OT:RR:CTF:VS H255440 GaK
Juan J. Carrillo
M.J. Carrillo Company, Inc.
6101 Riverside
Laredo, TX 78041
RE: Subheading 9801.00.10, HTSUS.
Dear Mr. Carrillo:
This is in response to your e-ruling request, dated June 18, 2014, to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”), in which you request a determination on the applicability of the mill analysis or mill test certificate requirement set forth in 19 C.F.R. § 141.89 to importations of steel that are of U.S. origin classifiable under subheading 9801.00.10, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”).
FACTS:
You propose to import steel classifiable in Chapter 72 or heading 7301 to 7307, HTSUS. You state that the steel is of U.S. origin and also classifiable under subheading 9801.00.10, HTSUS.
ISSUE:
Whether the mill analysis or mill test certificate requirement set forth in 19 C.F.R. § 141.89 applies to importations of U.S. origin steel classifiable under subheading 9801.00.10, HTSUS.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Title 19 C.F.R. § 141.89 of the CBP Regulations provides, in pertinent part:
(a) Invoices for the following classes of merchandise, classifiable under the [HTSUS], shall set forth the additional information specified:
* * *
Iron or steel classifiable in Chapter 72 or headings 7301 to 7307, HTSUS (T.D. 53092, 55977) – Statement of the percentages by weight of carbon and any metallic elements contained in the articles, in the form of a mill analysis or mill test certificate.
Treasury Decision (T.D.) 53092, dated August 29, 1952, provides that a statement of the percentages by weight of any metallic element used as an alloy in the specified articles is required to assist collectors of customs in properly classifying the iron and steel articles.
A mill certificate (or mill analysis or mill test report) is a certified, quality-control document issued by a steel mill and/or an inspection authority, which specifies a material’s chemical makeup and physical characteristics (i.e., the results of tensile and hardness tests), and verifies that it meets the requirements of any listed standards. As provided above, importers of iron or steel classifiable in Chapter 72, HTSUS, or in headings 7301 to 7307, HTSUS, are required to provide a statement of the internal chemistry of the metal that is being imported.
Subheading 9801.00.10, HTSUS, provides a duty exemption for the following:
Products of the United States when returned after having been exported, without having been advanced in value or improved in condition by any process of manufacture or other means while abroad.
Articles entered under this provision are exempt from customs duty upon compliance with the documentation requirements of section 10.1 of the CBP Regulations (19 C.F.R. § 10.1). Some change in the condition of the product while it is abroad is permissible. However, operations which either advance the value or improve the condition of the exported product render it ineligible for duty-free entry upon return to the U.S. Border Brokerage Company, Inc. v. United States, 314 F. Supp. 788 (1970), appeal dismissed, 58 CCPA 165 (1970). For purposes of this ruling, we assume that the articles will be products of the U.S.
U.S. Note 1 to Chapter 98, HTSUS provides:
The provisions of this chapter are not subject to the rule of relative specificity in general rule of interpretation 3(a). Any article which is described in any provision in this chapter is classifiable in said provision if the conditions and requirements thereof and of any applicable regulations are met.
We find that provided the documentation requirements in 19 C.F.R. § 10.1 are met, no mill analysis as required by 19 C.F.R. § 141.89 is necessary. The proof that is required to obtain duty free treatment is to its U.S. origin. The specific analysis requirement for Chapter 72, HTSUS or in headings 7301 to 7307, HTSUS is to assist with the proper classification of the articles. This is not relevant for purposes of subheading 9801.00.10 HTSUS. It would only be used for statistical classification purposes. Indeed per Statistical Note 1, Chapter 98, “[s]tatistical data are not to be furnished with respect to articles classified in those headings of this chapter for which no statistical suffix is shown.” Subheading 9801.00.10 does not depict statistical data requirements for Chapters 72 and 73 of the HTSUS. Accordingly, it is our opinion that the requirements of 19 C.F.R. § 141.89 need not be fulfilled for purposes of subheading 9801.00.10, HTSUS.
HOLDING:
The entry requirements set forth in 19 C.F.R. § 141.89 do not apply to the importation of the steel at issue when entered under subheading 9801.00.10, HTSUS.
A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to the entry documents filed at the time the goods are entered. If the documents have been filed without a copy of this ruling, it should be brought to the attention of the CBP officer handling the transaction.
Please note that 19 C.F.R. § 177.9(b)(1) provides that “[e]ach ruling letter is issued on the assumption that all of the information furnished in connection with the ruling request and incorporated in the ruling letter, either directly, by reference, or by implication, is accurate and complete in every material respect. The application of a ruling letter by a Customs Service field office to the transaction to which it is purported to relate is subject to the verification of the facts incorporated in the ruling letter, a comparison of the transaction described therein to the actual transaction, and the satisfaction of any conditions on which the ruling was based.”
Sincerely,
Monika R. Brenner, Chief
Valuation & Special Programs Branch