[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 19, Volume 1]
[Revised as of April 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 19CFR7.3]

[Page 70-73]
 
                        TITLE 19--CUSTOMS DUTIES
 
  CHAPTER I--UNITED STATES CUSTOMS SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
 
PART 7--CUSTOMS RELATIONS WITH INSULAR POSSESSIONS AND GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL STATION--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 7.3  Duty-free treatment of goods imported from insular possessions of the United States other than Puerto Rico.

    (a) General. Under the provisions of General Note 3(a)(iv), 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), the following 
goods may be eligible for duty-free treatment when imported into the 
customs territory of the United States from an insular possession of the 
United States:
    (1) Except as provided in Additional U.S. Note 5 to Chapter 91, 
HTSUS, and except as provided in Additional U.S. Note 2 to Chapter 96, 
HTSUS, and except as provided in section 423 of the Tax Reform Act of 
1986, as amended (19 U.S.C. 2703 note), goods which are the growth or 
product of any such insular possession, and goods which were 
manufactured or produced in any such insular possession from materials 
that were

[[Page 71]]

the growth, product or manufacture of any such insular possession or of 
the customs territory of the United States, or of both, provided that 
such goods:
    (i) Do not contain foreign materials valued at either more than 70 
percent of the total value of the goods or, in the case of goods 
described in section 213(b) of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act 
(19 U.S.C. 2703(b)), more than 50 percent of the total value of the 
goods; and
    (ii) Come to the customs territory of the United States directly 
from any such insular possession; and
    (2) Goods previously imported into the customs territory of the 
United States with payment of all applicable duties and taxes imposed 
upon or by reason of importation, provided that:
    (i) The goods were shipped from the United States directly to the 
insular possession and are returned from the insular possession to the 
United States by direct shipment; and
    (ii) There was no remission, refund or drawback of such duties or 
taxes in connection with the shipment of the goods from the United 
States to the insular possession.
    (b) Origin of goods. For purposes of this section, goods shall be 
considered to be the growth or product of, or manufactured or produced 
in, an insular possession if:
    (1) The goods are wholly the growth or product of the insular 
possession; or
    (2) The goods became a new and different article of commerce as a 
result of production or manufacture performed in the insular possession.
    (c) Foreign materials. For purposes of this section, the term 
``foreign materials'' covers any material incorporated in goods 
described in paragraph (b)(2) of this section other than:
    (1) A material which was wholly the growth or product of an insular 
possession or of the customs territory of the United States;
    (2) A material which was substantially transformed in an insular 
possession or in the customs territory of the United States into a new 
and different article of commerce which was then used in an insular 
possession in the production or manufacture of a new and different 
article which is shipped directly to the United States; or
    (3) A material which may be imported into the customs territory of 
the United States from a foreign country and entered free of duty 
either:
    (i) At the time the goods which incorporate the material are 
entered; or
    (ii) At the time the material is imported into the insular 
possession, provided that the material was incorporated into the goods 
during the 18-month period after the date on which the material was 
imported into the insular possession.
    (d) Foreign materials value limitation. For purposes of this 
section, the determination of whether goods contain foreign materials 
valued at more than 70 or 50 percent of the total value of the goods 
shall be made based on a comparison between:
    (1) The landed cost of the foreign materials, consisting of:
    (i) The manufacturer's actual cost for the materials or, where a 
material is provided to the manufacturer without charge or at less than 
fair market value, the sum of all expenses incurred in the growth, 
production, or manufacture of the material, including general expenses, 
plus an amount for profit; and
    (ii) The cost of transporting those materials to the insular 
possession, but excluding any duties or taxes assessed on the materials 
by the insular possession and any charges which may accrue after 
landing; and
    (2) The final appraised value of the goods imported into the customs 
territory of the United States, as determined in accordance with section 
402 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1401a).
    (e) Direct shipment--(1) General. For purposes of this section, 
goods shall be considered to come to the United States directly from an 
insular possession, or to be shipped from the United States directly to 
an insular possession and returned from the insular possession to the 
United States by direct shipment, only if:
    (i) The goods proceed directly to or from the insular possession 
without passing through any foreign territory or country;
    (ii) The goods proceed to or from the insular possession through a 
foreign territory or country, the goods do not

