Shrimper
Advisory — Deadline Nears for First Potential Disbribution
of Duty Deposits on Shrimp Imports
Posted:
7/22/05
Qualified
domestic shrimp producers who have been affected by foreign
dumping of shrimp have until Aug. 1 to file claims for an
offset of qualifying expenditures under the Continued Dumping
and Subsidy Offset Act of 2000, commonly known as the "Byrd
Amendment," according to the June 1, 2005 Federal Register
notice issued by the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection
(BCBP).
In consideration
of the short application deadline, and in an effort to assist
those who may not have received applications, the Louisiana
Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) has posted "Producer's
Claim Applications and Certification" forms along with
instructions on its Web site at http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/shrimp/instructions.pdf.,
and the application form at http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/shrimp/claim.pdf.
Additionally, forms may be obtained by contacting LDWF offices
in Baton Rouge, Slidell, New Orleans, Bourg, New Iberia and
Lake Charles, as well as Sea Grant Extension offices at LSU
Ag Center locations in Cut Off, Houma, Belle Chasse, Metairie,
Abbeville, Franklin, New Iberia, Lake Charles and Cameron.
It is important to note that the sample forms and instructions
developed by the Southern Shrimp Alliance (SSA) should be
considered as an advisory only and should not be taken as
legal advice.
It is
unlikely that any funds collected from duty deposits on shrimp
imports will be available for distribution this year. However,
if funds are available for distribution, claims for 2005 distributions
must be received by the BCBP before Aug. 1, 2005. All claims
should be addressed to the Assistant Commissioner, Office
of Finance, Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, Revenue
Division, Attention: Leigh Redelman, P.O. Box 68940, Indianapolis,
IN 46268 or if using the street address; 6650 Telecom Drive,
Suite 100, Indianapolis, IN 46278.
The June 1, 2005, Federal Register notice
also identified affected domestic producers including commercial
shrimp fishermen, shrimp vessel owners, shrimp dealers and
businesses who are potentially eligible to receive a distribution.
A producer is potentially eligible to receive distributions
if the producer publicly supported the shrimp antidumping
petition by submitting written support of the petition or
belonged to an organization that submitted written evidence
of support for the petition to the U.S. International Trade
Commission (USITC) before Dec. 8, 2004. The Federal
Register
notice is available at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2005/pdf/05-10497.pdf.
The document at this link is extremely large and may be difficult
to open and download without a high-speed Internet connection.
The BCBP requires that in order to receive
distributions from the six countries named in the antidumping
duty orders, separate applications must be submitted for each
country-claim. Applicants are advised that claims require
the producer to certify that it remains in operation and continues
to produce shrimp, has not been acquired by a company or business
that is related to a company which opposed the antidumping
investigations, has records to support each qualifying expenditure
listed in the certification, and how these qualifying expenditures
are determined to be related to the production of shrimp.
Due to the level of detail required in listing qualified expenditures
required in, it is recommended that applicants seek accounting
advice from professionals.
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