On September 23, 2004, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Treasury, published in the Federal Register interim regulations to carry out Executive Order 13312 of July 29, 2003, which implemented the Clean Diamond Trade Act (CDTA) and the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) for rough diamonds. OFAC regulations are found in 31 CFR 592.101 through 592.801. Rough diamonds are defined as any diamond that is unworked or simply sawn, cleaved or bruted, and classifiable under subheading 7102.10, 7102.21 and 7102.31 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS).
On July 8, 2013, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a Final Notice of Rulemaking (Volume 78, Number 130, Pages 40627-40630), amending the CBP regulations to set forth the prohibitions and conditions that are applicable to the importation and exportation of rough diamonds pursuant to the CDTA. This action resulted in the addition of a new CBP regulation (19 CFR 12.152). Additionally, the notice clarified that any U.S. person exporting from, or importing to, the United States a shipment of rough diamonds must retain for a period of at least five years a copy of the Kimberley Process Certificate that currently must accompany such shipments and make the copy available for inspection when requested by CBP. As part of this clarification, 19 CFR 163.2 was amended and “Kimberley Process Certificate” was added to the Appendix to Part 163 (the Interim (a)(1)(A) List).
Requirements
Shipments of rough diamonds imported into, or exported, from the United States must be accompanied by an original Kimberley Process Certificate. The original certificate must be presented in connection with an importation or exportation of rough diamonds upon demand by CBP officials. When a CBPO demands the original KPCS certificate, importers are required to produce the document and provide a copy of the certificate for inclusion in the entry package. A CBPO must authenticate the original Kimberley Process Certificate when provided. CBPOs must verify the contents of the shipment against the invoice and/or packing list.
OFAC regulations 31 C.F.R. 592.301 (a)(2) requires, "Any shipment of rough diamonds imported into, or exported, from the United States must be sealed in a tamper-resistant container." "Tamper-resistant container" is defined as packaging having an indicator or barrier to entry that could reasonably be expected to provide visible evidence that tampering had occurred. Standard mailing and express consignment packaging alone is not considered as tamper-resistant. It is imperative that CBPOs adhere to this policy to ensure uniformity in enforcing OFAC rough diamond requirements pertaining to security of the rough diamond shipment.