HQ 0110908 - Vessel Repair; Late Entry; Late Documentation; Defective Application for Relief; Vessel SEALAND ATLANTIC, V-001; Entry Number 559-1236277-3 - United States International Trade Commision Rulings

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HQ 110908
August 1, 1990

VES-13-18-CO:R:P:C 110908 LLB

CATEGORY: CARRIER

Deputy Assistant Regional Commissioner
Classification and Value Division
ATTN: Regional Vessel Repair Liquidation Unit New York, New York 10048-0945

RE: Vessel Repair; Late Entry; Late Documentation; Defective Application for Relief; Vessel SEALAND ATLANTIC, V-001; Entry Number 559-1236277-3

Dear Sir:

Reference is made to your memorandum of March 5, 1990, forwarding for our consideration the vessel repair entry and associated documentation submitted by Sea-Land Service, Inc., in connection with the arrival of the vessel SEALAND ATLANTIC.

FACTS:

The vessel SEALAND ATLANTIC arrived in the port of Boston, Massachusetts, on April 12, 1988. Nearly two months following that date, on June 10, 1988, a vessel repair entry was filed in that port, indicating that extensive foreign shipyard operations had been performed in Singapore and Germany. By letter dated August 1, 1988, the company supplied most of the invoices relevant to the foreign work to Customs. The invoices were marked by the company to indicate charges for which remission was sought, with a brief justification supplied for each such indication.

ISSUE:

Whether the claim for relief submitted in this case may be considered in light of the fact that both the entry and the prayer for relief were tardy.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Section 466, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1466) provides, in pertinent part, for payment of duty in the amount of 50 percent ad valorem on the cost of foreign repairs to vessels documented under the laws of the United States to engage in foreign or coastwise trade, or vessels intended to engage in such trade.

The Customs Regulations provide at section 4.14(b)(2) (19 CFR 4.14(b)(2)), that entry of all foreign repairs, equipment, parts, and materials purchases, shall be made to Customs at the first port of arrival within five (5) working days of such arrival. In recognition of the fact that it is often the case that not all information is at hand in such short order, the regulations provide that the entry may be marked to indicate that it is incomplete. Sixty (60) days are provided to submit cost evidence to render the entry complete, and provision for further extensions is made. Not extendable, however, is the regulatory time period for submitting the vessel repair entry. This time limit is mandatory and carries the force of law since it is promulgated pursuant to the specific authority conferred by statute. (See 19 U.S.C. 1498(a)(10)).

In this case, the presentation of entry was made nearly two months after arrival. Further, no request for a extension of time to submit documentation was received by the Vessel Repair Liquidation Unit, such documentation having been submitted nearly four months following arrival (two months after the long-tardy entry). The time limit for submitting an Application for Relief runs concurrently with that provided for the submission of documentation to support the entry. As in the case of cost evidence, the regulations provide for requests for extension of time to submit Applications for Relief (19 CFR 4.14(d)(1)(i)).

None of the time limits prescribed by law were met by the vessel operator in this case, and neither did the operator avail itself of the opportunity to seek liberally granted extensions of time in order to comply. As such, we consider the entry and all of its attendant documentation, including the Application for Relief, to be fatally flawed and unreviewable. We might note that the recommendations of the Vessel Repair Liquidation Unit as to the recommended duty disposition regarding each item have been reviewed, and we concur in those findings. We find that this entry should be referred for immediate liquidation in line with the dispositions recorded on the worksheets which accompanied this case to Headquarters. The vessel operator should be notified that the only remaining appeal mechanism available following liquidation of the entry is provided for under section 514, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1514), the filing of a protest.

HOLDING:

The Application for Relief submitted in this case will not be reviewed since it supports a delinquent entry and is itself a tardy submission. This entry should be liquidated and the vessel operator should be informed of the right to file a protest of that liquidation under 19 U.S.C. 1514 and 19 CFR Part 174.

Sincerely,

B. James Fritz

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