[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 19, Volume 1]

[Revised as of April 1, 2005]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 19CFR10.41b]



[Page 116-118]

 

                        TITLE 19--CUSTOMS DUTIES

 

   CHAPTER I--BUREAU OF CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF 

              HOMELAND SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

 

PART 10_ARTICLES CONDITIONALLY FREE, SUBJECT TO A REDUCED RATE, ETC.

--Table of Contents

 

                      Subpart A_General Provisions

 

Sec.  10.41b  Clearance of serially numbered substantial holders or 

outer containers.



    (a) The holders and containers described in this section may be 

released without entry or the payment of duty, subject to the provisions 

of this section.

    (b) Subject to the approval of a port director pursuant to the 

procedures described in this paragraph, certain foreign- or U.S.-made 

shipping devices arriving from Canada or Mexico, including racks, 

holders, pallets, totes, boxes and cans, need not be serially numbered 

or marked if they are always transported on or within either intermodal 

and similar containers or containers which are themselves vehicles or 

vehicle appurtenances and accessories such as twenty and forty foot 

containers of general use and ``igloo'' air freight containers. The 

following or similar notation shall appear on the vehicle or vessel 

manifest in relation to such shipping devices which are exempt from 

serial numbering or marking requirements pursuant to this paragraph: 

``The shipping devices transported herein, which are not serially 

numbered or marked, have been exempted from such requirement pursuant to 

an application approved under 19 CFR 10.41b(b).'' Also, pallets and 

other solid wood shipping devices must be accompanied by an importer 

document, to the extent that this is required by the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, attesting to 

the admissibility of such devices as regards plant pest risk, as 

provided for in 7 CFR 319.40-3.

    (1) An importer or his agent, regardless of whether the importer is 

the owner of the foreign- or U.S.-manufactured shipping devices, may 

apply to a port director of Customs at one of the importer's chiefly 

utilized Customs ports or the port within which the importer's or 

agent's recordkeeping center is located for permission to have such 

shipping devices arriving from Canada or Mexico released without entry 

and payment of duty at the time of arrival and without the devices being 

serially numbered or marked. Application may be filed in only one port. 

Although no particular format is specified for the application, it must 

contain the information enumerated in paragraph (b)(2) of this section. 

Any duty which may be due on these shipping devices shall be tendered 

and paid cumulatively at the time specified in an approved application, 

which may be either before or after the arrival of the shipping devices 

in the U.S. (such as, at the time a contract, purchase order or lease 

agreement is issued).

    (2) The application shall:

    (i) Describe the types of shipping devices covered, their 

classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S. (HTSUS), 

their countries of origin, and whether and to whom required duty was 

paid for them or when it will be paid for them, including duties for 

repair and modifications to such shipping devices while outside the 

U.S.;

    (ii) Identify the intended ports where it is anticipated the 

shipping devices will be arriving and departing the U.S., as well as the 

particular movements and conveyances in which they are intended to be 

utilized;

    (iii) Describe the applicant's proposed program for accounting for 

and reporting these shipping devices;

    (iv) Identify the reporting period (which shall in no event be less 

frequent than annual), as well as the payment period within which 

applicable duty and fees must be tendered (which shall in no event 

exceed 90 days following the close of the related reporting period);

    (v) Describe the type of inventory control and recordkeeping, 

including the specific records, to be maintained to support the reports 

of the shipping devices; and

    (vi) Provide the location in the United States, including the name 

and address, where the records supporting the reports will be retained 

by law and will be made available for inspection



[[Page 117]]



and audit upon reasonable notice. (The records supporting the reports of 

the shipping devices must be kept for a period of at least 3 years from 

the date such reports are filed with the port director.)

    (3) The application shall be filed along with a continuous bond 

containing the conditions set forth in Sec.  113.66(c) of this chapter. 

If the application is approved by the port director and the conditions 

set forth in the application or of the bond are violated, the port 

director may issue a claim for liquidated damages equal to the domestic 

value of the container. If the domestic value exceeds the amount of the 

bond, the claim for liquidated damages will be equal to the amount of 

the bond.

    (4) The port director receiving the application shall evaluate the 

program proposed to account for, report and maintain records of the 

shipping devices. The port director may suggest amendments to the 

applicant's proposal. The port director shall notify the applicant in 

writing of his decision on the application within 90 days of its 

receipt, unless this period is extended for good cause and the applicant 

is so informed in writing. Approval of the application by the port 

director with whom it is filed shall be binding on all Customs ports 

nationwide.

    (5) If the decision is to deny the application, in whole or in part, 

the port director shall specify the reason for the denial in a written 

reply, and inform the applicant that such denial may be appealed to the 

Assistant Commissioner, Office of Field Operations, Customs 

Headquarters, within 21 days of its date. The Assistant Commissioner's 

decision shall be issued, in writing, within 30 days of the receipt of 

the appeal, and shall constitute the final Customs determination 

concerning the application.

