuous bond is insufficient and must be increased within a set period; not a penalty or liquidated damages notice.

bond rider

An amendment to an existing CBP Form 301 continuous bond (name or address change, added principals, reconciliation coverage) filed by the surety; not a new bond.

bond stacking

Stacking liability: the accumulation of open liabilities on a continuous bond across bond periods, each surviving until its entries liquidate; a sufficiency and surety concern; not duty stacking.

eBond

Electronic bond: the ACE process by which sureties transmit bond data (continuous and single transaction) electronically so entries validate against the bond on file; not a paper CBP Form 301.

activity code 1

The CBP bond activity code for the basic importation and entry bond (importer or broker), carrying the 19 CFR 113.62 conditions; not the drawback, custodian or carrier codes.

ACH debit

Automated Clearinghouse debit: CBP pulls duties, taxes and fees from the filer's or importer's designated bank account on statement authorization; the common statement payment method; not ACH credit.

ACH credit

Automated Clearinghouse credit: the importer or filer instructs its own bank to push statement payments to CBP's account, carrying the statement identifiers; not ACH debit, where CBP pulls the funds.

PMS

Periodic monthly statement: the ACE program letting eligible importers and brokers pay duties and fees for a month's entries on one statement after the month ends; not the daily statement.

daily statement

The ABI statement listing entry summaries scheduled for payment on one day, which the filer authorizes for ACH payment; the standard broker payment vehicle; not the periodic monthly statement.

deferred payment

Postponing deposit of duties, taxes or fees under a CBP program, chiefly the periodic monthly statement and the optional deferral of internal revenue tax on alcohol; not trade credit.

HMF

Harbor Maintenance Fee (HMF): the ad valorem fee under the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 assessed on commercial cargo unloaded from a commercial vessel at a designated U.S. port, paid with the entry summary under fee class code 501; not the merchandise processing fee and not a terminal charge.

MPF cap

MPF cap: the statutory maximum merchandise processing fee per formal entry, adjusted each fiscal year for inflation together with the minimum, so that the 0.3464 percent ad valorem fee never exceeds the cap on one entry summary; not a per-line maximum.

MPF exemption USMCA

MPF exemption for USMCA goods: the rule that originating goods claimed under the USMCA (SPI S) are exempt from the merchandise processing fee, with the fee applied only to the non-originating goods on a mixed entry; the exemption follows a claim made at entry or by a timely post-importation claim; not a duty exemption by itself.

cotton fee

Cotton fee: the cotton research and promotion assessment CBP collects at entry on imported cotton and cotton-containing products under the Cotton Research and Promotion Act and 7 CFR part 1205, computed on the cotton content and reported as a user fee class on the entry summary; not a tariff and not the cotton tariff-rate quota.

beef fee

Beef fee: the beef promotion and research assessment (the beef checkoff) CBP collects on imported cattle, beef and beef products under the Beef Promotion and Research Act and 7 CFR part 1260, computed per head or per live-animal equivalent and reported as a user fee class on the entry summary; not the beef tariff-rate quota certificate.

TRQ

Tariff-rate quota (TRQ): a quota that permits a specified quantity of a commodity to enter at a reduced in-quota duty rate during a quota period, with additional quantities allowed at a higher over-quota rate, administered by CBP under 19 CFR part 132 through quota entry types and, for many commodities, certificates or licenses; not an absolute quota.

quota bulletin

Quota bulletin (QB): CBP's numbered notice (for example QB 25-303) announcing the opening, quantity, period, eligible countries, HTS pairings and filing instructions for a tariff-rate quota or other quota, posted on cbp.gov and relayed by CSMS; not the commodity status report.

commodity status report

Commodity status report: CBP's published report of the fill status of each tariff-rate quota and other quota (quantity allocated, quantity entered or charged, percentage filled, fill date) by commodity and country, updated on cbp.gov; not a quota bulletin.

opening moment

Opening moment: the instant a quota period opens at CBP's stated opening time, at which every entry summary presented in proper form is treated as presented simultaneously and, if the quota is oversubscribed, prorated among them; not a first-come-first-served race.

first come first served

First come first served: the quota administration method under which in-quota quantity is allotted to entries in the order they are presented in proper form after the opening, until the quota fills, with only opening-day presentations treated as simultaneous; not a certificate or license allocation.

cheese license

Cheese license: the USDA dairy import license as it applies to the cheese tariff-rate quotas (cheese by type and country under the chapter 4 additional U.S. notes), which the importer of record must hold to enter cheese at the in-quota rate; the same Dairy Import Licensing Program license, not a separate cheese permit and not an FDA registration.

quota status

Quota status: the standing of a commodity's quota at a point in time (open, filled, closed, prorated, or the remaining quantity by country) as published by CBP in the commodity status reports and quota bulletins, and the status a quota entry acquires when presented in proper form; not the entry's release status.