[[Page 72]]

enter into the commerce of the foreign territory or country while en 
route to the insular possession or the United States, and the invoices, 
bills of lading, and other shipping documents show the insular 
possession or the United States as the final destination; or
    (iii) The goods proceed to or from the insular possession through a 
foreign territory or country, the invoices and other shipping documents 
do not show the insular possession or the United States as the final 
destination, and the goods:
    (A) Remained under the control of the customs authority of the 
foreign territory or country;
    (B) Did not enter into the commerce of the foreign territory or 
country except for the purpose of sale other than at retail, and the 
port director is satisfied that the importation into the insular 
possession or the United States results from the original commercial 
transaction between the importer and the producer or the latter's sales 
agent; and
    (C) Were not subjected to operations in the foreign territory or 
country other than loading and unloading and other activities necessary 
to preserve the goods in good condition.
    (2) Evidence of direct shipment. The port director may require that 
appropriate shipping papers, invoices, or other documents be submitted 
within 60 days of the date of entry as evidence that the goods were 
shipped to the United States directly from an insular possession or 
shipped from the United States directly to an insular possession and 
returned from the insular possession to the United States by direct 
shipment within the meaning of paragraph (e)(1) of this section, and 
such evidence of direct shipment shall be subject to such verification 
as deemed necessary by the port director. Evidence of direct shipment 
shall not be required when the port director is otherwise satisfied, 
taking into consideration the kind and value of the merchandise, that 
the goods qualify for duty-free treatment under General Note 3(a)(iv), 
HTSUS, and paragraph (a) of this section.
    (f) Documentation. (1) When goods are sought to be admitted free of 
duty as provided in paragraph (a)(1) of this section, there shall be 
filed with the entry/entry summary a properly completed certificate of 
origin on Customs Form 3229, signed by the chief or assistant chief 
customs officer or other official responsible for customs administration 
at the port of shipment, showing that the goods comply with the 
requirements for duty-free entry set forth in paragraph (a)(1) of this 
section. Except in the case of goods which incorporate a material 
described in paragraph (c)(3)(ii) of this section, a certificate of 
origin shall not be required for any shipment eligible for informal 
entry under Sec. 143.21 of this chapter or in any case where the port 
director is otherwise satisfied that the goods qualify for duty-free 
treatment under paragraph (a)(1) of this section.
    (2) When goods in a shipment not eligible for informal entry under 
Sec. 143.21 of this chapter are sought to be admitted free of duty as 
provided in paragraph (a)(2) of this section, the following declarations 
shall be filed with the entry/entry summary unless the port director is 
satisfied by reason of the nature of the goods or otherwise that the 
goods qualify for such duty-free entry:
    (i) A declaration by the shipper in the insular possession in 
substantially the following form:

    I, -------------------- (name) of -------------------- 
(organization) do hereby declare that to the best of my knowledge and 
belief the goods identified below were sent directly from the United 
States on ------------, 19----, to -------------------- (name) of ------
-------------- (organization) on -------------------- (insular 
possession) via the -------------------- (name of carrier) and that the 
goods remained in said insular possession until shipped by me directly 
to the United States via the -------------------- (name of carrier) on 
------------, 19----.

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                 Marks                      Numbers        Quantity            Description             Value
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[[Page 73]]




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    Dated at ----------------, this -------- day of ------------, 19--
--.
Signature:______________________________________________________________

    (ii) A declaration by the importer in the United States in 
substantially the following form:

    I, -------------------- (name), of -------------------- 
(organization) declare that the (above) (attached) declaration by the 
shipper in the insular possession is true and correct to the best of my 
knowledge and belief, that the goods in question were previously 
imported into the customs territory of the United States and were 
shipped to the insular possession from the United States without 
remission, refund or drawback of any duties or taxes paid in connection 
with that prior importation, and that the goods arrived in the United 
States directly from the insular possession via the -------------------- 
(name of carrier) on ------------, 19----.

________________________________________________________________________
(Date)

________________________________________________________________________
(Signature)

    (g) Warehouse withdrawals; drawback. Merchandise may be withdrawn 
from a bonded warehouse under section 557 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as 
amended (19 U.S.C. 1557), for shipment to any insular possession of the 
United States other than Puerto Rico without payment of duty, or with a 
refund of duty if the duties have been paid, in like manner as for 
exportation to foreign countries. No drawback may be allowed under 
section 313 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1313), on 
goods manufactured or produced in the United States and shipped to any 
insular possession. No drawback of internal-revenue tax is allowable 
under 19 U.S.C. 1313 on goods manufactured or produced in the United 
States with the use of domestic tax-paid alcohol and shipped to Wake 
Island, Midway Islands or Johnston Atoll.

[T.D. 97-75, 62 FR 46439, Sept. 3, 1997]