ENT-1-07/BOR-4-03-RR:IT:EC 114712 CC
Charles Turner
Manager Release and CN Operations
Tower Group International
6730 Middlebelt Road
Romulus, MI 48174-2039
RE: Importation of Locomotives; 8602.10.0000, HTSUS; Additional U.S. Note 1, Chapter 86
Dear Mr. Turner:
This is in response to your letter of May 18,1999, on behalf of Canadian National Railway (CN), concerning the importation of locomotives.
FACTS:
According to your submissions, CN recently acquired the Illinois Central Railway (IC), thus their fleets of locomotives will be merged. In the past, many CN locomotives entered the U.S. and returned to Canada as instruments of international traffic. Other locomotives that entered the U.S. from Canada remained in the United States and were “domesticated” for use within the U.S. For those locomotives, formal entries were filed. You state that the subject locomotives are classified under subheading 8602.10.0000 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). You ask whether formal entries will have to be filed for the locomotives which will remain in the U.S.
ISSUE:
Whether entry must be made for locomotives classified under subheading 8602.10.0000, HTSUS, arriving in the U.S. from Canada and remaining in the U.S.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
According to your submissions, the locomotives are classified under subheading 8602.10.0000, HTSUS. Locomotives classified under that subheading are not subject to duty.
19 CFR § 141.4(a) provides that all merchandise imported into the United States is required to be entered (pursuant to 19 U.S.C. § 1484), unless specifically excepted. One of the specific exceptions, provided for in 19 CFR § 141.4(b)(4), is railway locomotives classified in heading 8601 or 8602, HTSUS, on which no duty is owed. That regulation also references Additional U.S. Note 1 to Chapter 86, HTSUS, and paragraph (d) of section 141.4 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR § 141.4(d)).
Additional U.S. Note 1 to Chapter 86, HTSUS, provides the following:
Railway locomotives (provided for in headings 8601 and 8602) and railway freight cars (provided for in heading 8606) on which no duty is owed are not subject to the entry or release requirements for imported merchandise set forth in sections 448 and 484 of the Tariff Act of 1930. The Secretary of the Treasury may by regulation establish appropriate reporting requirements, including the requirement that a bond be posted to ensure compliance.
19 CFR § 141.4(d)(3) provides, in pertinent part, that for railway locomotives described in Additional U.S. Note 1 of Chapter 86, HTSUS, to be released in accordance with paragraph (b)(4) of section 141.4, the importer shall first file a bond on Customs Form 301, containing the bond conditions set forth in either section 113.62 or 113.64 of this chapter.
The foregoing regulations and U.S. Additional Note 1 to Chapter 86, HTSUS, thus make it clear that the subject locomotives, which are duty free and classified in Heading 8602, HTSUS, are not subject to the entry and release requirements of 19 U.S.C. § 1448 or 19 U.S.C. § 1484. A bond would have to be filed in compliance with 19 CFR § 141.4(d)(3).
Concerning the reporting requirements for the subject locomotives, 19 CFR § 141.4(b)(4) references 19 CFR Part 123. 19 CFR § 123.1, paragraphs (b) and (d), provide for the reporting of vehicles, which would include locomotives, stating that their arrival must be immediately reported to Customs by the person in charge of the vehicle. Also, 19 CFR § 123.6 provides that individual car manifests and a train sheet must be presented by the conductor of an arriving railroad train.
HOLDING:
The subject locomotives classified under subheading 8602.10.0000, HTSUS, arriving in the U.S. from Canada and remaining in the U.S. are excepted from the entry requirements.
Sincerely,
Jerry Laderberg
Chief
Entry Procedures and Carriers Branch