Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act Frequently Asked Questions

The preliminary amounts available are published at least 90 days before the fiscal year end. Liquidations, reliquidations, protests, and many other events affecting entries may take place between that time and the fiscal year end, causing the final amounts available for disbursement to be higher or lower than the preliminary amounts.

Parentheses indicate that as of the date of publication, the amount of refunds to importers as a result of reliquidations or court cases have exceeded the amount of liquidations on that particular case.

A separate certification must be filed for each case that has different qualifying expenditures. If a revoked case has different qualifying expenditures than other cases being filed, then a separate certification must be filed.

No, all packages must go through the mailroom for screening, we are a secured building and not allowed to accept hand-delivered packages.

Certification submission tips:

• We recommend that claimants send their certifications via certified mail or courier, so that they have a means to track their package.
• If you send several claims in one big box, we recommend including a "packing list" so that we know we have received everything that should be in the box.
• Due to the volume of work we must accomplish in processing the certifications, we do not have the time or resources to verify that we received your certifications, neither by phone or in writing. If you sent your certifications via certified mail or courier, you will have proof that we received them. After the receipt deadline, we will publish a list of all certifications received; please check this list to ensure that we received your certifications. This is official notice that we received your certifications. We will not send certified, dated, signed, or otherwise verified copies back to you if requested to do so.

If an amendment is necessary, you will be notified by written correspondence. Usually only the portion of the certification where the error was need be resubmitted. If you are uncertain or have any questions, please call us for further guidance.

A statement notifies the claimant of the amount of their CDSOA distribution.

Cases that show a negative disbursement amount are the result of refunds to importers as a result of reliquidations or court cases. If the claimant does not receive sufficient funds to cover the negative disbursement amount then CBP will demand back from the claimant the owed funds.

For duty orders or findings that have been revoked prior to the CDSOA repeal, expenses must be incurred before the effective date of the revocation to be eligible for offset. Example: For case A-331-802 Frozen or canned warm-water shrimp and prawns from Ecuador, the order date is 02/01/2005 and the revocation effective date is 08/15/2007; therefore, eligible expenditures must be incurred between 02/01/2005 and 08/15/2007.

Any cost associated with the production of the product being filed on could be considered a qualifying expenditure. In 2001, CBP published in the Federal Register Notice guidance on qualifying expenditures, which indicated that Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) should be followed in determining expenses that relate to cost of production. See 66 FRN page 48548. Generally, this means that your qualifying expenditures should relate to your normal cost of goods sold and your inventory costs.

The categories listed in the Federal Register Notice are guidelines. Not all claimants will have expenditures listed for all categories. If you do not have expenditures for certain categories either leave this category blank or put a zero.

It is up to each claimant to determine which category their expenditures fit into. CBP cannot make this determination for the claimant. Please make sure to keep all paperwork/documentation needed to support qualifying expenditures.

Qualifying expenditures start at the Act of the Order date which is different for every commodity. Act of the Order dates can be found at the United States International Trade Commission website. Qualifying expenditures end on or before the CDSOA repeal date or case revocation date, whichever applies.

Qualifying expenditures begin to accumulate at the Act of the Order Date which is different for every case.  For revoked cases, qualifying expenditures stop accumulating when the ITC revokes a case and publishes an effective date for the revocation. This information can be found by searching for a case at the United States International Trade Commission website.

Previously certified qualifying expenditures are the total amount of expenditures claimed in previous years.

This category should be used to include other expenses not otherwise categorized in the certification that would normally be included in cost of goods sold. GAAP should be used in determining expenses. The term "working capital" should not be construed that the balance in a balance sheet account can be claimed. Balance sheet amounts do not represent expenses.

No. Balance sheet amounts cannot be claimed. Since costs of production are included in the inventory, this would amount to "double claiming" when the inventory was sold in subsequent periods.

Examples would include expenses related to building, and other structures involved in production. GAAP should be used in determining which expenses qualify and how they can be allocated towards your cost of goods sold.

