§ 4.16 Entry and clearance on board vessels. (a) A master, owner, or agent of a vessel described in the Act of June 16, 1937," who desires that arrival may be reported, entry made, and clearance obtained on board the vessel shall file with the district director of customs an application on customs Form 3171 and a bond on customs Form 7567 in such penal sum as the district director of customs deems sufficient but not less than $1,000, or the usual term bond on customs Form 7569. (b) If the application is approved, the collector of customs or such deputy collector of customs as may be designated by him shall receive the report of arrival and the entry of the vessel and grant it clearance on board the vessel. (c) For the purposes of the said act the term "at night" shall include the hours from 5 p.m. of one day to 8 a.m. of the following day, and the term "holiday" shall include only national holldays. (50 Stat. 303; 19 U.S.C. 1435b) [28 F.R. 14596, Dec. 31, 1963, as amended by T.D. 68-247, 33 F.R. 15021, Oct. 8, 1968] 29 "In order to expedite the dispatch of vessels carrying passengers operating on regular schedules and arriving at night or on a Sunday or a holiday at a port in the United States at which such vessel is required by law to report arrival and make entry and from which it is required to obtain a clearance, the collector of customs, or any deputy collector of customs designated by him, if the vessel departs during the same night, Sunday, or holiday on which it arrives may, under such regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury, receive the report of arrival and entry of such vessel from and give clearance for such vessel to the master or other proper officer thereof on board such vessel: Provided, That bond, as prescribed in section 1451 of this title, is given to secure reimbursement to the Government for the compensation of, and expenses incurred by, such customs officers in performing such services, who shall be entitled to rates of compensation fixed on the same basis and payable in the same manner and upon the same terms and conditions as in the case of customs officers and employees assigned to lading or unlading at night or on Sunday or a holiday." (19 U.S.C. 1435b. Sec. 102, Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1946; 3 CFR, 1946 Supp., Ch. IV) nate against American vessels provided for in subsections 2 and 3 of paragraph J, section IV, Tariff Act of 1913, as amended by the act of March 4, 1915 (19 U.S.C. 130, 131), shall be enforced only in pursuance of specific instructions issued and published from time to time by the Secretary of the Treasury or such other officer as the Secretary may designate. (See also §§ 4.20 (c) and 159.42 of this chapter.) [28 FR 14596, Dec. 31, 1963, as amended by T.D. 73-175, 38 FR 17444, July 2, 1973] TONNAGE TAX AND LIGHT MONEY § 4.20 Tonnage taxes. (a) Except as specified in §4.21, regular tonnage tax or duty" of 2 cents Upon vessels which shall be entered in the United States from any foreign port or place there shall be paid duties as follows: On vessels built within the United States but belonging wholly or in part to subjects of foreign powers, at the rate of thirty cents per ton; on other vessels not of the United States, at the rate of fifty cents per ton, and any vessel any officer of which shall not be a citizen of the United States shall pay a tax of fifty cents per ton. "A tonnage duty of 2 cents per ton, not to exceed in the aggregate 10 cents per ton in any one year, is imposed at each entry on all vessels which shall be entered in any port of the United States from any foreign port or place in North America, Central America, the West Indies Islands, the Bahama Islands, the Bermuda Islands, or the coast of South America bordering on the Caribbean Sea, or Newfoundland, and a duty of 6 cents per ton, not to exceed 30 cents per ton per annum, is imposed at each entry on all vessels which shall be entered in any port of the United States from any other foreign port, not, however, to include vessels in distress or not engaged in trade. "Upon every vessel not of the United States, which shall be entered in one district from another district, having on board goods, wares, or merchandise taken in one district to be delivered in another district, duties shall be paid at the rate of 50 cents per ton: Provided, That no such duty shall be required where a vessel owned by citizens of the United States, but not a vessel of the United States, after entering an American port, shall, before leaving the same, be registered as a vessel of the United States. On