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HQ H016914




December 11, 2007

BOR-4-07:OT:RR:BSTC:CCI H016914 ALS

CATEGORY: CARRIER

Judith L. Holdsworth, Esq. deKieffer & Horgan
729 Fifteenth Street, N.W., Suite 800
Washington, D.C. 20005

RE: Instruments of International Traffic; 19 U.S.C. § 1322(a); 19 CFR 10.41a(a)(1); Transport Equipment

Dear Ms. Holdsworth:

This is in response to your letter, dated September 5, 2007, supplementing your letter of June 25, 2007, requesting a ruling on behalf of Urenco Enrichment Company Limited, Marlow, Buckinghamshire, UK and its wholly-owned subsidiaries and U.S. importers of record, Urenco Deutschland GmbH, Urenco Nederland BV, and Urenco (Capenhurst) Ltd ( collectively, “Urenco”), concerning whether various articles qualify as instruments of international traffic under 19 U.S.C. § 1322(a) and 19 CFR 10.41a(a)(1).

FACTS:

Urenco imports low-enriched uranium from Europe to the United States. The equipment used to transport the merchandise includes intermodal flat racks (“flat racks”), Protective Shipping Packages (“PSPs”), Type 30” B Cylinders (“cylinders”), and tracking devices affixed to the flat racks. After importation of the merchandise, this equipment is exported back to Europe for re-use. You state that there are approximately 2,000 flat racks, PSPs, and cylinders currently in use, and that an average of 1,500 cylinders, 180 PSPs, and 75 flat racks are in use at any one time. You also state that some are new while others have been in use for “up to ten years,” and that the design life of each item is 30 years.

In a typical transaction, the merchandise is collected in a cylinder, which in turn is loaded into a PSP, which in turn is bolted and secured to a flat rack. The tracking device is then affixed to the flat rack and subsequently imported in this affixed condition. Upon importation, all of the merchandise is removed from the cylinder except for “less than 11.34 kg” that remains as “non-volatile residual heel.” The cylinder is then exported back to Europe, along with the other equipment.

ISSUE:

Whether the flat racks, PSPs, cylinders, and tracking devices described above may be designated as instruments of international traffic pursuant to 19 U.S.C. § 1322(a) and 19 CFR 10.41a(a)(1).

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Pursuant to 19 U.S.C. § 1322(a), instruments of international traffic (also referred to herein as “IITs”) shall be excepted from the application of the Customs laws to the extent that such terms and conditions are prescribed in regulations or instructions. Pursuant to 19 CFR 10.41a(a)(1), the Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is authorized to designate as IITs such additional articles not specifically noted in that section. Such IITs may be released without entry or payment of duty.

To qualify as an IIT within the meaning of 19 U.S.C. § 1322(a) and 19 CFR 10.41a(a)(1), an article must be used as a container or holder. The article also must be substantial, suitable for and capable of repeated use, and used in significant numbers in international traffic. See Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated subheading 9803.00.50 and CBP Ruling HQ 112303 (August 14, 1992).

With respect to accessories for IIT containers, 19 CFR 10.41a(a)(3) provides that:

[a]s used in [section 10.41a], ‘instruments of international traffic’ [IITs] includes the normal accessories and equipment imported with any such instrument which is a ‘container’ as defined in Article 1 of the Customs Convention on Containers. Emphasis added.

Hence, any “designation’ made under section 10.41a(a)(3) (that an article is a normal accessory of an IIT container) would entitle the accessory to the same exemption from customs entry as the IIT container itself only to the extent that the accessory is “imported with” the container.

You claim that the cylinders are manufactured, tested, and maintained in accordance with American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard N14.1, “Uranium Hexafloride-Packaging for Transport,” model number 30B, pursuant to 49 CFR 171.7, 171.12, and 173.420. Model number 30B is described on page seven of the ANSI standard N14.1 as being 30 inches in nominal diameter, made of steel, having a minimum volume of 26 feet, and other technical measurements.

You claim that the PSPs are manufactured, tested, and maintained in accordance with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) standard No. TS-R-1, “Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material,” pursuant to 49 CFR 171.7, 171.12, and 173.416, and are model number UX-30 UF(6) (UX-30), made of stainless steel. To support this claim, you submitted a copy of a Competent Authority Certification for a Type Fissile Radioactive Materials Package Design Certificate USA/AF-96, Revision 24 (DOT Certificate), dated December 15, 2005, issued by the Department of Transportation (DOT). You also submitted a copy of a Certificate of Compliance for Radioactive Material Packages (Compliance Certificate) dated October 14, 2005, issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to Duratek. You explain that Duratek is the licensee of the design for the UX-30.

The DOT Certificate lists the UX-30 as a package design that is certified for fissile radioactive material packaging, while referring to the Compliance Certificate for description. The Compliance Certificate describes the UX-30 as an “overpack for 30-inch enriched uranium hexafluoride (UF(6)) cylinders.”

You claim that the flat racks conform to ISO (International Standards Organization) standard 20-foot boxes “commonly used in international transportation.” You also state that the flat racks have steel framing and wood flooring. The tracking devices are affixed to the flat racks, utilize standard, commercially available, GPS technology, and are imported with the flat racks.

Upon review of your request, we find that the subject cylinders, PSPs, flat racks, and tracking devices are substantial, suitable for and capable of repeated use, and are used in significant numbers in international traffic. We have ruled that similar articles qualify as IITs. See, e.g., CBP Ruling HQ 111933 (February 19, 1992) (steel shipping cylinders); CBP Ruling HQ 116521 (October 3, 2005) (NRC-Certified radioactive containers and flat racks); and CBP Rulings HQ 116684 (August 17, 2006) and H005096 (March 12, 2007) (tracking devices imported as accessories of IIT containers). Therefore, we find that the subject cylinders, PSPs, flat racks, and tracking devices qualify as IITs pursuant to 19 U.S.C. § 1322(a) and 19 CFR 10.41a(a)(1).

HOLDING:

The subject cylinders, PSPs, flat racks, and tracking devices are hereby designated as IITs pursuant to 19 U.S.C. § 1322(a) and 19 CFR 10.41a(a)(1).

Sincerely,

Glen E. Vereb
Chief

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