CLA-2-98:OT:RR:NC:N4:433
Kenneth M. Carmon
Bay Brokerage, Inc.
42832 State Route 12
Alexandria Bay, NY 13607
RE: The tariff classification of disassembled “event seating” from components of Canadian and Swedish origin; and country of origin marking.
Dear Mr. Carmon:
In your letter dated January 19, 2015, on behalf of Tower Events and Seating Rentals, you requested a tariff classification and county of origin marking ruling.
The merchandise concerned involves disassembled event seating broken down for shipping purposes. An examination of a typical commercial invoice and bill of lading indicate, although not all inclusive, the following list of parts: brackets, ledgers, beams, floor covers, benches, bench extenders, guardrails, stringers, bench connectors, black caps, handrail joints, handrail tubes, handrail adapters and system racks. Illustrative literature denotes “Events for all Audiences” including some of the largest and most prestigious international events; examples provided are: Outdoor Concerts {the Rolling Stones}, CFL Football, NHL Hockey, Heritage Classic Outdoor Hockey Game, World Youth Day {Pope John Paul II – Toronto visit}, Formula One Racing, CART Champ Car Race Venues, PGA Golf, International Tennis Tournaments, World Weight Lifting Championships, FINA World Swimming Championships and Prosquash.
Tower Events and Seating Rentals is a world-wide supplier of the following products and services: “state of the art” temporary seating systems; stages; photo towers, commentator and television platforms; wheelchair ramps; temporary structures and platforms; elevated hospitality suites; engineered drawings and building code compliance services; and world-wide project supervision, services and installation.
It is your client’s contention that the disassembled event seating is properly classified in Special Classification Provision, subheading 9817.60.0000, of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). General documentation in the form of “key people and contacts,” “hours of operation & media parking/shuttle services” and “circuit schedules” were provided for the Formula 1, United States, Grand Prix, at Austin (Texas) for the dates of October 31, 2014 through November 2, 2014. As no records were produced that Tower Events and Seating Rentals provided event seating for the Gran Prix at Austin on the dates referenced above, this ruling we address a prospective import of event seating to be installed temporarily at the Formula 1, United States, Grand Prix, at Austin.
Subheading 9817.60.0000, HTSUS, provides for: Any of the following articles not intended for sale or distribution to the public: personal effects of aliens who are participants in, officials of, or accredited members of delegations to, an international athletic event held in the United States, such as the Olympics and Paralympics, the Goodwill Games, the Special Olympics World Games, the World Cup Soccer Games, or any similar international athletic event as the Secretary of the Treasury may determine, and of persons who are immediate family members of or servants to any of the foregoing persons; equipment and materials imported in connection with any such foregoing event by or on behalf of the foregoing persons or the organizing committee of such an event, articles to be used in exhibitions depicting the culture of a country participating in such an event; and, if consistent with the foregoing, such other articles as the Secretary of the Treasury may allow.
Subheading 9817.60.00, HTSUS, became a provision in the tariff with the enactment of the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2000, Public Law 106 – 476 (November 9, 2000). The Senate Report stated with regard to this new provision: This provision would amend subchapter XVII of chapter 98 of the HTS by inserting a new heading 9817.60.00 for duty free treatment of the personal effects of participants in, officials of, and accredited members of delegations to, international athletic events, including the paralympics, held in the United States provided that these items are not intended for sale or distribution in the United States. H.R. 2715 would also exempt the articles covered under this provision from taxes and fees and would give the Secretary of the Treasury discretion to determine which athletic events, articles, and persons are covered under this provision.
See S. Rep. No. 503, 106th Cong., 2nd Sess. (2000), (“Tariff Suspension and Trade Act of 2000”) The House Report, H.R. Rep. No. 789, 106th Cong, 2nd Sess. (2000), (“Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2000”) contains virtually identical language with regard to the provision.
In explaining the reason for the creation of subheading 9817.60.00, both the House and Senate Reports stated: The Committee recognizes the importance of international athletic events and the tremendous efforts of the athletes and participants. Although athletes and other officials connected with certain sporting events are currently afforded duty free treatment for their personal belongings and equipment under current law, such treatment will expire in December 2002. This legislation will give athletes and participants of future competitions certainty regarding their future duty liability. See S. Rep. No. 503, 106th Cong., 2nd Sess. (2000), and S. Rep. No. 503, 106th Cong., 2nd Sess. (2000).
