CBP Finds Individual Package Tracking Devices to Fall Outside IIT Designation
The use of tracking devices within individual packages imported into the U.S. are not considered to be an accessory of an Instrument of International Traffic (IIT), said CBP in a July 2 ruling, HQ H236467. Therefore, such devices would be subject to entry and any applicable duty payment, said CBP. The ruling came in response to a FedEx request that the agency weigh in on the dutiability of tracking devices in multiple scenarios. The tracking devices are used to provide FedEx with location, temperature, light exposure, humidity and barometric pressure information from within a container or individual package.
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When the monitoring device is placed within an individual package, it then becomes an accessory of the cargo, rather than an accessory of the IIT, the agency said. "We note that in order for the monitoring device to maintain its 'accessory' status, the monitoring device must be attached to the IIT itself," said CBP. "If the monitoring device is placed inside a package which is then placed in an IIT, it will no longer be considered an accessory to the IIT."
CBP also found that such devices may only be considered as accessories of IITs if they are attached within a foreign-made container, and not the U.S.-made containers that FedEx inquired about. Regulations in 19 CFR Section 10.41 say that accessories of foreign-produced IITs are allowed "to be entered separately, without payment of duty" and if the devices were attached within the FedEx containers in question, entry and duty may be necessary, said CBP.