Merchandise Processing Fee Increased to 0.3464%

Congress has voted to increase the Merchandise Processing Fee collected by U.S. Customs on every formal entry to 0.3464% of the FOB value from the current 0.21% of FOB value.  This increase has not affected the minimum MPF charged of $25.00/formal entry nor the maximum MPF of $485.00/formal entry.  However, due to the higher MPF rate, more lower value shipments will now be above the $25.00 minimum and more higher value shipments will now reach the $485.00 maximum.

U.S. Customs has announced that it will provide a week’s notice prior to beginning to assess the increased MPF.

Due to the increase being effective as of October 1, 2011, Customs plans to generate bills for the additional fees due on entries filed from October 1 through the day before the higher MPF rate is actually implemented. These bills are expected to be sent out to the importer of record of any entry where the difference between the old MPF and the new MPF is greater than $20.00.

The new MPF rate of 0.3464% is legislated to remain in effect until June 30, 2021.

If you have questions about how this change affects your shipments, please contact us to discuss your situation.