CLA-2-97:OT:RR:NC:N4:433
Carl D. Cammarata
Attorney at Law
Law Offices of George R. Tuttle, A.P.C.
1100 Larkspur Circle, Suite 385
Larkspur, CA 94939
RE: The tariff classification of seven race cars from Germany.
Dear Mr. Cammarata:
In your letter dated September 7, 2016, on behalf of Porsche Motorsport North America, Inc., you requested a tariff classification ruling.
The merchandise concerned involves the proper classification of seven Porsche race cars, and whether these cars are entitled to duty-free treatment under subheading 9705.00.0070 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), the provision in part for collectors’ pieces of historical interest.
Race Car # 1 is the 1988, 2.1 March Porsche Indy –Cart Rennwagen 88C1.
Race Car # 2 is the 1989, 2.4 March Porsche Indy-Cart Rennwagen 89P1.
Race Car # 3 is the 1989 2.5 March Porsche Indy-Cart Rennwagen 89P2.
Race Car # 4 is the 1989 2.6 March Porsche Indy-Cart Rennwagen 89P4.
Race Car # 5 is the 1990 2.7 March Porsche Indy-Cart Rennwagen 90P001.
Race Car # 6 is the 1990 2.8 March Porsche Indy-Cart Rennwagen 90P003.
Race Car # 7 is the 1990 2.10 March Porsche Indy-Cart Rennwagen 90P005.
“IndyCar” or “Indy Car” are sometimes used as a descriptive name for championship open-wheel auto racing in the United States. The Indy car name derived as a result of the genre’s fundamental link to the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race (often referred to as the “Indy 500”), one of the most popular auto races in the world. Beginning in 1990, the term Indy car was often used to describe the race cars in the events sanctioned by CART (Championship Auto Racing Teams), which had become the dominant governing body for open-wheel racing in the United States. The Indianapolis 500, however, remained sanctioned by USAC (United States Auto Club). CART recognized the Indy 500 on its schedule, and awarded points for finishers in the race from 1990 to 1995 despite not sanctioning it.
(Source: Wikipedia)
During the 1996 season, the IndyCar mark was the subject of a fierce legal battle. Prior to the 1996 season, Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Tony George had created his own national championship racing series, the IRL (Indy Racing League). In March 1996, CART filed a lawsuit against the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in an effort to protect their license to the IndyCar mark which the Indianapolis Motor Speedway had attempted to terminate. In April, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway filed a countersuit against CART to prevent them from further use of the mark. Eventually a settlement was reached in which CART agreed to give up the use of the IndyCar mark following the 1996 season and the IRL could not use the name before the end of the 2002 season.
(Source: Wikipedia)
Following a six-year hiatus, “IRL, LLC” announced it would rename their premier series the “IndyCar Series” for the 2003 racing season. Brickyard Trademarks, Inc., a subsidiary of Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation, is the current owner of the IndyCar mark and had licensed the mark to the IRL for use in connection with the IndyCar Series. CART went bankrupt at the end of the 2003 season. A trio of CART team owners acquired the assets of the sanctioning body and renamed it as the CCWS (Champ Car World Series), again highlighting the historic ‘Champ Car’ term. However, continued financial difficulties caused CCWS to file for bankruptcy before its planned 2008 season; its assets were merged into the IRL’s IndyCar Series, uniting both series of American championship open-wheel racing. Post-unification, a heavy emphasis had been placed on deemphasizing the legal entity name of “IRL, LLC” and its initials, and replacing the legal name with the “IndyCar” name. This became official in January of 2011, as “IRL, LLC” adapted as its trade name IndyCar.
(Source: Wikipedia)
Porsche’s interest in the Indianapolis 500 started back in 1979, when a car was unveiled to race in 1980. The Porsche racing program for 1980 was to have been an Indy program with Interscope Racing. The engine for this car was the Type 935/72, a 2,650-cc development of the four-valve engines used in Group 5 and 6 racing in 1978. Porsche, as it turned out, attempted to enter the U.S. Championship Car racing at the wrong time in history, right in the middle of the USAC vs. CART feud, and the rules were changed out from under them. Porsche had been told that they would be allowed to run with a boost of 54 inches of mercury, but on April 21, 1980, Porsche was told it would be limited to 48 inches of boost like the eight-cylinder cars. When the boost was reduced to 48 inches, Porsche withdrew, feeling the reduction would require a complete redesign of their engine.
(Source: Porsche 911 Performance Handbook, 2nd Edition, page 83, by Bruce Anderson)
By 1988, Porsche was back on the Indy Car scene when they qualified for the race for the first time. In 1989, they had a great CART season, and with Teo Fabi driving, captured 4th in the series. Tragedy then struck again in 1990. The Porsche was upgraded with a bigger engine, more power, and more speed, but CART changed the rules by banning the carbon-fiber chassis, thus putting Porsche back to square one with no time for re-development.
(Source: http://posrednik.ru/porsche/porsches.com/indy.htm)
This office recognizes the facts as listed by the Law Offices of George R. Tuttle on behalf of their client Porsche Motorsport North America that: (1) only 15 of these type racing cars were built over a three-year period (1988, 1989 and 1990), (2) the seven racing cars as listed above remain in the ownership of Porsche, (3) the seven racing cars as listed above have been stored and rotated for display at the Porsche Museum, and (4) the seven race cars as listed above have not been restored, but rather have been retained in their post-racing condition. For these reasons, it would appear the {value} of each race car may be significantly higher than that which has been estimated/projected. Regardless of the drivers who drove these race cars or the tracks/circuits driven upon, these seven race cars as listed above are ingrained within the fabric of IndyCar and therefore a part of its history from the USAC/CART disputes, going forward to the defunct CART/CCWS, and ultimately to IRL’s adapting of the trade name IndyCar.
The applicable subheading for the seven race cars as listed above will be 9705.00. 0070, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Collections and collectors’ pieces of zoological, botanical, mineralogical, anatomical, historical, archeological, paleontological, ethnographic or numismatic interest: Archaeological, historical, or ethnographic pieces.” The rate of duty will be free.
Duty rates are provided for your convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on World Wide Web at https://hts.usitc.gov/current.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).
A copy of the ruling or the control number indicated above should be provided with the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If you have any questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialist Neil H. Levy at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Steven A. Mack
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division