all foreign vessels which shall be entered in the United States from any foreign port or place, to and with which vessels of the United States are not ordinarily permitted to enter and trade, there shall be paid a duty at the rate of $2 per ton; and none of the duties on tonnage above-mentioned shall be levied on the vessels of any foreign nation if the President of (Footnote continued on following page.) per net ton, not to exceed in the aggregate 10 cents per net ton in any 1 year, shall be imposed at each entry on all vessels which shall be entered in any port of the United States from any foreign port or place in North America, Central America, the West Indies, the Bahama Islands, the Bermuda Islands, Newfoundland, or the coast of South America bordering on the Caribbean Sea (considered to include the mouth of the Orinoco River), and regular tonnage tax of 6 cents per net ton, not to exceed 30 cents per net ton per annum, shall be imposed at each entry on all vessels which shall be entered in any port of the United States from any other foreign port. In determining the port of origin of a voyage to the United States and the rate of tonnage tax, the following shall be used as a guide: (1) When the vessel has proceeded in ballast from a port to which the 6-cent rate is applicable to a port to which the 2-cent rate applies and there has laden cargo or taken passengers, tonnage tax upon entry in the United States shall be assessed at the 2-cent rate. (2) The same rate shall be applied in a case in which the vessel has transported cargo or passengers from a 6-cent port to a 2-cent port when all such cargo or passengers have been unladen or discharged at the 2-cent port, without regard to whether the vessel thereafter has proceeded to the United States in ballast the United States shall be satisfied that the discriminating or countervailing duties of such foreign nations, so far as they operate to the disadvantage of the United States, have been abolished. Any rights or privileges acquired by any foreign nation under the laws and treaties of the United States relative to the duty of tonnage on vessels shall not be impaired; and any vessel any officer of which shall not be a citizen of the United States shall pay a tax of 50 cents per ton." (46 U.S.C. 121) or with cargo or passengers laden or taken on board at the 2-cent port. (3) The 6-cent rate shall be applied when the vessel proceeds from a 2-cent port to a 6-cent port en route to the United States under circumstances similar to subparagraph (1) or (2) of this paragraph. (4) If the vessel arrives in the United States with cargo or passengers taken at two or more ports to which different rates are applicable, tonnage tax shall be collected at the higher rate. (b) The tonnage year shall be computed from the date of the first entry of the vessel concerned, without regard to the rate of the payment made at that entry, and shall expire on the day preceding the corresponding date of the following year." (c) A vessel shall also be subject on every entry from a foreign port or place, whether or not regular tonnage tax is payable on the particular entry, to the payment of a special tonnage tax" and to the payment of light money " at the rates and under the circumstances specified in the following table: "7 There may be five payments at the maximum (6-cent) and five at the minimum (2-cent) rate during a tonnage year, so that the maximum assessment of tonnage duty may amount to 40 cents per net ton for the tonnage year of a vessel engaged in alternating trade. 38 See footnote 36. 30 "A duty of 50 cents per ton, to be denominated 'light money', shall be levied and collected on all vessels not of the United States which may enter the ports of the United States. Such light money shall be levied and collected in the same manner and under the same regulations as the tonnage duties: Provided, That no such duty shall be required where a vessel owned by citizens of the United States, but not a vessel of the United States, after entering an American port, shall, before leaving the same, be registered as a vessel of the United States." (46 U.S.C. 128) (1) If all the officers are citizens.. (ii) If any officer is not a citizen.. Undocumented vessels which are owned by citizens.. Vessels of Phillippine registry, owned by citizens of the Phillippine Islands... 1. Of nations whose vessels are exempted from special tax or light money.. 