Changes Regarding Customs User Fees

[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 143 (Tuesday, July 27, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40648-40649]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-19070]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Customs Service


Changes Regarding Customs User Fees

AGENCY: Customs Service, Treasury.

ACTION: General notice.

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SUMMARY: On June 25, 1999, the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical 
Corrections Act of 1999 (the Act) was signed into law. The Act makes 
miscellaneous and technical changes to various trade laws, including 19 
U.S.C. 58c pertaining to Customs user fees. While these changes are 
self-effectuating, Customs is announcing in this notice, for the 
convenience of the importing public, several changes affecting Customs 
administration of user fees. Appropriate amendments to the Customs 
Regulations will be published in due course.

EFFECTIVE DATE: The effective date for the statutory changes set forth 
in this document is July 25, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Edward Matthews at (202) 927-0552.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Section 13031 of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act 
of 1985, codified at 19 U.S.C. 58c (section 58c), established user fees 
for certain inspectional services performed by the Customs Service. On 
June 25, 1999, the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 
1999 (the Act) was signed into law (Pub. L. 106-36, 113 Stat. 127). The 
Act makes miscellaneous and technical changes to various trade laws, 
including 19 U.S.C. 58c.
    Subtitle B (entitled ``Trade Provisions'') of Title II of the Act 
sets forth, in section 2418 (entitled ``Customs User Fees''), several 
amendments to section 58c. These statutory amendments are self-
effectuating and become effective before the Customs Regulations can be 
amended to reflect the changes. Regulatory amendments will be published 
as appropriate. In the meantime, Customs presents below those changes 
that affect the importing public.

Past Fees

    Under 19 U.S.C. 58c(a), Customs is authorized to collect fees 
charged for certain Customs inspectional services. A schedule of such 
fees is set forth in paragraphs (1) through (10) of that section. 
Section 58c(a)(5) pertains to fees for passengers arriving in the 
United States aboard commercial vessels and commercial aircraft. The 
fees are collected from passengers by the companies involved in 
providing commercial vessel and aircraft travel and transportation and 
are remitted by such companies to the Secretary of the Treasury (see 19 
U.S.C. 58c(d)).
    Prior to enactment of the Act, section 58c(a)(5)(A) provided for a 
fee of $6.50 per passenger arriving in the United States aboard a 
commercial vessel or aircraft. The fee applied broadly to such 
passengers arriving in the United States from any place outside the 
customs territory of the United States. However, these provisions were 
effective only for fiscal years 1994 through 1997. Thus, after fiscal 
year 1997 (ending on September 30, 1997), the $6.50 fee was no longer 
in effect.
    Prior to enactment of the Act, section 58c(a)(5)(B), applicable to 
fiscal year 1998 and each fiscal year following, provided for a fee of 
$5.00 per passenger arriving in the United States aboard a commercial 
vessel or aircraft. This fee, however, applied to such passengers 
arriving from places outside the United States with the following 
limitation: the fee did not apply to such passengers arriving from the 
places set forth in

[[Page 40649]]

section 58c(b)(1)(A)(i): Canada, Mexico, and the territories, 
possessions, and adjacent islands of the United States. (See section 
24.22(g)(2)(i)(B) of the Customs Regulations for the U.S. territories, 
possessions, and adjacent islands (19 CFR 24.22(g)(2)(i)(B)).)
    The effect of these provisions was to impose a fee of $6.50 on all 
vessel and aircraft passengers arriving in the United States through 
September 30, 1997 (section 58c(a)(5)(A)), then to reduce that fee to 
$5.00 per such passenger for the following fiscal years, except for 
those passengers arriving from Canada, Mexico, or the United States 
territories, possessions, and adjacent islands (section 58c(a)(5)(B)). 
Thus, beginning with fiscal year 1998, there was no fee applicable 
under section 58c(a)(5) for vessel and aircraft passengers arriving 
from Canada, Mexico, or the United States territories, possessions, and 
adjacent islands.

