BOR 7-07-CO:R:P:C 109665 BEW
Mr. L. Dammer
Mercedes-Benz of North American, Inc.
One Mercedes Drive
Post Office Box 350
Montvale, NJ 07645-0350
RE: Palletainers (wire mesh containers) as instruments of
international traffic
Dear Mr. Dammer:
This is in reference to your letter of July 21, 1988, in
which you asked that we classify certain palletainers (wire
mesh containers) as instruments of international traffic (ITT).
FACTS:
You state that you intend to use palletainers (wire mesh
containers) for ocean freight shipments of automotive spare
parts from Germany to the ports of New York, Baltimore,
Savannah, Houston, Los Angeles and Chicago. You state that the
palletainers are made of iron or steel and that they are
collapsible. You state that there will be a few thousand of
them in service from Germany to the United States. You state
that they will be returned to Germany in their collapsible form
(approximately 120) by means of 40 foot steamship containers.
You state that the palletainer have a life expectancy of
approximately 15 years. They have an identifiable individual
serial number, and contain the Mercedes star and the Number
2032, which represents a Mercedes part number. The
palletainers are manufactured in West Germany, and will cost DM
225.
ISSUE:
Whether the palletainers (wire mesh containers) used for
the transportation of automotive spare parts may be designated
as instruments of international traffic within the meaning of
19 U.S.C. 1322(a) and section 10.41a, Customs Regulations.
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LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Section 322(a), Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C.
1322(a)), provides that "[v]ehicles and other instruments of
international traffic, of any class specified by the Secretary
of the Treasury, shall be granted the customary exceptions from
the application of the customs laws to the extend and subject
to such terms and conditions as may be prescribed in
regulations or instructions of the Secretary of the Treasury."
The Customs Regulations issued under the authority of
section 322(a) are in section 10.41a (19 CFR 10.41a).
Paragraph (a)(1) of section 10.41a designates as instruments of
international traffic lift vans, cargo vans, shipping tanks and
certain other named articles and states that other articles may
be designated as instruments of international traffic by the
Commissioner of Customs in decisions to be published in the
weekly Customs Bulletin. These instruments of international
traffic may be released without entry or the payment of duty,
subject to the provisions of section 10.41a.
To qualify as an "instrument of international traffic"
within the meaning of section 322(a), Tariff Act of 1930, as
amended (19 U.S.C. 1322(a)), and the regulations issued
thereunder (19 CFR 10.41a et seq.), an article must be
substantial, suitable for and capable of repeated use, and used
in significant numbers in international traffic.
We find that the palletainers under consideration may be
used as a container or holder, that they are substantial,
suitable for the capable of repeated use, and that they are
used in significant numbers in international traffic. We
further find that the palletainers under consideration are
similar to palletainers which were designated as instruments of
international traffic in Treasury Decision 70-236 (steel frame
platforms, with steel mesh sides, used to carry snowmobile
spare parts), and similar to certain collapsible containers of
nylon which were designated as instruments of international
traffic in Treasury Decision 68-4 (collapsible containers of
nylon capable of holding 2,000 pounds of zine dust or similar
material).
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HOLDING:
The palletainers under consideration qualify for treatment
as instruments of international traffic and may be released
under the procedures set forth in section 10.41a, Customs
Regulations.
Sincerely,
B. James Fritz
Chief
Carrier Rulings Branch
CO:R:P:C:BWHITING:rk:9/9/88