3. All others: $0.02 or $0.06 This does not apply on the first arrival of a vessel in a port of the United States from a foreign or intercoastal voyage if all the officers who are not citizens are below the grade of master and are filling vacancies which occurred on the voyage. This special tax and light money do not apply if the vessel is documented as a vessel of the United States before leaving the port. This does not apply if the vessel is under a certificate of protection and the owner or master files with the collector the oath required by 46 U. S. C. 129. An unrecorded bill of sale is not such a document as will exempt a vessel from the payment of light money under 46 U.S.C. 128, and the recording of such bill of sale after the arrival of the vessel is not sufficient to relieve it from the payment of the tax. This is to be collected on each entry of a vessel from such a port or place. (d) Tonnage tax shall be imposed upon a vessel even though she enters a port of the United States only for orders. (e) The fact that a vessel passes through the Canal Zone does not affect the rate of tonnage tax otherwise applicable to the vessel. (f) For the purpose of computing tonnage tax, the net tonnage of a vessel stated in the vessel's marine document shall be accepted unless (1) such statement is manifestly wrong, in which case the net tonnage shall be estimated, pending admeasurement of the vessel, or the tonnage reported for her by any recognized classification society may be accepted, or (2) an appendix is attached to the marine document showing a net tonnage ascertained under the so-called "British rules" or the rules of any foreign country which have been accepted as substantially in accord with the rules of the United States, in which case the tonnage so shown may be accepted and the date the appendix was issued shall be noted on the tonnage tax certificate, Customs Form 1002, and on the master's oath, Customs Form 1300. For the pur pose of computing tonnage tax on a vessel with a tonnage mark and dual tonnages, the higher of the net tonnages stated in the vessel's marine document or tonnage certificate shall be used unless the Customs Officer concerned is satisfiled by report of the boarding officer, statement or certificate of the master, or otherwise that the tonnage mark was not submerged at the time of arrival. Whether the vessel has a tonnage mark, and if so, whether the mark was submerged on arrival, shall be noted on Customs Form 1300 by the boarding officer. (g) The decision of the Commissioner of Customs is final on any question of interpretation relating to the collection of tonnage tax or to the refund of such tax when collected erroneously or illegally, and any question of doubt shall be referred to him for instructions. (R.S. 4153, as amended, secs. 2, 4, 28 Stat. 743, as amended, R.S. 4154, as amended, 4219, as amended, 4225, as amended, 4181, as amended; 46 U.S.C. 77, 78, 79, 81, 83-83k, 121, 128, 221) [28 F.R. 14596, Dec. 31, 1963, as amended by T.D. 68-216, Aug. 31, 1968; T.D. 61, 36 F.R. 12603, July 2, 1971] § 4.21 Exemptions from tonnage taxes. (a) Tonnage taxes and light money shall be suspended in whole or in part whenever the President by proclamation shall so direct. (b) A vessel shall not be liable to the payment of tonnage tax or light money merely because (1) It comes into port for bunkers (including water), sea stores, or ship's stores; transacts no other business in the port; and departs within 24 hours after its arrival. (2) It arrives in distress, even though required to enter. (3) It is brought into port by orders of United States naval authorities and transacts no business while in port other than the taking on of bunkers, sea stores, or ship's stores. (4) It is a vessel of war or other vessel which is owned by, or under the complete control and management of the United States or the government of a foreign country, and which is not carrying passengers or merchandise in trade or, if in ballast, which is not arriving from a foreign port during the usual course of its employment as a vessel engaged in trade. (5) It is a yacht or other pleasure vessel not carrying passengers or merchandise in trade. (6) It is engaged exclusively in scientific activities. (7) It is engaged exclusively in laying or repairing cables. (8) It is engaged in whaling or other fisheries, even though it may have entered a foreign port for fuel or supplies, if it did not carry passengers or merchandise in trade. (9) It is a passenger vessel making three trips or more a week between a port of the United States and a foreign port. (10) It is used exclusively as a ferry boat, including a car ferry. (11) It is a tug under frontier enrollment and license, when towing vessels which are required