(a) Procedure. At least 7 working days before the intended date of destruction of merchandise or articles upon which drawback is intended to be claimed, a Notice of Intent to Export, Destroy, or Return Merchandise for Purposes of Drawback on Customs Form 7553 shall be filed by the claimant with the Customs port where the destruction is to take place, giving notification of the date and specific location where the destruction is to occur. Within 4 working days after receipt of the Customs Form 7553, Customs shall advise the filer in writing of its determination to witness or not to witness the destruction. If the filer of the notice is not so notified within 4 working days, the merchandise may be destroyed without delay and will be deemed to have been destroyed under Customs supervision. Unless Customs determines to witness the destruction, the destruction of the articles following timely notification on Customs Form 7553 shall be deemed to have occurred under Customs supervision. If Customs attends the destruction, it must certify the Notice of Intent to Export, Destroy, or Return Merchandise for Purposes of Drawback.

(b) Evidence of destruction. When Customs does not attend the destruction, the claimant must submit evidence that destruction took place in accordance with the approved Notice of Intent to Export, Destroy, or Return Merchandise for Purposes of Drawback. The evidence must be issued by a disinterested third party (for example, a landfill operator). The type of evidence depends on the method and place of destruction, but must establish that the merchandise was, in fact, destroyed within the meaning of “destruction” in § 191.2(g) (i.e., that no articles of commercial value remained after destruction).

(c) Completion of drawback entry. After destruction, the claimant must provide the Customs Form 7553, certified by the Customs official witnessing the destruction in accordance with paragraph (a) of this section, to Customs as part of the completed drawback claim based on the destruction (see § 191.51(a) of this part). If Customs has not attended the destruction, the claimant must provide the evidence that destruction took place in accordance with the approved Customs Form 7553, as provided for in paragraph (b) of this section, as part of the completed drawback claim based on the destruction (see § 191.51(a) of this part).

Exportation of articles for drawback purposes must be established by complying with one of the procedures provided for in this section (in addition to providing prior notice of intent to export if applicable (see §§ 191.35, 191.36, 191.42, and 191.91 of this part)). Supporting documentary evidence must establish fully the date and fact of exportation and the identity of the exporter. The procedures for establishing exportation outlined by this section include, but are not limited to:

(a) Documentary evidence of exportation (originals or copies) issued by the exporting carrier, such as a bill of lading, air waybill, freight waybill, Canadian Customs manifest, and/or cargo manifest;”.

(b) Export summary (§ 191.73);

(c) Official postal records (originals or copies) which evidence exportation by mail (§ 191.74);

(d) Notice of lading for supplies on certain vessels or aircraft (§ 191.112); or

(e) Notice of transfer for articles manufactured or produced in the U.S. which are transferred to a foreign trade zone (§ 191.183).

(a) General. The export summary procedure consists of a Chronological Summary of Exports used to support a drawback claim. It may be submitted as part of the claim in lieu of actual documentary evidence of exportation. It may be used by any claimant for manufacturing drawback, and for unused or rejected merchandise drawback, as well as for drawback involving the substitution of finished petroleum derivatives (19 U.S.C. 1313(a), (b), (c), (j), or (p)). It is intended to improve administrative efficiency.

(b) Format of Chronological Summary of Exports. The Chronological Summary of Exports shall contain the data provided for in the following sample:

(c) Documentary evidence—(1) Records. The claimant, whether or not the exporter, shall maintain the Chronological Summary of Exports and such additional evidence of exportation required by Customs to establish fully the identity of the exported articles and the fact of exportation. Actual evidence of exportation, as described in § 191.72(a) of this subpart, is the primary evidence of export for drawback purposes.

(2) Maintenance of records. The claimant shall submit as part of the claim the Chronological Summary of Exports (see § 191.51). The claimant shall retain records supporting the Chronological Summary of Exports for 3 years after payment of the related claim, and such records are subject to review by Customs.

If the merchandise on which drawback is to be claimed is exported by mail or parcel post, the official postal records (original or copies) which describe the mail shipment shall be sufficient to prove exportation. The postal record shall be identified on the drawback entry, and shall be retained by the claimant and submitted as part of the drawback claim (see § 191.51(a)).

(a) Claim by U.S. Government. When a department, branch, agency, or instrumentality of the United States Government exports products with the intention of claiming drawback, it may establish the exportation in the manner provided in §§ 191.72 and 191.73 of this subpart (see § 191.4 of this part).

(b) Claim by supplier. When a supplier of merchandise to the Government or any of the parties specified in § 191.82 of this part claims drawback, exportation shall be established under §§ 191.72 and 191.73 of this subpart.

(a) Requirement. Prior to the liquidation of the drawback entry, Customs may require a landing certificate for every aircraft departing from the United States under its own power if drawback is claimed on the aircraft or a part thereof, except for the exportation of supplies under § 309 of the Act, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1309). The certificate shall show the exact time of landing in the foreign destination and describe the aircraft or parts subject to drawback in sufficient detail to enable Customs officers to identify them with the documentation of exportation.

(b) Written notice of requirement and time for filing. A landing certificate shall be filed within one year from the written Customs request, unless Customs Headquarters grants an extension.

(c) Signature. A landing certificate shall be signed by a revenue officer of the foreign country of the export's destination, unless the embassy of that country certifies in writing that there is no Customs administration in that country, in which case the landing certificate may be signed by the consignee or the carrier's agent at the place of unlading.

(d) Inability to produce landing certificates. A landing certificate shall be waived by the requiring Customs authority if the claimant demonstrates inability to obtain a certificate and offers other satisfactory evidence of export.