I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 978 
To amend the Tariff Act of 1930 to increase and adjust for inflation the 
maximum value of articles that may be imported duty-free by one person 
on one day, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 13, 2015 
Mr. SCHOCK (for himself, Mr. CROWLEY, Ms. STEFANIK, and Mr. LARSON of 
Connecticut) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To amend the Tariff Act of 1930 to increase and adjust 
for inflation the maximum value of articles that may 
be imported duty-free by one person on one day, and 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Low Value Shipment 
Regulatory Modernization Act of 2015’’. 
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SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON DE MINIMIS INFORMAL 
ENTRIES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find-
ings: 
(1) Modernizing international customs is crit-
ical for United States businesses of all sizes, con-
sumers in the United States, and the economic 
growth of the United States. 
(2) Higher thresholds for the value of articles 
that may be entered informally and free of duty pro-
vide significant economic benefits to businesses and 
consumers in the United States and the economy of 
the United States through costs savings and reduc-
tions in trade transaction costs. 
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that the United States Trade Representative should 
encourage other countries, through bilateral, regional, and 
multilateral fora, to establish commercially meaningful de 
minimis values for express and postal shipments that are 
exempt from customs duties and taxes and from certain 
entry documentation requirements, as appropriate. 
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SEC. 3. INCREASE IN AND ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION OF 
MAXIMUM VALUE OF ARTICLES THAT MAY BE 
IMPORTED DUTY-FREE BY ONE PERSON ON 
ONE DAY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 321 of the Tariff Act of 
1930 (19 U.S.C. 1321) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)(2), by striking subpara-
graph (C) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(C) in any other case, the dollar amount 
specified in subsection (c).’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(c) ANNUAL ADJUSTMENT OF VALUE OF ARTICLES 
THAT MAY ENTER DUTY-FREE.— 
‘‘(1) DOLLAR AMOUNT SPECIFIED.—The dollar 
amount specified in this subsection is— 
‘‘(A) for calendar year 2016, $800; and 
‘‘(B) subject to paragraph (2), for any cal-
endar year after calendar year 2016, an amount 
equal to $800 increased by an amount equal 
to— 
‘‘(i) $800, multiplied by 
‘‘(ii) the percentage of the increase (if 
any) in the Consumer Price Index for the 
preceding calendar year compared to the 
Consumer Price Index for calendar year 
2015. 
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‘‘(2) ROUNDING.—Any increase under para-
graph (1) of the dollar amount specified in this sub-
section shall be rounded to the nearest increment of 
$50. 
‘‘(3) CONSUMER PRICE INDEX FOR ANY CAL-
ENDAR YEAR.—For purposes of this subsection, the 
Consumer Price Index for any calendar year is the 
average of the Consumer Price Index as of the close 
of the 12-month period ending on September 30 of 
that calendar year. 
‘‘(4) CONSUMER PRICE INDEX DEFINED.—For 
purposes of this subsection, the term ‘Consumer 
Price Index’ means the last Consumer Price Index 
for All Urban Consumers published by the Bureau 
of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section apply to articles entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse for consumption, on or after January 1, 2016. 
Æ 
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