    (6) If the application is approved, an importer may later apply to 

amend his application to add or delete particular types of shipping 

devices listed in the application in which the procedures set forth in 

the application may be utilized. If a requested amendment to an approved 

application should be denied, or if an approved application should be 

revoked, in whole or in part, by the port director, the procedures 

described in paragraph (b)(5) of this section shall apply.

    (7) Application for and approval of a reporting program shall not 

limit or restrict the use of other alternative means for obtaining the 

release of holders, containers and shipping devices.

    (c) In the case of serially numbered holders or containers of United 

States manufacture for which free clearance under subheading 9801.00.10, 

Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, is claimed, the owner 

shall place thereon the following markings:

    (1) 9801.00.10, unless the holder or container has permanently 

attached thereto the manufacturer's metal tag or plate showing, among 

other things, the name and address of the manufacturer who is located in 

the United States.

    (2) The name of the owner, either positioned as indicated in the 

example below, or elsewhere conspicuously shown on the holder or 

container.

    (3) The serial number assigned by the owner, which shall be one of 

consecutive numbers and not to be duplicated. For example: 9801.00.10 * 

* * Zenda * * * 2468.

    (d)(1) In the case of serially numbered holders or containers of 

foreign manufacture, other than those provided for in paragraph (d)(2) 

of this section, for which free clearance under the second provision in 

subheading 9803.00.50, HTSUS (19 U.S.C. 1202), is claimed, the owner 

shall place thereon the following markings:

    (i) 9803.00.50.

    (ii) The district and port code numbers of the port of entry, the 

entry number, and the last two digits of the fiscal year of entry 

covering the importation of the holders and containers on which duty was 

paid.

    (iii) The name of the owner, either positioned as indicated in the 

example below, or elsewhere conspicuously shown on the holder or 

container.

    (iv) The serial number assigned by the owner, which shall be one of 

consecutive numbers and not to be duplicated. For example: 9803.00.50 * 

* * 10-1-366-63 * * * Zenda * * * 2468.

    (2) In the case of substantial holders or containers of either U.S. 

or foreign manufacture, specially designed and



[[Page 118]]



equipped to facilitate the carriage of goods by one or more modes of 

transport without intermediate reloading, each having a gross mass 

rating of at least 18,120 kilograms, for which duty-free entry is 

requested under either the first or the second proviso in subheading 

9803.00.50, HTSUS (19 U.S.C. 1202), is claimed, only the following 

clear, conspicuous and durable markings are required to be on the 

container:

    (i) The identity of the owner or operator of the container.

    (ii) The serial number assigned by the owner or operator of the 

container, which shall be one of consecutive numbers and shall not be 

duplicated.

    (e) The prescribed markings shall be clear and conspicuous, that is, 

they shall appear on an exposed side of the holder or container in 

letters and figures of such size as to be readily discernible. The 

markings will be stricken out or removed when the holders or containers 

are taken out of service or when ownership is transferred, except that 

appropriate changes may be made if a new owner wishes to use the holders 

and containers under this procedure.

    (f) The owner shall keep adequate records open to inspection by 

Customs officers, which shall show the current status of the serially 

numbered holders and containers in service and the disposition made of 

such holders and containers taken out of service.

    (g) Nothing in this procedure shall be deemed to affect:

    (1) The requirements for outward or inward manifesting of such 

holders or containers. The manifests will show for each holder or 

container its markings as provided for herein.

    (2) The requirements of the Department of Commerce on exportation 

with respect to the filing of ``Shipper's Export Declaration,'' Form 

7525-V.

    (3) The treatment of articles covered herein under the coastwise 

laws of the United States, with particular reference to section 883, 

Title 46, United States Code.

    (h) If the holder or container and its contents are to move in bond 

or under cover of a TIR carnet (see part 114 of this chapter) from the 

port of arrival intact, the holder or container shall appear on the 

inward foreign manifest so as to be related to the cargo contained 

therein and will be released under this procedure at a subsequent port. 

If the holder or container is to move in bond or under cover of a TIR 

carnet from the port of arrival not intact with its contents, the holder 

or container may appear on the inward foreign manifest separate from and 

not related to the cargo contained therein and will be released under 

this procedure at the port of arrival before it moves forward and will 

not appear on the in-bond document.

    (i) A continuous bond containing the conditions set forth in Sec.  

113.66 of this chapter shall be filed with the port director. If the 

conditions are violated the port director shall issue a claim for 

liquidated damages equal to the domestic value of the holder or 

container established in accordance with section 606, Tariff Act of 

1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1606). If the domestic value exceeds the 

amount of the bond the claim for liquidated damages will be equal to the 

amount of the bond.



[T.D. 56542, 30 FR 15143, Dec. 8, 1965, as amended by T.D. 71-70, 36 FR 

4485, Mar. 6, 1971; T.D. 84-213, 49 FR 41165, Oct. 19, 1984; T.D. 86-13, 

51 FR 4164, Feb. 3, 1986; T.D. 89-1, 53 FR 51249, Dec. 21, 1988; T.D. 

96-20, 61 FR 7989, Mar. 1, 1996; T.D. 97-82, 62 FR 51769, Oct. 3, 1997; 

T.D. 99-64, 64 FR 43265, Aug. 10, 1999]



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