CBP Rules Container Monitoring Devices Considered IIT Accessories
Monitoring devices used within refrigerated containers can be considered as an accessory of an Instrument of International Traffic (IIT), said CBP in a June 4 ruling, HQ H251366. As a result, such devices may be imported without a duty payment, said CBP. The ruling came in response to a Hapag-Lloyd request that the agency weigh in on the dutiability of the devices. The devices are used to provide the shipper with temperature information for containers.
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The container monitoring devices are placed in the refrigerated containers, also known as reefer containers, in the U.S., for transportation to Antwerp, Belgium. The devices are then removed from the containers and placed on vessels returning to the U.S. as “hand-carried” cargo, the company told CBP. Whether the containers are actually IITs is a necessary first question in determining if the devices can be considered accessories, the agency said. CBP concluded that the containers are in fact IITs, based on their repeated use and substantial construction.
CBP regulations allow for an accessory to a container to be imported into the U.S. without payment of duty if the container is of foreign production; the container is an IIT and the accessory is imported into the U.S. separately from the IIT. Because the monitoring devices in question meet those requirements, they are allowable for import without duty as a IIT accessory, CBP ruled. "However, the port director must be satisfied that the importer of the subject accessory had the declared intention of using the accessory with the subject container of foreign production which is an instrument of international traffic, at the time of importation," the agency said.