VES-4-02-CO:R:P:C 110966 KVS
Mr. Edward A. Odishaw
Swinton & Company
Robson Court
1000-840 Howe Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
CANADA V6Z 2MI
Re: Importation of foreign-built, foreign-flag pleasure vessel
into the United States
Dear Mr. Odishaw:
This is in response to your letter of March 28, 1990, which
requests a ruling regarding the importation of a foreign-built,
foreign-flag vessel into the United States. You specifically
inquire whether the vessel in question may enter the United
States under a cruising license.
FACTS:
You state that you are a Canadian citizen with no residence
in the United States, and that you intend to import a vessel into
the United States, at either Portland, or Seattle, for
commissioning and installations. The vessel is a new 47-foot
sailboat that has been manufactured in Finland and will
registered either in the British Virgin Islands (under British
registry) or in Canada (under Canadian registry). You state that
the vessel's intended use is for cruising and racing.
ISSUE:
Whether a foreign-built, foreign-flag pleasure vessel,
imported for cruising and racing, may enter the United States
under a cruising license.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
We know of no provision which will allow you to enter the
yacht in question under a cruising license. However, according
to Additional U.S. Note 1, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the
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United States Annotated (HTSUSA), vessels brought into the
Customs territory of the United States by non-residents for their
own use in pleasure cruising shall be admitted without formal
Customs consumption entry or payment of duty. Otherwise, yachts
are dutiable under Heading 8903, HTSUSA.
As long as a yacht or pleasure boat is brought into the
United States by a non-resident and is not offered for sale or
charter to a U.S. resident within one year of arrival, it is not
dutiable. It is permissible to sell or charter such a vessel to
a non-resident during the one-year period immediately following
the vessel's entry into the United States.
Although the vessel may not enter the United States under a
cruising license, once the vessel has made entry, it is possible
that the vessel may be issued a cruising license at the vessel's
first port of arrival. Under 46 U.S.C. 104, Customs is
authorized to issue a cruising license, on a reciprocal basis, to
a pleasure vessel of a foreign country which exempts such a
vessel from all of the requirements described above except the
requirement for report of arrival at each United States port and
the requirement for vessel entry at the first United States port
of arrival from, a foreign port or place. The countries which
have established reciprocity with the United States in this
regard are listed in the section of the Customs Regulations on
yacht privileges and obligations (19 CFR 4.94, copy enclosed).
As you may know, both the British Virgin Islands and Canada are
listed among those countries.
A cruising license may be issued to a qualifying foreign
pleasure vessel on cruises of up to one year but are not to be
issued indefinately to a pleasure vessel owned by an alien
residing in this country permanently or, at least, for a
protracted period of time.
Upon expiration of an existing cruising license, the
document is to be surrendered and the vessel will be required to
comply with the regular entry and clearance procedures. This
means that the master of a vessel must obtain a permit before
proceeding to each subsequent United States port and the vessel
must clear Customs prior to departing for a foreign port. Also,
the master of the vessel must report arrival to Customs at the
first and each subsequent United States port immediately.
You may stay in a United States port indefinitely without a
cruising license and, for that matter, you may cruise in the
United States without a cruising license. In the latter event,
however, you would be subject to the requirements in the
navigation laws, and the fees associated with those requirements,
described above.
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If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to
contact this office.
Sincerely,
B. James Fritz
Chief
Carrier Rulings Branch