CBP Form 349, Harbor Maintenance Fee: Filing, Refunds, and Penalties

CBP Form 349 is the quarterly summary report used to calculate and pay the Harbor Maintenance Fee to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The fee is 0.125 percent of the value of commercial cargo loaded or unloaded at federally maintained ports, and the form is due within 31 days after each calendar quarter ends.¹ You file it if you ship domestic cargo through a covered port, admit imported cargo into a Foreign Trade Zone, or operate a cruise vessel that embarks or disembarks passengers at a covered port.

Who Has to File

Three types of parties owe the fee and file Form 349:

Domestic cargo shippers. When cargo moves between U.S. ports, the shipper paying the freight owes the fee. The name on the Corps of Engineers Vessel Operation Report (Form 3925) determines who files.²
Foreign Trade Zone applicants. When imported cargo is unloaded at a covered port and admitted into an FTZ, the applicant for admission is liable.
Cruise vessel operators. When passengers board or leave a commercial vessel at a covered port, the operator owes the fee, paid once per passenger per cruise regardless of how many ports the ship visits.²

Import entries are handled through the normal customs entry process, not Form 349. The quarterly form covers only domestic movements, FTZ admissions, and passenger activity.

Calculating What You Owe

The fee is 0.125 percent, or 0.00125 as a multiplier, applied to the value of the cargo or fare.³ Value is defined differently for each activity:

Domestic movements: the Free Alongside Ship (FAS) value at loading, which includes the selling price, inland freight, insurance, and other charges to get cargo dockside.
FTZ admissions: the entered value from Box 21 of CBP Form 214.
Passenger movements: the actual fare paid, or the prevailing charge for comparable service if no fare was charged. Crew members are not subject to the fee.⁴

Example: a shipper moving $2,000,000 of domestic cargo through covered ports in a quarter owes $2,500.

What Is Exempt

Eight categories of cargo and activity are exempt from the fee:²

Vessel supplies: bunker fuel, ship’s stores, sea stores, and equipment.
Fresh-caught fish or other aquatic animal life not previously landed on shore.
Ferry services primarily carrying passengers and their vehicles between U.S. points or between the U.S. and contiguous countries.
Cargo shipped between the U.S. mainland and Alaska, Hawaii, or U.S. territories for use or consumption at the destination, or cargo staying within the same state or territory. Alaskan crude oil does not qualify.¹
Cargo moved by vessels whose fuel is already subject to the Inland Waterway Fuel Tax.
In-bond cargo entering the U.S. for direct export, with limited exceptions for Canada and Mexico.
Cargo or vessels belonging to the United States or any federal agency.
Humanitarian cargo owned or financed by nonprofits or cooperatives and certified by CBP for humanitarian or development assistance overseas.

Exempt shipments still get reported on Form 349. You enter their value in the exemption section so the taxable base reflects only what actually owes the fee.

Filling Out the Form

Download the fillable PDF from CBP’s forms page.⁵ It is two pages and self-calculates once you enter your values.

Identification and Reporting Period (Boxes 1–4)

Box 1 takes your IRS Employer Identification Number or Social Security Number. Check which one you are using. Each summary report should contain only one identifying number, though you can file more than one report per quarter under the same number.⁶

Box 2 is the responsible party’s name. For domestic movements, use the shipper shown on the Corps of Engineers Vessel Operation Report. For FTZ admissions, use the applicant firm name from CBP Form 214. For passenger movements, use the vessel operator’s name. Box 3 is your mailing address. Box 4 is the reporting period: pick the calendar year and check one quarter. File a separate report for each quarter.

Value, Exemptions, and Fee (Boxes 5–9)

Box 5 is split into three columns: 5A for domestic movements, 5B for FTZ admissions, 5C for passenger movements. Enter the quarter’s total value in each column. Box 5D totals them.

Box 6 captures exempt shipments. Itemize exemptions on lines 10 through 14 of page two, and the totals flow into Boxes 6A through 6C. Box 7 subtracts exemptions from gross value to give net taxable value. Box 8 applies the 0.00125 rate. Box 9 shows the total fee due.

Exemption Detail and Port Codes (Lines 10–14)

Page two breaks exempt values down by category and asks you to identify each port using the four-digit codes from Schedule D.⁷ The same codes are available through the Census Bureau.⁸ Lines 10 through 14 correspond to exempt ports, Alaska/Hawaii/possessions cargo, in-bond exports, government cargo, and humanitarian shipments.

Individual shipments do not have to be listed. This is a summary report, but your totals must reconcile against your commercial invoices, shipping manifests, and zone admission forms.

Filing and Paying

Payment must be received by CBP within 31 days after the close of the quarter.¹ The practical deadlines:

Q1 (January–March): April 30
Q2 (April–June): July 31
Q3 (July–September): October 31
Q4 (October–December): January 31

The fastest option is filing and paying electronically through the Automated Clearinghouse via pay.gov. To file by mail, send the form with a check or money order payable to U.S. Customs and Border Protection to:⁹

U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Revenue Division
8899 E. 56th Street
Mail Stop 203-J
Indianapolis, IN 46249

Build in lead time if you mail. CBP counts when payment is received, not when it is postmarked.

Fixing a Mistake or Requesting a Refund

To correct a filed Form 349 or request a refund for overpayment, use CBP Form 350, the Amended Quarterly Summary Report.¹⁰ Submit it with a copy of the original Form 349 for the quarter being corrected.

A refund request must specify the grounds and must be received by CBP within one year of the date the fee was originally paid.¹ Supplemental payments and refund requests can be submitted through pay.gov or mailed to the Indianapolis address. If mailing a supplemental payment, attach a single check or money order to each Form 350.

Records You Have to Keep

Every party subject to the fee must keep the documentation needed to verify the calculation for five years from the date of fee calculation.² That includes commercial invoices, shipping manifests, zone admission forms, and proofs of payment. Records must be available for inspection and copying by CBP on request. Nonprofits and cooperatives claiming the humanitarian exemption face the same five-year retention rule for exemption documentation.

You must also give CBP’s Revenue Division the name, address, email, and phone number of a responsible officer who can verify your records, and update that contact if it changes.

What Happens If You File Late

Missing the 31-day deadline triggers a penalty equal to the liquidated damages CBP assesses for late filing of an entry summary under 19 CFR 142.15.² Importers can also face liquidated damages under their basic importation and entry bond for failing to pay the fee. CBP has a mitigation process that follows the same guidelines used for canceling liquidated damages on late entry summaries, so a reasonable explanation can support a request for relief, but mitigation is not a filing plan.

1
eCFR. 19 CFR 24.24 – Harbor Maintenance Fee
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eCFR. 19 CFR 24.24 – Harbor Maintenance Fee
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 4461 – Imposition of Tax
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 4462 – Definitions and Special Rules
5
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. CBP Form 349 – Harbor Maintenance Fee Quarterly Summary Report
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection. CBP Form 349 – Harbor Maintenance Fee Quarterly Summary Report
7
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. ACE Appendix E – Schedule D Port Codes
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Census.gov. Schedule D – District and Port Codes and Descriptions
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Payment Mailing Addresses
10
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. CBP Form 350 – Harbor Maintenance Fee Amended Quarterly Summary Report