U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a final rule revising the regulations for goods shipped ‘In-Bond’, effective November 27, 2017. In-bond shipments are transported within the U.S. under bond, without entering into the commerce of the U.S. or payment of duties.

There are three In-bond types:

1. IT: In-Transit bonds, where a good is moved to another port for entry filing;
2. T&E: Transportation and Exportation bonds, where a good is transported to another port and then exported from the U.S.; and
3. IE: Immediate Export bonds, where a good may be immediately exported from the same port it arrived in.

Summary of major changes to In-bond:
-Barge In-Transit Time: Extended to 60 days; other modes remain at 30-days.
-Reporting Timeframes: Two (2) business days for Reporting-of-Arrival and Notice-of- Export.
-Description of Merchandise:

1. In-bond merchandise subject to the authority of a U.S. government agency must be described with sufficient accuracy to enable the agency concerned to determine the contents of the shipment.
2. Six-digit Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) number required.
3. Identification of Prohibited or restricted merchandise will not be mandatory.
4. U.S. or foreign government authority issued visa, permit, license, etc. reporting will not be required.
5. Detailed reporting for textiles for IT In-Bonds remains in effect.