User Fees; Commercial Truck; 19 U.S.C. 58c

HQ 111587 April 15, 1992 BOR-2-03-CO:R:IT:C 111587 GEV CATEGORY: Carriers Claude Carriere Counselor Trade Policy Canadian Embassy 501 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. Washington, D.C. 20001 RE: User Fees; Commercial Truck; 19 U.S.C. 58c Dear Mr. Carriere: This is in response to your letter dated March 14, 1991, regarding the $5.00 processing fee assessed commercial trucks upon their arrival at a port of entry into the Customs territory of the United States. Specifically, your concern centers on the assessment of the aforementioned fee on certain privately owned vehicles entering the United States for the purpose of posting mail in the United States. Our ruling is set forth below. FACTS: Automobiles owned by a Canadian company are entering the United States for the purpose of mailing merchandise in the United States. As a result, these vehicles are being assessed a $5.00 processing fee pursuant to section 24.22(c), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 24.22(c)). The Canadian owner of these vehicles contends that the assessment of this fee is beyond the scope of the statute under which this regulation was promulgated. ISSUE: Whether automobiles owned by a Canadian company which enter the United States for the purpose of mailing commercial merchandise in the United States are subject to the $5.00 processing fee pursuant to 19 CFR 24.22(c). LAW AND ANALYSIS: Section 13031 of the Consolidated Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1985 (Public Law 99-272, 100 Stat. 82, codified at 19 U.S.C. 58c) sets forth various fees to offset the costs of processing - 2 - arrivals into the Customs territory of the United States of certain vehicles, vessels and aircraft. Included in these fees is a $5.00 fee for the cost of processing the arrival of a commercial truck. Pursuant to the statutory authority cited above, the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions set forth therein (see section 13031(g) of Public Law 99-272, 100 Stat. 310, and 19 U.S.C. 58c(g)). These regulations are found in section 24.22, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 24.22). In providing for the assessment of the $5.00 processing fee for the arrival of a commercial truck (see 19 CFR 24.22(c)(2)), Customs has defined the term commercial truck as "...a self-propelled vehicle designed and used for the transportation of commercial merchandise, or the transportation of non-commercial merchandise on a for-hire basis. Empty trucks and truck cabs without trailers fitting this description are also included." In administering the above regulations the Customs Service has interpreted the term "commercial truck" to include any vehicle carrying commercial merchandise including but not limited to: (1) tractor-trailer units; (2) pick-up trucks; (3) leased or rented trucks; (4) dump trucks or similar single unit vehicles; (5) vans; and (6) automobiles, taxis, and buses. It should be noted that although Customs exempts from the payment of this fee company vehicles arriving for the purpose of picking up company mail or other documents, the privately owned Canadian automobiles under consideration are distinguishable from such vehicles in that they are arriving for the purpose of mailing commercial merchandise in the United States. In view of this distinction, the assessment of the $5.00 processing fee is in full accord with the statutory authority cited above. HOLDING: Automobiles owned by a Canadian company which enter the United States for the purpose of mailing commercial merchandise in the United States are subject to the $5.00 processing fee pursuant to 19 CFR 24.22(c). Sincerely, B. James Fritz Chief Carrier Rulings Branch