CBP Form 349
FTZ Academy / Form 349: Harbor Maintenance Fee Report
Form 349: Harbor Maintenance Fee Report
Since 1987 the Harbor Maintenance Fee (HMF) has been responsible for keeping ports and harbors that importers and businesses use to operate clean, well maintained, and functional.
In the FTZ environment, Form 349 allows the HMF to be paid quarterly instead of upon entry, and simplifies a process that could potentially lead to bottlenecked ports. For businesses using sea ports and harbors, Form 349 gives some flexibility to how this fee (which cannot be waived or avoided) can be paid.
The Harbor Maintenance Fee is only assessed on imports, domestic shipments, FTZ admission, and passengers. The required fee is calculated at .125% of the total value of shipped goods.
When completing Form 349 in an FTZ environment, several boxes must be completed:
- Boxes 1,2,3 identifies the importer
- Box 4 identifies the quarter being reported.
- Box 5 column B: FTZ Admission
- Total value listed on Form 214 (FTZ Admissions form) box 21.
- Boxes 16-20 attests accuracy of the preparer.
In order to satisfy the Harbor Maintenance Fee requirement, an importer must submit the quarterly HMF form, the required payment, and any Form 214’s that were used for FTZ admission.