to make entry. (12) It is a vessel under frontier enrollment and license which has touched at an intermediate foreign port or ports during a coastwise voyage. (13) It enters otherwise than by sea from a foreign port at which tonnage or lighthouse dues or equivalent taxes are not imposed on vessels of the United States." (14) It is owned by a citizen of the Philippine Islands and is documented by the Philippine Government. (15) It is a vessel entering directly from the Virgin Islands (U.S.), the Canal Zone, American Samoa, the islands of Guam, Wake, Midway, Canton, or Kingman Reef, or Guantanamo Bay Naval Station. (16) It is a vessel making regular daily trips between any port of the United States and any port in Canada wholly upon interior waters not navigable to the ocean, except that such a vessel shall pay tonnage taxes upon her first arrival in each calendar year. (Sec. 441, 46 Stat. 712, as amended, R.S. 4214, as amended. 4219, as amended, 4220, 2793, as amended, 2792, as amended, 4221, 4225, as amended, 4226, sec. 1, 39 Stat. 286, 36 Stat. 234, R.S. 4227; 19 U.S.C. 1441, 46 U.S.C. 103. 121-125, 128-130, 132, 135) [28 F.R. 14596, Dec. 31, 1963, as amended by T.D. 72-264, 37 F.R. 20317, Sept. 29, 1972] (R.S. 4219, as amended, 4225, as amended, 4228, as amended; 46 U.S.C. 121, 128, 141) [28 F.R. 14596, Dec. 31, 1963, as amended by T.D. 56195, 29 F.R. 7990, June 24, 1964; T.D. 5613,29 F.R. 15949, Dec. 1, 1964: T.D. 56421, 30 F.R. 7599, June 11, 1965; T.D. 56440, 30 F.R. 9006, July 17, 1965; T.D. 56530, 30 F.R. 14411, Nov. 18, 1965; T.D. 66-11, 31 F.R. 537, Jan. 15, 1966; T.D. 66-67, 31 F.R. 5260, Apr. 1. 1966; T.D. 66-106, 31 F.R. 7512, May 25, 1966; T.D. 66-166, 31 F.R. 10886, Aug. 16, 1966; T.D. 66-235, 31 F.R. 13755, Oct. 26, 1966; T.D. 66-237, 31 F.R. 13944, Nov. 1, 1966; T.D. 66264, 31 F.R. 14973, Nov. 29, 1966; T.D. 68-100, 33 F.R. 5518. Apr. 9, 1968; T.D. 70-21, 35 F.R. 805, Jan. 21, 1970; T.D. 70-22, 35 F.R. 805, Jan. 21, 1970; T.D. 70-112, 35 F.R. 7299, May 9. 1970; T.D. 70-113, 35 F.R. 7299, May 9, 1970; T.D. 70-117, 35 F.R. 7645, May 16, 1970; T.D. 70-147. 35 F.R. 10586, June 30, 1970; T.D. 70156, 35 F.R. 11119, July 10, 1970; T.D. 70–171. 35 F.R. 12272, July 31, 1970; T.D. 70-204, 35 F.R. 15068, Sept. 29, 1970; T.D. 70-211, 35 F.R. 15637, Oct. 6, 1970; T.D. 70-234, 35 F.R. 17042. Nov. 5. 1970; T.D. 71-80, 36 F.R. 4979. Mar. 16. 1971; T.D. 71-94, 36 F.R. 6420, Apr. 3. 1971; T.D. 72-254, 37 F.R. 20025, Sept. 23. 1972; T.D. 73-95, 38 FR 9009, Apr. 9, 1973; T.D. 73-123, 38 FR 11077, May 4, 1973] Certificate of payment. § 4.23 Upon each payment of tonnage tax or light money, the collector of customs shall give to the master of the vessel a certificate on customs Form 1002. This Icertificate shall constitute the official evidence of such payment and shall be presented upon each entry during the tonnage year in order to establish the date of commencement of the tonnage year and to insure against overpayment. In the absence of such certificate, evidence of payment of tonnage tax shall be obtained from the collector of customs to whom the payment was made. § 4.24 Application for refund of tonnage tax. (a) The authority to make refunds in accordance with section 26 of the Act of June 26, 1884 (46 U.S.C. 8) of regular tonnage taxes described in § 4.20 (a) is delegated to the several Regional Commissioners of Customs. If any doubt exists, the case shall first be referred to Headquarters, U.S. Customs Service for advice. (b) Each application for refund of regular or special tonnage tax or light money prepared in accordance wtih this section shall be filled with the Customs officer to whom payment was made. After verification of the pertinent facts asserted in the claim, the application shall be forwarded with any necessary report or recommendation to the Regional Commissioner of Customs. Applications for refund of special tonnage tax and light money (see § 4.20 (c)) with the reports and recommendations submitted therewith shall be forwarded by the Regional Commissioner to the Commissioner of Customs for decision. Any refund authorized by the Regional Commissioner of Customs under paragraph (a) of this section or any refund of special tonnage tax or light money authorized by the Commissioner of Customs shall be made by the appropriate Customs officer. The records of tonnage tax shall be clearly noted to show each refund authorized. (c) The application shall be a direct request for the refund of a definite sum, showing concisely the reasons therefor, the nationality and name of the vessel, and the date, place, and amount of each |