CBP Provides Ports with New Guidance Regarding Use of Forms 28 and 29

June 3, 2011

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently issued a new guidance memorandum to ports regarding the use of CBP Form 28 (Request for Information) and CBP Form 29 (Notice of Action). According to the new memorandum, Form 28 should not be used to verify Powers of Attorney, nor should it be used as notification of the commencement of a formal investigation. Instead, CBP Form 29 can and should be used as a document commencing a formal investigation and providing information to the importer.

Form 28 should be used as a means of obtaining information when there is insufficient information in the entry summary package to determine admissibility, appraised value, or classification of imported merchandise, as opposed to a notification of a formal investigation. CBP should use Form 29 or correspondence on CBP letterhead to inform the importer when a formal investigation commences. CBP Form 29 should also be used to notify the importer when an entry is entered at a rate or value that is too low, or the import quantity exceeds that of the entered quantity.

For further information, contact a Barnes/Richardson attorney.