EXP-1-RR:IT:EC 116070 GG
Mr. John Sauer
Purchasing & Materials Manager
E-ONE Canada, Ltd.
6430 Golden West Avenue
Red Deer, Alberta
Canada T4P 1A6
RE: Exportation of Used Self-Propelled Vehicle; 19 U.S.C. § 1627a; 19 CFR Part 192; Request for Exemption from Documentation Requirements
Dear Mr. Sauer:
This is in response to your ruling request dated October 24, 2003, in which you ask for an exemption from the requirement that your company file certain documentation with Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) in advance of the exportation of certain vehicles from the United States to Canada.
FACTS:
E-One Canada, Ltd. (“E-One”) is a manufacturer of fire fighting equipment. Its business involves the conversion of vehicles to fire trucks. It does this by fitting fire truck bodies onto self-propelled cabs and chassis. E-One does not manufacture the cabs and chassis but usually purchases them from dealers. Following conversion into fire trucks, E-One then resells the finished trucks to customers. In a few cases, the company converts cabs and chassis owned by fire departments and charges the fire departments for the value added by the remanufacturing. Most of the cabs and chassis are driven to E-One over the road instead of being transported on decked carriers. E-One has experienced difficulty in obtaining the original Manufacturer’s Statement of Origin (“MSO”) that must be submitted to CBP at least 72 hours prior to the exportation of cabs and chassis from the United States. The company requests an exemption from this requirement, proposing instead that CBP: 1) grant E-One an annual renewable exemption based on performance; 2) allow E-One to post an annual continuous or performance bond in lieu of being required to submit documents; or 3) authorize E-One to present photocopies of the original documents instead of the originals.
ISSUE:
Whether CBP has authority to grant an exemption from, or modification to, the requirement that certain vehicle identification documentation be submitted at least 72-hours prior to exportation.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Section 627a of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. §1627a), was enacted to prevent the importation or exportation of stolen vehicles. It imposes monetary penalties on any person who knowingly imports, exports, or attempts to import or export any stolen self-propelled vehicle, vessel, aircraft, or part of a self-propelled vehicle, vessel, or aircraft; or any self-propelled vehicle or part of a self-propelled vehicle from which the identification number has been removed, obliterated, tampered with, or altered. In addition to imposing monetary penalties, section 627a provides for the seizure and forfeiture of the conveyances. The statute also requires a person attempting to export a used self-propelled vehicle to present the vehicle and a document describing the vehicle to CBP prior to exportation.
Section 627a(c) defines the various terms that are used in the statute. Those of particular relevance to this ruling are as follows:
“Self-propelled vehicle” includes any automobile, truck, tractor, bus, motorcycle, motor home, self-propelled agricultural machinery, self-propelled construction equipment, self-propelled special use equipment, and any other self-propelled vehicle used or designed for running on land but not on rail.
“Used” refers to any self-propelled vehicle the equitable or legal title to which has been transferred by a manufacturer, distributor, or dealer to an ultimate purchaser.
“Ultimate purchaser” means the first person, other than a dealer purchasing in his capacity as a dealer, who in good faith purchases a self-propelled vehicle for purposes other than resale.
It is undisputed that the cabs and chassis exported from the United States to E-One in Canada are self-propelled vehicles as contemplated by the statute. The cabs and chassis E-One purchases from dealers also qualify as “used”, because in the course of the sales transaction equitable and legal title will have transferred from the dealers to the ultimate purchaser, E-One. The latter falls within the definition of “ultimate purchaser”, because E-One’s purpose in acquiring the cabs and chassis is not to resell the cabs and chassis, but to first convert them into fire trucks. The cabs and chassis E-One acquires from the dealers thus come within the parameters of 19 U.S.C. § 1627a. The cabs and chassis owned by the fire departments and sent to E-One for modification also qualify as used self-propelled vehicles, because they became “used”, within the context of section 627a, when legal and equitable title passed to the fire departments upon their purchase from a manufacturer, distributor, or dealer.
The regulations promulgated under authority of 19 U.S.C. § 1627a are in Subpart A of Part 192 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 192, Subpart A). Pursuant to section 192.2(a), persons attempting to export a used self-propelled vehicle must present both the vehicle and identifying documentation to CBP at the port of exportation. With respect to vehicles exported at land border crossings, whether by rail, highway or under their own power, the required documentation must be submitted to CBP at least 72 hours prior to export, and the vehicle must be presented at the time of exportation. (19 CFR § 192.2(c)). Section 192.2(a) provides that “[e]xportation of a vehicle will be permitted only upon compliance with these requirements, unless the vehicle was entered into the United States under an in-bond procedure, or under a carnet or Temporary Importation Bond; . . .”
The type of documentation required depends on whether and where a vehicle is titled. Separate rules, found in 19 CFR § 192.2(b), exist for U.S. titled vehicles, foreign-titled vehicles, and for vehicles that are untitled. The ruling request does not specify into which category or categories the cabs and chassis fall, but by referring to MSO’s suggests that they are untitled. This is because the requirement for the presentation of MSO’s applies only to certain untitled vehicles. In this regard, section 192.2(b)(3)(i) provides as follows:
Newly-manufactured vehicles issued an MSO. For newly-manufactured, self-propelled vehicles that are purchased from a U.S. manufacturer, distributor, or dealer that become used, as defined in this subpart, and are issued a Manufacturer’s Statement of Origin (MSO), but not issued a Certificate of Title by any jurisdiction of the United States, the owner must provide to Customs, at the time and place specified in this section, the original MSO and two complete copies of the original MSO.
Turning to E-One’s request for an exemption from the documentation requirement, we reiterate that the company has suggested three alternatives: 1) that it be granted an annual renewable exemption based on performance; 2) that it be allowed to post an annual continuous or performance bond in lieu of being required to submit documents; or 3) that CBP authorize E-One to present photocopies of the original documents instead of the originals. With respect to the first two suggested alternatives, as previously stated section 192.2(a) exempts from the documentation requirements only those vehicles which entered the United States under an in-bond procedure, or under a carnet or Temporary Importation Bond. Absent circumstances giving rise to one of these three exemptions, CBP does not have the authority to waive the documentation requirement. E-One in its ruling request does not indicate that any of these circumstances apply to the cabs and chassis it imports from the United States. Therefore, no exemption from, or modification to, the documentation requirement can be granted. As a result, persons attempting to export cabs and chassis destined to E-One under the facts presented must present the original MSO and two copies of the original MSO to CBP before each attempted exportation. Neither an annual renewal exemption nor a performance bond may not be substituted in place of this requirement. With respect to the third suggested alternative, section 192.2(b)(3)(i) clearly requires the submission of the original MSO and two complete copies of the original MSO. The regulation does not provide for the waiver of the presentation of the original MSO. Consequently, this suggestion must also be denied.
HOLDING:
CBP does not have authority in this particular case to exempt E-One from the requirement that original vehicle identification documentation be presented to CBP at least 72 hours prior to exportation.
Sincerely,
Sandra L. Bell
Acting Assistant Commissioner
Office of Regulations and Rulings