CBP Ruling Lays Out Entry Options for Imports from Antarctica

Scientific equipment returned to the U.S. from Antarctica may be eligible for "entry by appraisement" or country of origin marking exemptions, CBP said to Lockheed Martin in a Nov. 17 ruling (here). The company requested CBP's input on the entry procedures for the equipment, which Lockheed handles as the primary logistics contractor for the U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP). "The problem with some of these items for Customs purposes is that it may be difficult or impossible to enter the items under the usual and normal entry procedures because it is not possible to determine their country of origin," said CBP.

The USAP requires that everything brought to Antarctica must ultimately return to the U.S., Lockheed told CBP. "This includes, for example, items that have been degraded by the harsh Antarctic climate, trash, and individual items that were once part of a set," which are generally entered at the Port of Long Beach, said CBP. In the past, for items with a missing country of origin, the port approved use of an "appraisement entry," and then "entered them under country code TF (French Southern Territories and Antarctic Land Territories)," it said.

Appraisement entries are "generally used when the importer has insufficient information as to the value of the imported articles and is unable to obtain such information or to determine the value of the articles for the purpose of making formal entry," said CBP. Lockheed asked CBP about the use of appraisement entries for similar products. CBP previously ruled that there's no provision for blanket approval of appraisement entries, so Lockheed "must apply each time before entering goods under an appraisement entry," the agency said.

Lockheed may also be able to use a country of origin "marking exception" for future similar entries, said CBP. Lockheed only transports the items and never takes title, said CBP. Such marking exemptions are allowed when "an ultimate purchaser, by reason of the character of the article or by reason of the circumstances of its importation, must necessarily know the country of origin of the article even though it is not marked to indicate its origin," it said. In this case the "ultimate purchaser" is the last person in the U.S. who will "receive the article in the form in which it was imported," said CBP. Because the items "were properly marked when they left the owner’s possession" the "ultimate purchaser" would know the country of origin, which satisfies the exemption requirements, said CBP. Lockheed "may list the country of origin as 'TF' for those goods on the invoice and may list the country of origin as 'multi' on the entry form," said CBP.