Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 96 / Wednesday, May 17, 2000 / Rules and Regulations 31261

the Customs territory of the United

States.

EFFECTIVE DATE: May 17, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

William G. Rosoff, Duty and Refund

Determination Branch, (202–927–2077).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Duty-free sales enterprises, also

known as duty-free stores, are Customs

bonded class 9 warehouses that operate

under special procedures that allow

merchandise to be offered for sale to

departing travelers without payment of

Customs duties and taxes, on condition

that the merchandise they purchase will

be exported by and with them from the

Customs territory of the United States.

The statutory authority under which

duty-free stores operate is found in 19

U.S.C. 1555(b). The regulations that

implement procedures for the

administration of these facilities are

contained in §§ 19.35 through 19.39 of

the Customs Regulations (19 CFR 19.35–

19.39).

The Miscellaneous Trade and

Technical Corrections Act of 1999, Pub.

L. 106–36, 113 Stat. 127 (June 25, 1999)

(MTTCA), amended a number of

Customs laws, including the provision

relating to duty-free stores (19 U.S.C.

1555(b)). Specifically, section 2417 of

the MTTCA amended section 1555(b) to

expand upon the places where a dutyfree store could properly be located in

the United States.

Location of a Duty-Free Store; Prior

Law

Section 1555(b) previously required

that a duty-free store be located within

the port of entry from which a purchaser

of duty-free store merchandise departs

from the Customs territory of the United

States, or within 25 statute miles of the

exit point from which the purchaser

departs from the Customs territory.

Section 19.35(b) repeats this

requirement regarding the permissible

location of a duty-free store.

Location of a Duty-Free Store;

Amended Law

Section 2417 of the MTTCA amended

19 U.S.C. 1555(b) to allow a duty-free

store to be located anywhere within a

staffed, Customs-defined port of entry,

or within 25 statute miles of a staffed

port of entry, whether or not it is the

same port through which a purchaser of

duty-free store merchandise will depart

from the Customs territory of the United

States, provided that the purchaser will

depart through an international airport

located in the Customs territory (19

U.S.C. 1555(b)(2)(C)). As such, the dutyfree store that is the subject of the

amendment must be an airport store as

defined in 19 U.S.C. 1555(b)(8)(A).

As is already the case under the law,

the Customs Service, before authorizing

a duty-free store at such a location, must

conclude that reasonable assurance has

been provided that merchandise

purchased at the store will be exported

from the Customs territory. To this end,

a duty-free store that is an airport store

must establish procedures that provide

reasonable assurance that merchandise

sold by the store will be exported from

the Customs territory through an

international airport located within the

Customs territory (19 U.S.C.

1555(b)(2)(C), (3)(A) and (8)(A); 19 CFR

19.36(b); see also 19 CFR 19.36(f) and

19.39(c)).

The statutory amendment was

intended to create additional

opportunities for duty-free stores to

increase sales by increasing the

locations where international travelers

departing from the United States may

make duty-free store purchases.

Accordingly, § 19.35(b), Customs

Regulations, is amended to conform to

the statutory amendment by providing

that an airport store may also be located

within any staffed port of entry, or

within 25 statute miles of a staffed port.

Regulatory Flexibility Act, Executive

Order 12866 and Inapplicability of

Public Notice and Comment and

Delayed Effective Date Requirements

Because the amendment in this final

rule merely conforms the Customs

Regulations to law, notice and public

procedure are inapplicable and

unnecessary pursuant to 5 U.S.C.

553(b)(B), and, pursuant to 5 U.S.C.

553(d)(3), a delayed effective date is not

required. Because no notice of proposed

rulemaking is required, it is not subject

to the provisions of the Regulatory

Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).

Nor does the amendment result in a

‘‘significant regulatory action’’ under

E.O. 12866.

List of Subjects in 19 CFR Part 19

Customs duties and inspection,

Exports, Imports, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements,

Warehouses.

Amendment to the Regulations

Part 19, Customs Regulations (19 CFR

part 19), is amended as set forth below.

PART 19—CUSTOMS WAREHOUSES,

CONTAINER STATIONS, AND

CONTROL OF MERCHANDISE

THEREIN

1. The general authority citation for

part 19 and the relevant sectional

authority citation continue to read as

follows:

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 19 U.S.C. 66, 1202

(General Note 20, Harmonized Tariff

Schedule of the United States), 1624.

* * * * *

Sections 19.35–19.39 also issued under 19

U.S.C. 1555;

* * * * *

2. Section 19.35 is amended by

revising paragraph (b) to read as follows:

§ 19.35 Establishment of duty-free stores

(Class 9 warehouses).

* * * * *

(b) Location. A duty-free store (class 9

warehouse) may be established or

located only:

(1) Within the same port of entry from

which a purchaser of duty-free store

merchandise departs the Customs

territory;

(2) Within 25 statute miles from the

exit point through which a purchaser of

duty-free store merchandise departs the

Customs territory; or

(3) In the case of an airport store,

within any staffed port of entry, or

within 25 statute miles from any staffed

port of entry.

* * * * *

Raymond W. Kelly,

Commissioner of Customs.

Approved: March 30, 2000.

John P. Simpson,

Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury.