Subheading 9817.60.0000 is restricted to personal effects of aliens who are participants in, officials of, or accredited members of delegations to an international athletic event held in the United States, and in pertinent part, the equipment and materials imported in connection with any such foregoing event by or on behalf of the foregoing persons or the organization committee of such an event. We have ruled previously that the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), Formula 1 Race and World Endurance Championship, qualified as an international athletic event, and therefore was eligible for duty-free treatment in subheading 9817.60.0000, HTSUS – see New York rulings: N233829 dated October 23, 2012 and N242860 dated June 26, 2013. Allowance for duty-free treatment under 9817.60.0000, HTSUS, should be granted, upon your client submitting satisfactory evidence by means of a rental or lease agreement or a similar use agreement issued to an accredited member (organizing committee) or authority, i.e., Circuit of The Americas (COTA) or the FIA, disclosing that the disassembled event seating will be used for the Formula 1, United States, Grand Prix, at Austin.
In no case is duty-free treatment granted under 9817.60.0000, HTSUS, for non-athletic events, even if sponsored internationally, such as world-wide concerts, World Youth Day with the Pope, and other non-athletic or non-sports related venues. Further, if the import is not made by or on the behalf of the accredited member (organizing committee) or authority, then 9817.60.0000, HTSUS, is not applicable. Consequently, your client’s eligibility of 9817.60.0000, HTSUS, and its duty-free treatment, is contingent upon meeting the terms of the provision, for each import entered into the United States.
The applicable subheading for the disassembled event seating, upon meeting the terms of the provision, per import, will be 9817.60.0000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Any of the following articles not intended for sale or distribution to the public: personal effects of aliens who are participants in, officials of, or accredited members of delegations to, an international athletic event held in the United States, such as the Olympics and Paralympics, the Goodwill Games, the Special Olympics World Games, the World Cup Soccer Games, or any similar international athletic event as the Secretary of the Treasury may determine, and of persons who are immediate family members of or servants to any of the foregoing persons; equipment and materials imported in connection with any such foregoing event by or on behalf of the foregoing persons or the organizing committee of such an event, …. The rate of duty will be free.
Duty rates are provided for your convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on World Wide Web at http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/.
Section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. §1304), provides that unless excepted, every article of foreign origin imported into the United States shall be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly, and permanently as the nature of the article (or its container) will permit, in such a manner as to indicate to the ultimate purchaser in the United States, the English name of the country of origin of the article. Congressional intent in enacting 19 U.S.C. §1304 was “that the ultimate purchaser should be able to know by an inspection of the marking on the imported goods the country of which the goods is the product. The evident purpose is to mark the goods so that at the time of purchase the ultimate purchaser may, by knowing where the goods were produced, be able to buy or refuse to buy them, if such marking should influence his will.” United States v. Friedlander & Co., 27 C.C.P.A. 297 at 302; C.A.D. 104 (1940).
19 C.F.R. § 134.1(d) defines the ultimate purchaser as generally the last person in the U.S. who will receive the article in the form in which it was imported; this does not apply to a good of a NAFTA country. The merchandise concerned is not identified as a NAFTA good. In the case before us, the ultimate purchaser of the disassembled event seating is Tower Events and Seating Rentals, as they are the owner and installer of the disassembled event seating to be erected in the United States.
Additionally, your client seeks country of origin marking exceptions pursuant to 19 C.F.R. § 134.32 (c) and (f). 19 C.F.R. § 134.32 (c) is the marking exception for articles that cannot be marked prior to shipment to the United States except at an expense economically prohibited of its importation and 19 C.F.R. § 134.32 (f) is the marking exception for articles imported for use by the importer and not intended for sale in their imported or any other form. At this time, because no explanation was provided on the economic hardship of marking each component of the event seating and no cost analysis was provided demonstrating economic hardship of marking each component of the event seating, we are unable to grant an exception to marking under 19 C.F.R. § 134.32 (c). Nevertheless, upon confirmation that Tower Events and Seating Rentals are the owner and installer of the event seating, having country of origin knowledge of the components that form their event seating, the individual components are exempt from country of origin marking under 19 C.F.R. § 134.32 (f). As such, only the outermost containers need to be marked with country of origin indicating components made in or manufactured in Canada or Sweden, or similar words denoting components made in or manufactured in Canada or Sweden.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).
A copy of the ruling or the control number indicated above should be provided with the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If you have any questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialist Neil H. Levy at E-mail address: [email protected].
Sincerely,
Gwenn Klein Kirschner
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division