US goods returned under 9801 and 9802: the proof, the Chapter 99 value and past entries that paid on full value

Which goods count as US goods returned, and what does each provision charge?

Chapter 98 of the HTSUS has two subchapters for goods that leave the United States and come back. Subchapter I covers goods that come back unchanged; subchapter II covers goods that come back after work was done on them abroad. U.S. note 1 to Chapter 98 says an article described in one of these provisions is classified there if it meets the conditions and the regulations, so the claim is a classification, made line by line, and it either holds up or it does not.

Two limits apply to all of them. Subchapter I does not apply to articles exported with drawback, and subchapter II does not apply to articles exported from continuous customs custody with remission of duty, with drawback (USMCA drawback aside), or to comply with a US law requiring export (U.S. notes 1 to each subchapter). And U.S. note 5 to subchapter II says no article gets a partial exemption under more than one provision of that subchapter.

The rate itself is the rate of the article in its condition as imported. For repairs, U.S. note 3(c) applies the rate that would apply to the whole article to the value of the repair; for assembly, U.S. note 4(b) applies the article's rate to the value left after the US components are subtracted.

How do 9801 and 9802 lines look in an entry export?

These are dual-number lines, and that is how you find them. The CBP Form 7501 instructions (revision 02/26) say many Chapter 98 items require a dual HTS number, and that articles assembled abroad with US components require 9802.00.80 along with the reporting number from Chapters 1 to 97. Statistical note 1 to subchapter II tells you which value goes where:

• 9802.00.8069 lines report two values: first, against the 9802 number, the value of the US fabricated components; second, against the Chapter 1 to 97 number, the dutiable value, which is the total value less those components.
• 9802.00.6000 lines report the total value less the foreign processing against the 9802 number, and the value of the processing as the dutiable value.
• 9802.00.40 and 9802.00.50 lines are reported as the 9802 number followed by the Chapter 1 to 97 number, with the dutiable value. Chapter 98 statistical note 2 gives the example 9802.00.4040-8515.31.0000 for welding machines repaired under warranty.

Two more fields matter. The country of origin on a 9802 line is, for 7501 reporting, the country where the repair, alteration or assembly took place (7501 instructions, block 10). The instructions call that "for reporting purposes only": the Chapter 99 heading follows the article's country of origin, which is often the assembly country but has to be confirmed. That heading, if one applies, is reported on the same line and carries a value too.

So the filter on a broker entry export is: every line whose HTS field starts with 9801 or 9802, plus every line from a country where your own company ships components or sends goods for repair that does not start with 9802. The second set is where the money usually is: goods that qualified and were entered on full value.

Why do Chapter 99 duties fall on the non-US value only?

Because the notes that impose them say so. The two Section 301 actions most lines carry today use the same wording:

• China Section 301 (U.S. note 20 to subchapter III of Chapter 99). The additional duties under heading 9903.88.01 and the related headings do not apply to goods properly entered under Chapter 98, except goods under 9802.00.40, 9802.00.50, 9802.00.60 and 9802.00.80. For the first three, the duties apply to the value of the repairs, alterations or processing; for 9802.00.80, to the value of the article less the cost or value of the US products.
• Section 301 forced-labor action (U.S. note 52(a)). USTR's notice at 91 FR 47318 (July 28, 2026) imposes additional duties under headings 9903.05.20 to 9903.05.84 on products of 60 economies entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption from 12:01 a.m. eastern time on July 24, 2026. Note 52(a) uses the same carve-out: no duty on goods properly entered under Chapter 98, except the four 9802 provisions, where the duty applies to the repair or processing value or, for 9802.00.80, to the value less the US products.

So a 9801.00.10 line carries no Section 301 duty at all, and a 9802 line carries it only on the part of the value that was not US-made.

Section 232 works differently. U.S. note 16(b) keeps Chapter 98 treatment available for goods under the metal headings 9903.82.02 to 9903.82.26, except that duties under 9802.00.60 are assessed on the full value of the imported article. Since April 6, 2026 those headings apply to the full customs value of the article (Proclamation 11021), and note 16(c) applies them to listed articles outside chapters 72, 73, 74 and 76 only where the metal is at least 15 percent of the article's weight. For 9802.00.80 and the repair provisions, note 16(b) keeps the provision's own terms. A metal-processing claim under 9802.00.60 still lowers the base duty, but not the Section 232 layer; why your entry shows the wrong duty stack covers the Section 232 value rules by date.

What does a full-value filing cost on one line?

Illustrative figures. Blenders, HTSUS 8509.40.0015, general rate 4.2 percent, assembled in Vietnam from US-made motor assemblies and control boards. Assume the importer's origin analysis concludes the finished blender is a product of Vietnam; the 7501 instruction to report the assembly country on a 9802 line is a reporting rule, not that analysis. The subheading is not on the Section 232 lists in note 16, and products of Vietnam carry 12.5 percent under heading 9903.05.84 for entries from July 24, 2026. Entered September 15, 2026, so the fiscal year 2026 merchandise processing fee limits apply ($33.58 minimum, $651.50 maximum, 90 FR 34665). Full value of the shipment $200,000; US components, at cost when last purchased f.o.b. the US port of export as 19 CFR 10.17 requires, $80,000.

