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estebanana -> US Customs Clarifications for Import (Jun. 4 2016 2:09:40)
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Hey you guys,
I was checking the tracking on a guitar I sent to the US, I follow them in via the Japan Post tracking service.
The instrument arrived in Chicago, but was held there so I contacted the customer to see if US Customs had notified him of what paperwork he needed to file to release the guitar to USPS. I had provided the customer with the PDF of the PPQ-505 form that the Dept of Agriculture requires for any plant material product entering the US. Guitars are made from trees obviously.
I got proactive and called US Customs office in Chicago via Skype and they quickly directed me to the Airport Office of Customs where I spoke with a very helpful agent who provided me the Fax # of the Formal Entry Desk at O'Hare International airport. The agent also looked up the guitar in the data base, took three seconds, and he told me Customs had already sent postal mail notification to the customer that they needed the paper work.
I gave the Fax # of the Formal Entry Desk to the customer via email right away, who then in faxed the entry desk. I told him to ask the entry desk agent if he could please tell him which papers to file in order to expedite the release of the guitar to USPS for final delivery. The Desk agent promptly replied to the customer over the phone and told him he needed to go ahead and fax the PPQ-505 I had emailed the customer. The agent then determined through the conversation that my customer was not a commercial dealer or whole sale seller for guitars, but an individual who will use the guitar for his own use. The agent instantly reclassified the guitar as a non-commercial shipment and said the PPQ-505 form did not have to be filed in order to deliver to a non commercial customer. According to US Customs agents at a major Port of Entry, non commercial sales are not subject to filing a PPQ-505 and thus the non-commercial sale instrument has not breached any laws if it enters the US without this form being filed.
This is significant because it clears up the question of when to use the PPQ-505 form. Use this form when you are sending a guitar directly to a commercial reseller who is buying wholesale. It may be advisable to cover your bases and provide the the private customer with the form just in case, but the Formal Entry Desk agent issued a paper of reclassification stating the shipment is non commercial. For those who send guitars into the US this information should be helpful.
I would also suggest making a list of all the woods in the instrument with common names and scientific names and making sure you have sales records for all the wood, even if t is not CITES appendix high profile. If you are sending a CITES restricted wood you should be prepared to do full paper work, but for the average Cypress or Indian Rosewood guitar going to a private customer it looks like the PPQ-505 will not be asked for in non commercial transactions.
That said, I'm not responsible for your shipment, but only passing on a route through the US Customs system to be proactive and expedite the shipment yourself. I would also note there are some parts of the USDA website that can't be accessed by some internet providers outside the US. I would have competed the PPQ-505 form as courtesy to the customer, but I could not access the tax code section of the USDA website from where I am. In the end the receiver of the goods is responsible for filing the proper agriculture forms although the instrument maker can assist by providing as much materials information possible.
This also indicates that if you are importing commercial plant based goods, wood parts, to the US in quantity for resale, the PPQ -505 form is required. If the intention is to resell the goods and you are not the end user it would be prudent to observe this form. Although once the parts are installed on an existing instrument it would be difficult if not impossible for US Customs to find out, or probably even be worth their time. I think it would be prudent going forward to have a PPQ-505 on file for inventory of wood parts you have in your shop that are obviously new. If you by a small quantity the US Customs is probably not looking for you, but you have to assess your own situation.
It looks like unless you are trying to get away with not paying a substantial amount of commercial taxes and not following commercial importation procedures the US Customs agents will be able to tend to your shipments if asked in a professional and courteous manner. The folks I spoke to were far from being the sub human ogres and wonks they get painted as. They seemed to take a genuine interest in helping me gain clarification and moving the customers package forward.
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