United States International Trade Commision Rulings And Harmonized Tariff Schedule
faqs.org  Rulings By Number  Rulings By Category  Tariff Numbers
faqs.org > Rulings and Tariffs Home > Rulings By Number > 2004 HQ Rulings > HQ 087779 - HQ 116088 > HQ 114621

Previous Ruling Next Ruling
HQ 114621





August 12, 1999

ENT-1-01-RR:IT:EC 114621 GG

CATEGORY: ENTRY

Ms. Nancy A. Bundt
Assistant Branch Manager
A.N. Deringer, Inc.
1010 Niagra Street
Buffalo, New York 14213

RE: Invoice Requirements; Country of Origin; 19 CFR §141.86(a)(10); Consolidation of Origin Information on Invoice.

Dear Ms. Bundt:

This is in response to your ruling request, dated October, 1998, made on behalf of your client, Games Trader Inc. (“Games Trader”). Your request raised questions involving country of origin marking and invoicing issues. The Special Classification and Marking Branch, in Headquarters Ruling Letter (HRL) 561233, dated March 19, 1999, addressed the relevant marking issues. This letter responds to the invoicing matters. We apologize for the delay in responding.

FACTS:

Games Trader is based in Ontario, Canada. The company buys used video game cartridges from various suppliers in the United States, ships them to Canada, and then cleans, tests, and repackages them for resale in the United States. The video game cartridges were originally produced in a variety of countries. The cartridges are marked to indicate the country in which they were produced, except for the cartridges produced in the United States. They are packaged in clear plastic cartons which are designed to be hung on a peg board hook. The back of the plastic cartons contains a card declaring, in pertinent part, that the refurbished video game cartridges are distributed by Games Trader of Brampton, Ontario. Games Trader imports the video game cartridges back into the United States, where they are sold to U.S. retailers.

The invoices accompanying Games Trader’s entries contain the following statement:

“Product cleaned and tested in Canada, originating from 1 or more of the following countries: Japan, USA, Canada, Mexico, Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, China, U.K., South Korea, Europe”.

In a Notice of Action (CF 29), dated September 28, 1998, Customs notified Games Trader that “[the] statement you provide on your invoices does not clearly display the country of origin for each game cartridge”. Customs in the Notice recommended that Games Trader seek a marking ruling to clarify this issue. As noted above, the aforementioned marking ruling has been issued and addresses issues strictly related to the marking of the products. The invoice issue was referred to our branch for consideration.

ISSUE:

Whether the invoice must provide country of origin information that is specific to the items listed on the invoice, or whether the invoice may contain a general statement that the articles listed thereon originate from any one of a group of countries.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Section 484(a)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. §1484(a)(1)), requires the importer of record, using reasonable care, to file documentation sufficient to enable Customs to make a determination on release and to properly assess duties, collect accurate statistics, and to determine whether any other applicable requirements of law are met. More specifically, Section 481 of that same Act provides that all invoices of merchandise to be imported into the United States shall set forth various information including facts deemed necessary by the Secretary of the Treasury to a proper appraisement, examination, and classification of the merchandise. Section 141.86(a)(10) of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR §141.86(a)(10)) requires country of origin information to be included on the invoice.

In addition, General Statistical Note 1(a)(vi) of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States mandates that country of origin information be listed on the entry summary or warehouse withdrawal forms for statistical reporting purposes. Customs Directive 3550-061, Instructions for Preparation of CF 7501, issued September 18, 1992, instructs entry filers to provide origin information in the following manner:

When a single entry summary covers merchandise from more than one country of origin, record the word “MULTI” in [block 15] and in column 28, directly below the line number, and prefixed with the letter “O”, indicate a separate ISO code for the country of origin corresponding to each line number.

Viewed together, all of these statutory provisions, regulations, and instructions indicate a need for detailed country of origin information. If an importer were to provide an invoice which stated that the items originated in any one of a group of listed countries, then it might be impossible for Customs to properly assess duties, collect accurate statistics, or determine whether special requirements, such as those associated with merchandise subject to anti-dumping or countervailing duties, come into play. Therefore, we conclude that an invoice must contain country of origin information that is specific to each item listed on the invoice. An importer who provides an invoice lacking the necessary specificity would be failing to exercise the reasonable care expected of him under 19 U.S.C. §1484(a)(1).

HOLDING:

Invoices must provide country of origin information that is specific to each item listed on the invoice. A failure to provide such information indicates the absence of the proper exercise of “reasonable care”.

Sincerely,

Jerry Laderberg
Chief

Previous Ruling Next Ruling