§10.41b. Clearance of serially numbered substantial holders or outer containers. — Inbound Citations

(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).

(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 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 § 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) If the principal establishes a program for the cross-border movements of shipping devices based upon an application approved as provided in § 10.41b(b) of this chapter (19 CFR 10.41b(b)), the principal agrees:

(1) To timely file complete and accurate reports on the shipping devices, and to pay any applicable duty due on the devices and repairs made to such devices, as provided in the approved application;

(2) To retain complete and accurate records regarding the shipping devices, and to make such records available to CBP for inspection and audit upon reasonable notice, as also required in the approved application; and

(3) Instruments of international traffic described in § 10.41a and § 10.41b(b) of this chapter, under the conditions provided for in those sections. See also Chapter 98, Subpart III, U.S. Notes 3 and 4, HTSUS.