New Fees

    Paragraph (b)(1) of section 2418 of the Act amends sections 
58c(a)(5)(A) and 58c(a)(5)(B) to modify this fee structure. The 
amendment accomplishes two things: (1) It maintains the $5.00 fee for 
passengers arriving in the United States aboard commercial vessels or 
aircraft from places outside the United States other than Canada, 
Mexico, and the United States territories, possessions, and adjacent 
islands; and (2) it imposes a fee of $1.75 per passenger arriving 
aboard commercial vessels (not commercial aircraft) from Canada, 
Mexico, and the United States territories, possessions, and adjacent 
islands. There is no fee under section 58c(a)(5) for passengers 
arriving aboard commercial aircraft from Canada, Mexico, or the United 
States territories, possessions, or adjacent islands. (The territories 
and possessions of the United States include American Samoa, Guam, the 
Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The 
adjacent islands of the United States include all of the islands in the 
Caribbean Sea, the Bahamas, Bermuda, St. Pierre, Miquelon, and the 
Turks and Caicos Islands.)

Procedures for Payment of Fees

    Though not among the amendments set forth in the Act, the 
procedures for making payment to Customs of the fees provided for in 
sections 58c(a)(5)(A) and 58c(a)(5)(B) are here set forth for the 
benefit of affected parties. Under section 24.22(g)(3) of the Customs 
Regulations, it is the responsibility of the carriers, travel agents, 
tour wholesalers, or other parties issuing tickets or travel documents 
to collect the fee from all passengers who are subject to the fee (19 
CFR 24.22(g)(3)). Under section 24.22(g)(4) of the Customs Regulations, 
these parties must make payment of the fees collected to Customs no 
later than 31 days after the close of the calendar quarter in which the 
fees are collected (19 CFR 24.22(g)(4)). Customs asks that remittances 
be made payable to the U.S. Customs Service and sent to: U.S. Customs 
Service, P.O. Box 198151, Atlanta, GA 30384.
    Also under section 24.22(g)(4), the quarterly remittance must be 
accompanied by a statement that includes the following information: 
name, address, and taxpayer identification number of the party 
remitting the payment and the calendar quarter covered by the payment 
(19 CFR 24.22(g)(4)). Customs asks that the following additional 
information be provided in the statement: total number of tickets for 
which fees were collected, total amount of fees collected and remitted, 
and a breakdown of vessel fees collected and remitted under section 
58c(a)(5)(A) (the $5.00 per passenger fee) and section 58c(a)(5)(B) 
(the $1.75 per passenger fee). This breakdown is requested to serve 
Customs need to separate and distinguish the amounts collected for 
these two fees. Affected parties are reminded of the record maintenance 
requirements of section 24.22(g)(6) (19 CFR 24.22(g)(6)).

Exemption From Fee

    Enactment of the $1.75 per passenger fee provision of 19 U.S.C. 
58c(a)(5)(B) (discussed in the section immediately above), applicable 
to commercial vessel passengers arriving in the United States from 
Canada, Mexico, or the United States territories, possessions or 
adjacent islands, necessitated an amendment to section 58c(b)(1)(A)(i). 
This latter section, prior to enactment of the Act (and since 
expiration of fiscal year 1997 (see section 58c(b)(1)(C))), has 
prohibited application of a fee under section 58c(a) to passengers 
arriving in the United States from Canada, Mexico, or the United States 
territories, possessions, and adjacent islands, whether such journey 
originated in one of the named places or originated in the United 
States and was limited to the named places. This provision, if left 
unmodified, would be in direct conflict with the $1.75 fee provision of 
section 58c(a)(5)(B), as amended by the Act.
    In order to remove this conflict, paragraph (b)(2) of section 2418 
of the Act simultaneously (with the amendment of subsection 
58c(a)(5)(B) in paragraph (b)(1) of the Act) amends section 
58c(b)(1)(A) to exclude from the prohibition of paragraph (i) fees 
imposed under section 58c(a)(5)(B). Thus, section 58c(b)(1)(A)(i) now 
prohibits application of a fee to passengers arriving in the United 
States from Canada, Mexico, or the territories, possessions, or 
adjacent islands of the United States unless those passengers arrive in 
the United States aboard commercial vessels.

Conforming Amendments to be Made to Customs Regulations

    Appropriate regulatory amendments will be published in due course 
to reflect the changes necessitated by the above and other amendments 
to 19 U.S.C. 58c. As the above amendments to the statute are effective 
30 days after the date of enactment of the Act, which occurred on June 
25, 1999, the fees discussed in this document become effective on July 
25, 1999.

    Dated: July 21, 1999.
Wayne Hamilton,
Assistant Commissioner, Office of Finance.
[FR Doc. 99-19070 Filed 7-26-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4820-02-P