HQ 0111580 - Instruments of International Traffic; Cylinders; Chemical; 19 U.S.C. 1322. - United States International Trade Commision Rulings

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HQ 111580

October 21, 1991

BOR-7-07 CO:R:IT:C 111580 JBW

CATEGORY: CARRIER

Mr. W. Nozato
Sumitomo Corporation of America
New York Chemical Division
345 Park Avenue
New York, New York 10154

RE: Instruments of International Traffic; Cylinders; Chemical; 19 U.S.C. 1322.

Dear Mr. Nozato:

This letter is in response to your letter of March 6, 1991, in which you request a ruling that certain cylinders be designated as instruments of international traffic. Our ruling is set forth below.

FACTS:

Sumitomo Corporation (Sumitomo) intends to use reusable, seamless steel cylinders for the transportation of freon gas (R- 116). You state that the cylinders, filled with freon gas, will be exported to Japan, emptied at their destination, and returned to the United States for reuse. The average shipment will contain twenty cylinders. The life span of a cylinder is approximately thirty years. The cylinders are manufactured by Norris Cylinders in Longview, Texas.

ISSUE:

Whether steel cylinders used for the transportation of freon gas may be designated as instruments of international traffic within the meaning of 19 U.S.C. 1322(a) and 19 C.F.R. 10.41a(a).

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Title 19, United States Code, section 1322(a), provides:

Vehicles 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 regulation or instructions of the Secretary of the Treasury.

19 U.S.C. 1322(a) (1988). The Customs regulations issued under the authority of this section are contained in 19 C.F.R. 10.41a (1990). The regulations specifically designate lift vans, cargo vans, shipping tanks, skids, pallets, caul boards, and cores for textile fabrics as instruments of international traffic. 19 C.F.R. 10.41a(a)(1). The regulations also authorize the Commissioner of Customs to designate other items as instruments of international traffic. Id.

To qualify as an instrument of international traffic within the meaning of 19 U.S.C. 1322(a) and the regulations promulgated pursuant thereto, an article must be a container or holder of merchandise moving in the foreign trade. The article must be substantial, suitable for and capable of repeated use, and used in significant numbers in international traffic. E.g., Headquarters Ruling Letter 111073, dated August 16, 1990.

We find that the seamless steel cylinders used for the transportation of freon gas meet the above criteria. The cylinders, being made of steel, are of substantial construction. With a life of approximately thirty years, they are suitable for and capable of repeated use. Frequent shipments of twenty cylinders indicate that they will be used in significant numbers. Finally, the Customs Service has previously ruled that steel cylinders used for the transportation of chemicals similar to those under consideration qualify as instruments of international traffic. T.D. 74-299, 8 Cust. B. & Dec. 572 (1974); T.D. 73-290, 7 Cust. B. & Dec. 812 (1973).

HOLDING:

Steel cylinders used for the transportation of freon gas are designated as instruments of international traffic within the meaning of 19 U.S.C. 1322(a) and 19 C.F.R. 10.41a(a).

Sincerely,

B. James Fritz
Chief

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