(U.S. Customs & Border Protection) As used in connection with international trade, a fee assessed for the performance of some type of a service or the use of facilities. With respect to fees charged by Customs authorities or governmental entities in connection with the importation of goods, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) requires that a user fee be based on the estimated or computed cost of actual service rendered. An example of an acceptable user fee under GATT is the U.S. Customs & Border Protection Merchandise Processing Fee assessed on most types of Customs entries to offset the cost of custom processing the entry.
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