IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR US BUYERS

The Clean Diamond Trade Act was signed into law on July 29, 2003, which prohibits the "importation into, or exportation from, the U.S. of any rough diamond, from whatever source, unless the rough diamond has been controlled through the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS)". Rough diamonds, which have become known as conflict diamonds, are defined as diamonds used by rebel movements to finance military action as opposed to legitimate and internationally recognized governments.

The KPCS is a joint government internationally recognized certification system that imposes extensive requirements on its members to enable them to certify shipments of rough diamonds as ‘conflict-free’ and prevent conflict diamonds from entering legitimate trade.

​

 

FRAUD WARNING: FAKE KIMBERLEY PROCESS CERTIFICATES FOR SIERRA LEONE, GHANA AND GUINEA 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, in conjunction with the Department of State, Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, is advising the public on several scams involving Kimberley Process Certificates.  Legitimate Kimberley Process Certificates are used to control the international trade in rough diamonds.

In one elaborate scheme, individuals were invited to Sierra Leone to view rough diamonds that were later evaluated as fake stones and were also provided with a fake Kimberley Process certificate numbered Sierra Leone 004199, issued in either April or May 2014.  Variations of certificate SL 004199 has been presented to prospective diamond purchasers in the past three weeks.  Diamond traders and business community members are also urged to be alert to the circulation of the fake certificate.  If you are presented with a fake certificate, please report it to U.S. Customs and Border Protection at kpmailbox@cbp.dhs.gov and to Department of State at USKimberleyProcess@state.gov. For more information about the Kimberley Process, please visit CBP’s Kimberley Diamond page or the Department of State’s Conflict Diamond page.

​

In the last year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has identified false Kimberley Process Certificates from Guinea, Ghana, and Sierra Leone that have been used by criminals in an advance-fee scheme to defraud people of thousands of dollars.  The criminals have approached U.S. citizens via the internet urging them to purchase rough diamonds directly from West African sources promising legitimate Kimberley Process Certificates for export.

​

ROUGH DIAMOND IMPORTATION PROCEDURES

The Clean Diamond Trade Act (the "Act", Public Law 108-19) was signed into law on July 29, 2003. The Act prohibits the "importation into, or exportation from, the United States on or after July 30, 2003, of any rough diamond, from whatever source, unless the rough diamond has been controlled through the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS)".

​

The Census Bureau is responsible for collecting, compiling and publishing import and export statistics for the U.S. under the provisions of Title 13 and Title 15 U.S.C. The Act requires the Census Bureau to maintain statistics on imports and exports of rough diamonds under subheadings 7102.10, 7102.21, and 7102.31 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States.

All importers of rough diamonds must fax a copy of their KPC certificates to the Census Bureau upon making entry with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Copies of the KPC must be faxed to 1-800-457-7328.

 

Questions concerning this should be directed to the:

• Office of Trade

• Commercial Targeting and Enforcement

• Kimberley Process Points of Contact

 

​

ROUGH DIAMOND EXPORTATION PROCEDURES

All rough diamond shipments exported under the subheading 7102.10, 7102.21 and 7102.31 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States must be filed in the Automated Export System (AES) along with a Kimberley Process Certificate.

​

The internally enforced, Kimberley Process Certification Scheme  (KPCS) was implemented in 2002 to prevent the illegal trade of rough diamonds from used to finance armed conflict against sovereign governments and associated human right abuses.  The KPCS encompasses countries involved in the production, trade, or manufacturing or rough diamonds. The KPCS was established to control the movement of rough diamonds in order to prevent conflict diamonds from entering the legitimate trade channels.

​

In order to file a rough diamond shipment into the Automated Export System, the KPC number document number is required to file with the Electronic Export Information (EEI) submission.  The KPC number is the number that is on the Kimberley Process Certificate, which starts with a US, and five numerical number behind it.  The country of origin is also listed under is on the Kimberley Process Certificate.

In accordance of Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) regulations 31 CFR 592.301, the requirement for importing and exporting in compliance with Kimberley Process Certificate Scheme (KPCS) is as follow:

• The original KP Certificate must accompany all export of rough diamond

• All KP Certificate must have an Internal Transaction Number (ITN), which is generated from the AES after the Electronic Export Information (EEI) has been generated (Export Only)

• Export of rough diamond must be in a seal tamper-resistant container

• Rough diamonds may be only exported to countries that are participants in the Kimberley Process Scheme.

​

IMPORTATION REQUIREMENTS FOR US BUYERS UNDER THE KIMBERLEY PROCESS CERTIFICATION SCHEME

On September 23, 2004, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Treasury, published in the Federal Register interim regulations to carry out Executive Order 13312 of July 29, 2003, which implemented the Clean Diamond Trade Act (CDTA) and the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) for rough diamonds. OFAC regulations are found in 31 CFR 592.101 through 592.801. Rough diamonds are defined as any diamond that is unworked or simply sawn, cleaved or bruted, and classifiable under subheading 7102.10, 7102.21 and 7102.31 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS).

​

On July 8, 2013, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a Final Notice of Rulemaking (Volume 78, Number 130, Pages 40627-40630), amending the CBP regulations to set forth the prohibitions and conditions that are applicable to the importation and exportation of rough diamonds pursuant to the CDTA.  This action resulted in the addition of a new CBP regulation (19 CFR 12.152).  Additionally, the notice clarified that any U.S. person exporting from, or importing to, the United States a shipment of rough diamonds must retain for a period of at least five years a copy of the Kimberley Process Certificate that currently must accompany such shipments and make the copy available for inspection when requested by CBP.  As part of this clarification, 19 CFR 163.2 was amended and “Kimberley Process Certificate” was added to the Appendix to Part 163 (the Interim (a)(1)(A) List). 

 

​

REQUIREMENTS

Shipments of rough diamonds imported into, or exported, from the United States must be accompanied by an original Kimberley Process Certificate. The original certificate must be presented in connection with importation or exportation of rough diamonds upon demand by CBP officials. When a CBPO demands the original KPCS certificate, importers are required to produce the document and provide a copy of the certificate for inclusion in the entry package. A CBPO must authenticate the original Kimberley Process Certificate when provided. CBPOs must verify the contents of the shipment against the invoice and/or packing list.

​

OFAC regulations 31 C.F.R. 592.301 (a)(2) requires, "Any shipment of rough diamonds imported into, or exported, from the United States must be sealed in a tamper-resistant container." "Tamper-resistant container" is defined as packaging having an indicator or barrier to entry that could reasonably be expected to provide visible evidence that tampering had occurred. Standard mailing and express consignment packaging alone is not considered as tamper-resistant. It is imperative that CBPOs adhere to this policy to ensure uniformity in enforcing OFAC rough diamond requirements pertaining to security of the rough diamond shipment.