CLA-2-98:OT:RR:NC:N4:433
Beth Morris
Ocean Import Manager, LCB
Serra International Inc.
75 Montgomery Street, Suite 100
Jersey City, NJ 07302
RE: The tariff classification of the Hudson Yards Development Project, the “Vessel,” imported in stages and over a period of time from Italy.
Dear Ms. Beth Morris:
In your letter dated April 3, 2017, on behalf of your client Cimolai S.p.A., you requested a tariff classification ruling. Descriptions, Illustrative literature, the “Trade Contract” by and between the parties, and various other forms of correspondence were provided to this office.
You indicate that the Vessel will be shipped to the United States in multiple pieces and will be finally assembled in New York City. Information provided indicates that Pedestals, Special Dog Bones (S-shape), Dogbones (X-shape) and Spines, as well as Soffits and Balustrades and Turned Mass Dampers (TMD) are the goods of the merchandise concerned.
The Vessel is a public art project, an architectural installation, to be assembled and erected on land owned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). “The MTA has decided to permit the Eastern Rail Yard (ERY) Art Vessel LLC or an affiliate (“Owner”) thereof to develop commercial space, residential space, community facility space, open space and other uses on special portions of the ERY, while providing for the Long Island Railroad (LIRR – a subsidiary of MTA) to continue to use and occupy specified portions of the ERY as a commuter railroad storage yard, maintenance facility, and for other transportation-related purposes.”
To facilitate the Hudson Yards Development, the MTA recorded that certain “declaration of easements” along the Eastern Rail Yard Section of the John D Caemmerer West Side Yard, be allocated to the public art project, the Vessel. “The Owner intends to design and construct a unique architectural and structural steel structure, approximately 150 feet in height by 150 feet in maximum diameter, structured from multiple staircases and landings, without any programmed or indoor space, occupied at all levels and open to the public year-round, which shall sit on a structural concrete plinth on the platform.”
With emphasis placed, we note that the “Trade Contract” entered into agreement September 7, 2016, effective January 16, 2015, was made by and between Hudson Yards Construction LLC, as Executive Construction Manager, and Cimolai S.p.A., as the Trade Contractor.
Information available on the website of “http://www.hudsonyardsnewyork.com/” authored by David Moin dated April 18, 2017 discloses that the “Vessel” will be composed of 75 steel pieces, each weighing about 100,000 pounds and shipped by sea from Italy where they are being fabricated by Cimolai S.p.A. Ten pieces are currently on the site. The sculpture will be clad in copper-colored polished stainless steel.” With a cost of approximately $200 million, the “Vessel will rise from a base that is 50 feet in diameter and will widen to 150 feet at the top, offering a one-mile vertical climbing experience and affording great views of the west side and across the Hudson River. It’s expected to be complete at the end of this year, with the entire Public Square and Gardens expected to be done in fall 2018.” Depicted below is a rendition of the Vessel within the Public Square and Gardens.
All goods imported into the Customs territory of the United States from outside thereof are subject to duty or exempt therefrom as provided for by the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS; see General Note 1, HTSUS). Subheading 9812.00.20, HTSUS, in pertinent part provides for an exemption from duty for articles imported by an institution or society, or State or municipal corporation, for the encouragement of the arts. Subheading 9812.00.40, HTSUS, provides for an exemption from duty for articles imported by an institution or society, or State or municipal corporation, for the purpose of erecting a public monument.
The Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.), Title 19, at § 10.49 (19 C.F.R. § 10.49) sets forth the requirements for “Entry” pertaining to subheadings 9812.00.20 and 9812.0040, HTSUS. Included in these requirements under 19 C.F.R. 10.49 (a) is the “filing of a declaration by a qualified officer of the institution demonstrating entitlement to entry as claimed.” By application of 19 C.F.R. 10.49 (a) a “qualified officer” is also interpreted to include a “qualified officer” of a society, or State or municipal corporation under the provisions of subheadings 9812.00.20 and 9812.0040, HTSUS.
Examination of the “Trade Contract” is persuasive that both clauses of subheading 9812.00.20 are satisfied, because the Eastern Rail Yard (ERY) Art Vessel LLC or an affiliate (“Owner”) is an [institution] set up for the express purpose of establishing a {permanent exhibition} for the encouragement of the arts, and the MTA [municipal corporation], permitted the Eastern Rail Yard (ERY) Art Vessel LLC or an affiliate (“Owner”) within the “Trade Contract” of the
Hudson Yards Construction LLC to set up a {permanent exhibition} for the encouragement of the arts. As such, it our opinion that the “Trade Contract” satisfies the declaration requirements of 19 C.F.R. § 10.49 (a).
It is readily apparent that the Vessel if imported as an entirety fits within the terms of subheading 9812.00.20, HTSUS. As there is no requirement that the entire work of art be imported together, the Pedestals, Special Dog Bones (S-shape), Dogbones (X-shape), Spines, Soffits, Balustrades, Turned Mass Dampers (TMD), and any other parts and components associated with the Vessel when imported, are entitled to duty-free treatment under 9812.00.20, HTSUS.
Subchapter XII, “Articles Admitted Free of Duty Under Bond for Permanent Exhibition,” U.S. Note 2 states: “Prior to the release of articles under heading 9812.00.20 and 9812.00.40, bond shall be given for the payment of lawful duties which may accrue should any of the articles be sold, transferred or used contrary to the provisions of this subchapter within 5 years after the date of entry hereunder, and such articles shall be subject at any time within such 5-year period to examination and inspection by customs officers. Surety on such bonds may be waived in the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury.”
Pursuant to the authority granted by U.S. Note 2 to Subchapter XII, Chapter 98, HTSUS, Treasury Department Order No. 165, Revised (T.D. 53654), and T.D. 69-126 – the delegation of authority orders, the bond may be waived.
The applicable subheading for the public work of art, the Vessel, will be 9812.00.2000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Articles imported for exhibition by any institution or society established for the encouragement of agriculture, arts, education or science, or for such exhibition by any State or for a municipal corporation.” 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 https://hts.usitc.gov/current.
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 [email protected].
Sincerely,
Steven A. Mack
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division