[FR Doc. 00–12367 Filed 5–16–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4820–02–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Customs Service

19 CFR Parts 24, 159 and 174

[T.D. 00–32]

RIN 1515–AB76

Interest on Underpayments and

Overpayments of Customs Duties,

Taxes, Fees and Interest

AGENCY: U.S. Customs Service,

Department of the Treasury.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This document adopts as a

final rule interim amendments to the

Customs Regulations which conformed

those regulations to existing statutory

provisions and judicial precedent

regarding the assessment of interest due

to underpayments or overpayments to

Customs of duties, taxes and fees

pertaining to imported merchandise,

including interest on those duties, taxes

and fees. The majority of the conforming

31262 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 96 / Wednesday, May 17, 2000 / Rules and Regulations

changes reflect the terms of section 505

of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended by

the Customs Modernization provisions

of the North American Free Trade

Agreement Implementation Act. The

conforming amendments also reflect

changes to 19 U.S.C. 1505 and to section

321 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C.

1321) regarding interest that were made

by the Miscellaneous Trade and

Technical Corrections Act of 1996.

DATES: Final rule effective May 17,

2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Robert Reiley, Financial Management

Division (202–927–1504).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On October 20, 1999, Customs

published T.D. 99–75 in the Federal

Register (64 FR 56433) setting forth

interim amendments to provisions

within Parts 24, 159 and 174 of the

Customs Regulations (19 CFR Parts 24,

159 and 174) to conform those

regulations to existing statutory

provisions and judicial precedent

regarding the assessment of interest due

to underpayments or overpayments to

Customs of duties, taxes and fees

pertaining to imported merchandise,

including interest on those duties, taxes

and fees.

The majority of the conforming

changes reflected the terms of section

505 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C.

1505), as amended by section 642(a)

within the Customs Modernization

provisions of the North American Free

Trade Agreement Implementation Act

(Public Law 103–182, 107 Stat. 2057).

Under that statute, interest accrues

initially from the date the duties, taxes,

fees and interest are deposited with

Customs in the case of overpayments, or

are required to be deposited with

Customs in the case of underpayments,

but in either case not beyond the date

of liquidation or reliquidation of the

applicable entry or reconciliation. Also

under the statute and applicable judicial

precedent, all bills issued by Customs

for underpayments of duties, taxes, fees

and interest are due within 15 or 30

days of issuance.

The conforming interim amendments

also reflected other changes to 19 U.S.C.

1505 and to section 321 of the Tariff Act

of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1321) regarding

interest that were made by sections 2(a)

and 3(a)(12) of the Miscellaneous Trade

and Technical Corrections Act of 1996

(Public Law 104–295, 110 Stat. 3514).

The interim regulatory amendments

contained in T.D. 99–75 went into effect

on October 20, 1999, and the notice

prescribed a public comment period

which closed on December 20, 1999. No

comments were received during the

prescribed public comment period.

After further consideration, Customs has

determined that the interim regulatory

amendments should be adopted as a

final rule without change.

Executive Order 12866

This document does not meet the

criteria for a ‘‘significant regulatory

action ’’as specified in E.O. 12866.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

Pursuant to the provisions of the

Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601

et seq.), it is certified that the

amendments will not have a significant

economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities. The

amendments conform the Customs

Regulations to the terms of statutory

provisions, and to the principles

reflected in judicial decisions, that are

currently in effect. In addition, in some

cases, the amendments conform the

regulatory provisions to longstanding

Customs administrative procedures and

practices that confer benefits on, or

otherwise militate in favor of, the

general public. Accordingly, the

amendments are not subject to the

regulatory analysis or other

requirements of 5 U.S.C. 603 and 604.

List of Subjects

19 CFR Part 24

Accounting, Claims, Customs duties

and inspection, Interest, Taxes, User

fees, Wages.

19 CFR Part 159

Computer technology, Customs duties

and inspection, Entry, Imports,

Liquidation.

19 CFR Part 174

Administrative practice and

procedure, Customs duties and

inspection, Protests.

Amendments to the Regulations

For the reasons stated in the

preamble, under the authority of 19

U.S.C. 66 and 1624 the interim rule

amending 19 CFR Parts 24, 159 and 174

which was published at 64 FR 56433 on

October 20, 1999, is adopted as a final

rule without change.

Raymond W. Kelly,

Commissioner of Customs.

Approved: April 26, 2000.

John P. Simpson,

Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury.

[FR Doc. 00–12364 Filed 5–16–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4820–02–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Customs Service

19 CFR Part 101

[T.D. 00–35]

Extension of Port Limits of Puget

Sound, WA

AGENCY: Customs Service, Treasury.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This document amends the

Customs Regulations pertaining to the

field organization of Customs by

extending the geographical limits of the

consolidated port of Puget Sound,

Washington. This change is being made

as part of Customs continuing program

to obtain more efficient use of its

personnel, facilities and resources and

to provide better service to carriers,

importers and the general public.

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 16, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Betsy Passuth, Office of Field

Operations, Mission Support Service,

202–927–0795.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking was

published in the Federal Register (64

FR 61232) of November 10, 1999, which

proposed to extend the geographical

limits of the consolidated port of Puget

Sound by extending and redefining the

boundaries of Tacoma.

The description of Tacoma within the

description of the Puget Sound port was

proposed to be extended to include two

industrial parks which have new

facilities for clearing, storing and

forwarding imported merchandise and

require the services of Customs

personnel.

Analysis of Comment

One comment was received in

response to the proposal. This comment

strongly supported the proposal to

extend and redefine the boundaries of

the port of Puget Sound, Washington.

Conclusion

In light of the favorable comment

received and after further consideration

of the matter, Customs has decided to

proceed with the extension of the

geographical limits of the port of Puget

Sound, Washington.

New Port Limits

As amended, the geographical area

within the boundaries of the

consolidated port of Puget Sound is as

follows: