CBP Finds Collapsible Packing Crates to be Instruments of International Traffic

Reusable collapsible packing crates used by Yusen Logistics are considered Instruments of International Traffic (IIT), CBP said in a Jan. 9 ruling. Yusen sought CBP's opinion on whether the packing crates can be considered IITs and therefore exempted from entry filing requirements and duty payments. The ruling, HQ H234925, said the Japanese-made wood and steel crates meet the requirements for IIT designation.

The packing crates are valued at $1,156.83 and are used about 12 times per year, Yusen said in its request to CBP. Under 19 CFR Section 10.41a(a)(1), CBP can designate "lift vans, cargo vans, shipping tanks, skids, pallets, caul boards, and cores for textile fabrics, arriving (whether loaded or empty) in use or to be used in the shipment of merchandise in international traffic" as IITs as long as they are capable of repeated use. Yusen's crates, which are used to transport automobile parts, therefore meet this standard, said CBP.