The difference is $13,595.82 on one line, and nearly three quarters of it is the Chapter 99 layer, not the base rate. That is the pattern to expect: the base rate on many assembled goods is low, so a missed 9802 claim was cheap to ignore before July 24, 2026 and is not anymore. The fee follows the same split because 19 CFR 24.23(c)(2) charges the ad valorem fee on 9802.00.60 and 9802.00.80 goods only on the portion of the value on which duty is assessed. Repair lines under 9802.00.40 and 9802.00.50, and returned goods under 9801.00.10, pay no ad valorem fee at all (24.23(c)(1)(i)). If the blenders came by vessel, the harbor maintenance fee is the same in both columns: 19 CFR 24.24 charges 0.125 percent of the value of the commercial cargo and has no Chapter 98 exemption, so it is $250 either way and drops out of the comparison.

To price a line both ways on its own entry date, use the duty calculator; the fee rules are on how the merchandise processing fee is calculated.

What proof does CBP ask for, and what makes a claim fail?

The declarations are short, but they carry facts the importer has to be able to back up.

For 9801.00.10 (19 CFR 10.1). A declaration by the foreign shipper that the articles were exported from a named US port on a stated date and are returned without having been advanced in value or improved in condition, and a declaration by the importer naming the US manufacturer and confirming the goods were not made under 9813.00.05 and were exported without drawback. Shipments of $2,500 or less do not need these documents, and the Center director can waive them or ask for more, such as the US manufacturer's statement or the US export invoice and bill of lading (10.1(b) and (d)).

For repairs and processing (10.8 and 10.9). The repairer or processor declares what was received, from whom and when, that only the stated work was done, its full cost, and that nothing was substituted. The importer declares the export port and date and that the same articles came back. CBP can ask for proof of export such as the foreign customs entry or the bill of lading (10.8(b)), and it takes a deposit on the full cost or value of the work (10.8(d)).

For assembly (10.14 to 10.24). The assembler lists each US component with its marks, description, quantity, unit value at the time and place of export, the port and date of export and the manufacturer, and describes the operations performed abroad; the importer endorses it (10.24(a)). Claims fail on three points more than any other:

1. The component was not a fabricated component. 10.14 requires components ready for assembly without further fabrication when they left the United States. Lumber, sheet metal or fabric in bolts cut to shape abroad does not qualify.
2. The work abroad went beyond assembly. 10.16 accepts joining or fitting together solid components by welding, soldering, riveting, gluing, sewing or fasteners, plus incidental operations such as cleaning and painting. Mixing liquids, chemicals or food ingredients is not assembly.
3. The component value was estimated and never trued up. 10.21 says a claim based on estimated cost data must say so at entry, actual cost data must follow, and updated cost and assembly data is ordinarily due at least every six months.

If the documents are not available at entry, 10.24(f) allows a bond for their production. If they are never produced, the claim does not hold, and the line owes duty on full value.

What can you do about past entries that paid on full value?

Sort the qualifying lines by where each entry is in its life, then pick the route:

1. Not yet liquidated, inside the window. File a post-summary correction changing the line to the 9802 number with the US component value. CBP's PSC page allows changes within 300 days of the entry date and at least 15 days before scheduled liquidation, whichever comes first; classification is not on its list of data a PSC cannot change.
2. Flagged for reconciliation. CBP's reconciliation notice at 85 FR 39576 lists value aspects of entries filed under heading 9802 among the issues an entry can be flagged for, so a flagged entry's 9802 value is settled on the reconciliation entry. See CBP reconciliation for flagged entries.
3. Liquidated within the last 180 days. Protest the classification and rate under 19 U.S.C. 1514(a); how to file a customs protest covers grouping entries and the 7501 boxes to cite.
4. Liquidated more than 180 days ago. The decision is final under 1514(a). Fix the process so the next entries are filed correctly.

Each route needs the same file: the 10.24 assembler's declaration (or the 10.1, 10.8 or 10.9 declarations), proof that the components were exported from the United States, and the cost records behind the component value. Refunds of excess deposits carry interest from the date of deposit (19 U.S.C. 1505(c)). How to recover overpaid import duty compares the routes in more detail.

The check runs both ways. A 9802.00.80 line whose US component value is overstated, or whose components were further fabricated abroad, underpaid duty on every layer that follows the dutiable value. That goes to your broker or counsel as a correction or a prior disclosure, not into a protest. Filing any of these is a customs filing; confirm the route and the evidence with a licensed broker or trade counsel.

How do you keep the claim right on new entries?

Put the component data where the broker can use it: a standing component list per assembled product, with US cost f.o.b. port of export, refreshed at least every six months as 10.21 expects, and an assembler's declaration on file that the entries can reference under 10.24(c). Then audit every month: each line from an assembly or repair country should either carry the 9802 number with a component value, or have a recorded reason why it does not, and each 9802 line's Chapter 99 value should equal its dutiable value, not its full value.

TariffSense reads entry summaries and broker entry exports line by line, checks each line's Chapter 99 duties against the measures in force on its entry date, and flags a Chapter 99 duty charged on a value larger than the line's dutiable value. The post-entry audit pillar lists the other line checks, and the audit page shows the output. The claim and any correction stay with your broker.