Examples of equipment would include plant facilities, machinery, equipment and fixtures involved in production. GAAP should be used in determining which expenses qualify and how they can be allocated towards cost of goods sold.

Examples would include computer equipment, software, and some testing equipment that are involved in production. GAAP should be used in determining which expenses qualify and how they can be allocated towards cost of good sold.

These are expenses related to assets of a durable nature that are used to produce goods. GAAP should be used in determining which expenses qualify and how they can be allocated towards cost of good sold.

According to GAAP, sales and distribution expenses, general and administrative expenses and income taxes are not normally part of costs of goods sold.

If they can be appropriately allocated towards cost of goods sold in accordance to GAAP, then property taxes can be claimed.

No. You should only claim what is allocable towards cost of goods sold. This may include depreciation and interest. To claim depreciation and loan payments would amount to "double claiming".

Yes, but your expenses would need to be prorated in accordance with GAAP.

Yes, if these raw materials are part of cost of goods sold in accordance to GAAP.

Reimbursable expenses do not qualify since the claimant is reimbursed and does not incur an outlay.

Yes, CBP may contact you to arrange for verification of your certification. This may take place either by providing supporting documentation and/or a site visit.

In calculating the amount available for distribution, we take the amount of duties that have been assessed and collected for each case for the current Fiscal Year from the Special Account; see discussion on the Clearing Account below. We subtract current Fiscal Year uncollected duties on each case, as we cannot disburse funds that have not yet been collected.

We add in prior Fiscal Year bills that have been paid in the current Fiscal Year. We also adjust for reliquidations that occur throughout the year on entries associated with each case where previous disbursements have been made.

Distributions are calculated in accordance with 19 CFR 159.64(c):

• If the total amount of the certified net claims filed by affected domestic producers does not exceed the amount of the offset available for distribution for the corresponding order or finding, the certified net claim for each affected domestic producer will be paid in full.
• If the certified net claims exceed the dumping and subsidy offset amount available in the corresponding Special Account, such offset will be made on a pro rata basis based on each affected domestic producer's total certified claim.

Yes, according to 19 CFR 159.64(c)(3), claimants have 30 days to file for a reconsideration if they believe CBP made a clerical error or mistake. Reconsideration must be filed at the address in the Federal Register Notice.

A claimant's prior year distributions can be found on their CDSOA prior year statements or on the CDSOA Annual Disbursement Reports that can be found on the CBP website.

There is a link to online instructions at the bottom of the CBP website.

The amounts displayed in the Clearing Account represent estimated duties filed on the entry by the importer. These estimated duties and may be refunded at liquidation to the importer of record based upon Commerce's final determination on the case. Funds do not transfer from the Clearing Account to the Special Account for CDSOA distribution until duties are assessed and collected and notice of that liquidation is published.

Clearing account information is available on our website, see the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act (CDSOA) of 2000 page. 

The full impact of the CDSOA repeal on amounts available for distribution may be delayed for several years. Money collected on an entry filed before October 1, 2007, will continue to be subject to the distribution procedures under former section 1675c. The duty on an entry is not available for distribution until the entry is liquidated pursuant to the direction of the Department of Commerce and the duty is collected and deposited into the special account; therefore, the distribution process will continue until all entries made before October 1, 2007 are liquidated and the duties are collected. As a result of the statutory constraints in the assessment of antidumping and countervailing duties, the distribution process will continue for an undetermined period; however, the amount of money available for distribution can be expected to diminish over time. It should also be noted that amounts distributed may be subject to recovery, as a result of reliquidations, court actions, administrative errors, and other reasons.

19 CFR 159.61(c) provided that expenses must be incurred after the issuance, and prior to the termination, of the antidumping order or finding or countervailing duty order under which distribution is sought. The repeal language parallels the termination of an order; thus, for duty orders or findings that have not been previously revoked, expenses must be incurred before October 1, 2007 to be eligible for offset.

Contact the U.S. International Trade Commission.