Effective September 3, 2013, the Postal Service™ will revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM®) parts 123 and 527 and section 533.3 to codify that the only authorized USPS®-produced customs declarations forms (PS Form 2976, Customs Declaration CN 22 — Sender’s Declaration, and PS Form 2976-A, Customs Declaration and Dispatch Note — CP 72) are the editions dated September 2012 and July 2013.
Postmasters are encouraged to convey this information to mailers who may possess editions of PS Forms 2976 and 2976-A dated before September 2012, and to encourage them to start using the authorized editions as soon as possible, but no later than the effective date of September 3, 2013.
Post Office™ facilities that have editions of PS Forms 2976 and 2976-A dated before September 2012 must remove them from lobbies no later than September 3, 2013, and must recycle or discard them appropriately as soon as possible.
In addition, the only authorized edition of the USPS-produced PS Form 2976-B, Priority Mail Express International Shipping Label and Customs Form, is dated July 2013. This is a new form that is authorized for Priority Mail Express International™ items, and it is effective beginning on July 28, 2013.
Finally, mailers may still use previous editions of PS Form 2976-E, Customs Declaration Envelope — CP 91, which is the plastic envelope used to carry and protect the PS Form 2976-A and PS Form 2976-B customs form sets. The current edition of PS Form 2976-E is July 2013, but all older editions are still valid.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM)
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1 International Mail Services
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120 Preparation for Mailing
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123 Customs Forms and Online Shipping Labels
[Revise the title and text of 123.1 to read as follows:]
123.1 USPS-Produced Customs Declaration Forms
123.11 General
As required under 123.6, only three customs declaration forms are used for international mail:
a. PS Form 2976, Customs Declaration CN 22 — Sender’s Declaration.
b. PS Form 2976-A, Customs Declaration and Dispatch Note — CP 72.
c. PS Form 2976-B, Priority Mail Express International Shipping Label and Customs Form (used only for Priority Mail Express International items).
PS Form 2976-E, Customs Declaration Envelope — CP 91, is a plastic envelope that is used to carry and protect the PS Form 2976-A and PS Form 2976-B customs form sets (see 123.73).
123.12 Authorized Editions
Note: The current edition of PS Form 2976 is July 2013; the current edition of PS Form 2976-A is July 2013; and the current (and only) edition of PS Form 2976-B is July 2013.
Note: For PS Form 2976 and PS Form 2976-A, the only other authorized edition is September 2012.
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123.6 Required Usage
123.61 Conditions
The following conditions apply to customs forms for international mail items:
[Revise items a and c to read as follows (to include references to PS Form 2976-B):]
a. Except as provided in 123.62, mailers must use PS Form 2976, PS Form 2976-A, or PS Form 2976-B as described in Exhibit 123.61.
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c. Regardless of any listing in Exhibit 123.61, items containing articles that require an export license (see 532) must always bear PS Form 2976-A or PS Form 2976-B — note that PS Form 2976-B is used only for Priority Mail Express International items. In certain circumstances, this might require the mailer to send the mailpiece via Priority Mail Express International service or Priority Mail International service (but not with Priority Mail International Flat Rate Envelopes or Small Flat Rate Priced Boxes).
Exhibit 123.61 Customs Declaration Form Usage by Mail Category
[Revise the entry for “Priority Mail Express International” to read as follows (to include a reference to PS Form 2976-B in the “Required PS Form” column:]
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123.7 Completing Customs Forms
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123.73 PS Form 2976-E, Customs Declaration Envelope — CP 91
[Revise 123.73 to read as follows:]
PS Form 2976-E is a transparent plastic envelope designed to carry and protect the PS Form 2976-A and PS Form 2976-B customs form sets. After completing the forms, the mailer inserts the PS Form 2976-A or PS Form 2976-B form set into the envelope of PS Form 2976-E, removes the backing sheet, and affixes it to the package on the address side. The current edition of PS Form 2976-E is July 2013; however, the mailer may use older editions.
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5 Nonpostal Export Regulations
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520 Foreign Trade Regulations — U.S. Census Bureau
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527 Placement of ITN, AES Downtime Citation, or AES Exemption
[Revise 527 in its entirety to read as follows:]
When shipments require an ITN, AES Downtime Citation, or AES Exemption, it is the customer’s responsibility to legibly write the ITN, AES Downtime Citation, or AES Exemption on the applicable customs declaration form as follows:
a. On PS Form 2976-A, Customs Declaration and Dispatch Note — CP 72, customers should write one ITN, AES Downtime Citation, or applicable AES Exemption in block 10.
b. On PS Form 2976-B, Priority Mail Express International Shipping Label and Customs Form, customers should write one ITN, AES Downtime Citation, or applicable AES Exemption in block 3.
c. On PS Form 2976, Customs Declaration CN 22 — Sender’s Declaration, customers should check “NOEEI § 30.37(a)” or “NOEEI § 30.37(h)” (depending on the applicable AES Exemption) in block 8.
Note regarding Cuba: Consumer communications devices, computers, and software (CCD) items sent to Cuba require an electronic filing when not included as a gift parcel — see the Individual Country Listing for Cuba for information regarding CCD items. Customers using PS Form 2976 to ship CCD items to Cuba should (1) completely obliterate the check boxes and text referring to NOEEI § 30.37(a) and NOEEI § 30.37(h) and (2) write one ITN or AES Downtime Citation.
d. On editions of the Global Express Guaranteed Air Waybill/Shipping Invoice (shipping label, Item 11FGG1) printed before August 2008, customers should write “NOEEI 30.37(a)” next to the sender’s signature. Current versions of Item 11FGG1 have this AES Exemption included on the mailing label.
Note: These standards also apply to mailers who produce privately printed customs declaration forms under 123.3.
530 Commodities and Technical Data
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533 Additional Standards
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[Revise the title and text of 533.3 in its entirety to read as follows:]
533.3 Mailer and USPS Responsibilities for Completing and Processing Forms
533.31 Mailer Responsibilities
For items requiring an export license, the mailer must include all appropriate information on the submitted form, including the following:
a. On PS Form 2976-A, Customs Declaration and Dispatch Note — CP 72, the mailer must include an ITN or AES Downtime Citation (see 520) in block 10 and a license number in block 16.
b. On PS Form 2976-B, Priority Mail Express International Shipping Label and Customs Form, the mailer must include an ITN or AES Downtime Citation (see 520) in block 3 and a license number in block 14.
533.32 USPS Responsibilities
Postal Service personnel must verify that the submitted form is complete and in accordance with 533.31.
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When effective, we will incorporate these revisions into the online IMM, which is available via Postal Explorer® at http://pe.usps.com.
— Product Classification,
Pricing, 7-25-13
