HQ 110453: Instrument of international traffic; steel hazardous waste containment pallet

Native CBP ruling rendition. Applicability is fact-specific; modification/revocation relationships and original publisher date are retained. Publisher sentinel year0001 means unknown date, not a historical legal adoption.

                              
                            HQ 110453

                        November 21, 1989



BOR-7-07-CO:R:P:C  110453 KVS

CATEGORY:  Carriers

Mr. Richard Seley
Richard Miles & Sons
4950 Gateway East
P.O. Box 144
El Paso, TX  79942

RE:  Instrument of international traffic; steel hazardous waste
     containment pallet

Dear Mr. Seley:

     This is in response to your letter of August 28, 1989, which
requests that certain steel secondary containment pallets be
designated as instruments of international traffic.  Three issues
are raised for our determination.

ISSUES:

     (1).  Whether it is possible for steel hazardous waste
     pallets to be designated as instruments of
     international traffic.

     (2).  Whether pallets imported for sale to domestic
     companies are dutiable when used by these subsequent
     purchasers in international traffic.

     (3).  Whether the Tariff Schedule Classification item
     number required by Customs Regulation section
     10.41b(c)(1) will actually be 9803 instead of
     9803.00.50, since no other classifications appear in
     the 9803 series.

FACTS:

     An importer imports steel hazardous waste pallets from both
Hong Kong and Mexico.  The port of entry for the Hong Kong
pallets is San Francisco, California, where the appropriate duty
is paid.  The port of entry for the Mexican pallets is Laredo,
Texas.  The Mexican pallets enter the United States duty-free
under the Generalized System of Preferences.


                              - 2 -


     After importation, the pallets are sold to various
companies, some of whom have operations in Mexico.  It is
asserted that these companies use the pallets for "safe storage"
and "to ship products such as chemicals in drums between the
United States and Mexico".

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

     (1).  Section 322(a), Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19
U.S.C. 1322(a)), provides that "[v]ehicles and other instruments
of international traffic, of any class specified by the Secretary
of the Treasury, shall be excepted from the application of the
customs laws to such extent and subject to such terms and
conditions as may be prescribed in regulations or instructions of
the Secretary of the Treasury."                 

     The Customs Regulations issued under the authority of
section 322(a) are contained in section 10.41a (19 CFR 10.41a). 
Section 10.41a(a)(1) specifically designates lift vans, cargo
vans, shipping tanks, skids, pallets, caul boards, and cores for
textile fabrics as instruments of international traffic.

     As an explicitly listed item, pallets are prima facie within 
the purview of section 322(a), Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19
U.S.C. 1322(a)).  This determination is made according to the
facts in each case.


     (2).  Under the facts given, the hazardous waste pallets
enter the United States under the auspices of the original
importer, who then sells them in the domestic market.  The fact
that some of the pallets are sold to companies with interna-
tional operations is not persuasive when determining the pallets'
classification upon entry.  Therefore, the hazardous waste
pallets under consideration cannot be classified as instruments
of international traffic. 

     A related issue - whether the pallets can be classified as
instruments of international traffic in the hands of a subsequent
purchaser when used for storage and shipment abroad - is
hypothetical; no ruling can issue on such matters pursuant to 19
CFR 177.7(a). 


     (3).  Section 10.41b(c)(1)(i) of the Customs Regulations (19
CFR 10.41b(c)(1)(i)) specifically lists subheading 9803.00.50 as
the precise marking the owner shall place on the serially
numbered holders or containers.

                              - 3 -


     It is the policy of the Customs Service to utilize the most
specific subheading classification provided.  This policy serves
to ensure optimum clarity in the event that the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule may amended by Congress in the future with additional
subheadings at the same or higher rate of duty.


                              
HOLDING:

     (1).  The steel secondary containment hazardous waste  
pallets under consideration do not qualify for treatment as
instruments of international traffic under the facts before us. 
The importer is merely importing goods for domestic sale.

     (2).  Serially numbered holders or containers should be
marked 9803.00.50, as required by Customs Regulation section
10.41b(c)(1)(i).


                                     Sincerely,




                                     B. James Fritz
                                     Chief
                                     Carrier Rulings Branch