OT:RR:CTF:VS H342829 EE
Center Director
Automotive and Aerospace Center of Excellence and Expertise
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
726 Exchange Street, Suite 400
Buffalo, NY 14210-1484
RE: Application for Further Review of Protest No. 3901-22-126417; Subheading
9801.00.10, HTSUS
Dear Center Director:
This is in reference to the Application for Further Review (“AFR”) of Protest No.
3901-22-126417, timely filed on February 23, 2022, on behalf of MTU Maintenance
Hannover GmbH (hereinafter, the “protestant”), concerning the applicability of
subheading 9801.00.10, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”), to
the merchandise at issue. Your office denied the AFR and protest on June 1, 2022.
Counsel for the protestant filed a timely request for the set aside of the denial of the
AFR pursuant to 1515(c). After review of the request, this office set aside the denial of
the AFR and protest pursuant to 1515(c).
FACTS:
The protestant performs maintenance, repair, and operations (“MRO”) services
on large commercial aircraft engines. The merchandise subject to the protest at issue is
a case-y-diffuser. The case-y-diffuser was removed from a Pratt & Whitney PW2037M
engine, serial number 717912. The protestant states that this engine was made by
Pratt & Whitney in East Hartford, Connecticut, and exported on June 2, 2021. The
case-y-diffuser was disassembled by the protestant in Germany and reimported into the
United States by the protestant for repair on July 1, 2021. The case-y-diffuser was
repaired after which it was reexported to be reassembled in the disassembled turbojet in
Germany.
The protestant claims that the case-y-diffuser is classified under subheading
8411.91.90, HTSUS. The CEE agrees with the protestant; therefore, this decision does
not address the classification issue. Next, the protestant clams that the case-y-diffuser
is eligible for duty-free treatment under subheading 9801.00.10, HTSUS.
In support of their claim, the protestant provided the following documentation:
-The MTU engine repair process.
-A photo of a name plate identifying United Technologies Pratt & Whitney,
Hartford, Connecticut, model number PW2040 and PW2037(M) serial no.
P717912, dated September 1987.
-A technical drawing of the case-y-diffuser.
-An Air Waybill, dated June 2, 2021, for the aircraft engine PW2037 serial no.
P717912. The Air Waybill lists the airport of departure as Atlanta, GA and the
airport of destination as Liege.
-The consolidated shipper’s export declaration and importer’s declaration which
indicates that the part(s) were disassembled from engine type PW2037M serial
number 717912, manufactured by Pratt & Whitney in the United States. The
declaration states that the articles were exported from the United States, the Port
of Atlanta on June 2, 2021, and that they were returned without having been
advanced in value or improved in condition by any process of manufacture or
other means. The declaration lists the item, part number 1B4091-002,
merchandise description, quantity, and value. The declaration is signed by the
Senior Manager of Foreign Trade, Export Control and Customs of the protestant.
ISSUE:
Whether the case-y-diffuser is eligible for duty-free treatment under subheading
9801.00.10, HTSUS.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Section 904(b) of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015
(Pub. L. 114-125, February 24, 2016) amended subheading 9801.00.10, HTSUS, to
include any products which are returned within 3 years after having been exported.
Previously, subheading 9801.00.10, HTSUS, only applied to products of the United
States. Subheading 9801.00.10, HTSUS, now provides for the duty-free treatment of:
Products of the United States when returned after having been exported,
or any other products when returned within 3 years after having been
exported, without having been advanced in value or improved in condition
by any process of manufacture or other means while abroad.
Section 10.1, CBP Regulations (19 C.F.R. § 10.1) sets forth the documentary
requirements for entry under subheading 9801.00.10, HTSUS. We note that CBP has
not yet amended the regulations to implement the change to subheading 9801.00.10,
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HTSUS. Nonetheless, 19 C.F.R. § 10.1(a)(1) requires the foreign shipper to declare the
following information with regard to articles in a shipment valued over $2,500: the port
of exportation, the date of exportation, the quantity, the description of the merchandise,
the value of the merchandise, the date of the declaration, and whether the articles were
returned without having been advanced in value or improved in condition by any
process of manufacture or other means. In addition, the documentation is to be filed “in
connection with the entry.”
Section 10.1(a)(2), CBP Regulations (19 C.F.R. § 10.1(a)(2)), requires the
owner, importer, consignee, or agent having knowledge of the facts regarding the claim
for free entry to declare that the foreign shipper’s statement is true, and, that the articles
were not manufactured or produced in the United States under subheading 9813.00.05,
HTSUS, and that the articles were exported from the United States without benefit of
drawback. The information required also pertains to the name of the manufacturer, the
location of the manufacturer, and the date of the declaration. As previously noted, the
protestant provided a consolidated shipper’s export declaration and importer’s
declaration. The declaration lists the port of exportation as the Atlanta, the date of
exportation as June 2, 2021, merchandise description as diffuser case, part number
1B4091-002, quantity, and value. The declaration states that the merchandise was
returned without having been advanced in value or improved in condition by any
process of manufacture or other means. We find that the declaration includes all of the
required information. While the manufacturer’s affidavit was not submitted, the
merchandise was returned within three years of the date of export from the United
States. Since the documentary requirements under 19 C.F.R. § 10.1 are met, we find
that the case-y-diffuser is eligible for duty-free treatment under subheading 9801.00.10,
HTSUS.
HOLDING:
The case-y-diffuser is eligible for duty-free treatment under subheading
9801.00.10, HTSUS. The protest should be ALLOWED.
You are instructed to notify the protestant of this decision no later than 60 days
from the date of this decision. Any reliquidation of the entry or entries in accordance
with the decision must be accomplished prior to this notification. Sixty days from the
date of the decision, the Office of Trade, Regulations and Rulings will make the decision
available to CBP personnel and the public on the Customs Rulings Online Search
System (CROSS) at https://rulings.cbp.gov/, or other methods of public distribution.
Sincerely,
for Yuliya A. Gulis, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division
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