Duty drawback payments up sharply

Duty drawback payments up sharply    Duty drawback payments are up sharply during the current federal fiscal year, said Customs and Border Protection officials speaking at the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) conference in Hollywood, Fla. Tuesday.
   Maryanne Carney, chief of CBP's Trade Operations Branch for the New York-New Jersey area, noted that as of last Friday — not quite seven months into the fiscal year — there had been $314 million in drawback payments. During all of fiscal year 2005, there were $430 million in payments.
   Duty drawback payments are made to parties claiming refunds on import duty payments for goods that are later exported out of the United States.
   The CBP officials gage an update on what they see as a critical legislative effort to simplify and expand the existing drawback program.
   Sherri Hoffman, the national drawback program manager, said she hoped the changes would be in effect during the 2008 fiscal year, which starts October 1, 2007. She said the changes would coincide with the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Modernization Information Systems.
   Hoffman noted that if new drawback legislation is not passed, there would be more drawback reviews, adding, 'the status quo won't remain.'