Vessel Repair; LASH Barges; Liquidation; 19 U.S.C. 1466(h); ROBERT E. LEE; Entry No. 1001-81-515-217-2.

HQ 111999 July 22, 1992 VES-13-18 CO:R:IT:C 111999 JBW CATEGORY: Carriers Deputy Assistant Regional Commissioner Classification and Value Division ATTN: Regional Vessel Repair Liquidation Unit 6 World Trade Center New York, New York 10048-002980 RE: Vessel Repair; LASH Barges; Liquidation; 19 U.S.C. 1466(h); ROBERT E. LEE; Entry No. 1001-81-515-217-2. Dear Sir: This letter is in response to your memorandum that forwards for our review and ruling the above-referenced vessel repair entry. FACTS: The record reflects that the ROBERT E. LEE, a Lighter Aboard Ship (LASH) mother vessel, arrived in the port of New York on September 3, 1981. A single vessel repair entry was filed on September 8, 1981, indicating foreign repairs made to LASH barges carried by the mother vessel. Two supplemental vessel repair entries were filed, one on September 21, 1981, and the other on March 15, 1982. On November 23, 1981, the vessel operator, Waterman Steamship Corporation, filed a document in which it sought relief from duties on the foreign repairs for specified barges. The case lay dormant from 1982 until October 21, 1988, when Customs liquidated the entry and issued its bill, 40941910, for the duties liquidated. In a letter dated January 4, 1989, Waterman noted that it had not received a ruling on its application prior to liquidation. In response to another bill, Waterman again noted its failure to receive a ruling despite the filing of a "petition for remission" on November 23, 1981. The entry was forwarded to the Carrier Rulings Branch for a ruling on July 11, 1990. Because of the length of time that elapsed between the date that the vessel owner filed its application for relief and the date of this notice, and because of the failure of Customs to respond to this application, and notwithstanding the failure of the vessel owner to file its application within the time periods established by the regulations, we determined that these circumstances give rise to an inadvertence by Customs sufficient to require correction of the liquidation. Headquarters Ruling Letter 111165, dated November 6, 1990. We stated that liquidation of this entry should be suspended, and interest accrued against the pending liquidation should be cancelled. Id. We also stated that because of omissions in the record, we were unable to rule on the dutiability of certain repairs made to the barges. Id. Your present transmittal now forwards the missing information. ISSUE: Whether the cost of repairs made to the LASH barges are subject to duty under 19 U.S.C. 1466. LAW AND ANALYSIS: Title 19, United States Code, section 1466, provides in pertinent part for payment of duty in the amount of fifty percent ad valorem on the cost of foreign repairs to vessels documented under the laws of the United States to engage in foreign or coastwise trade, or vessels intended to engage in such trade. On August 20, 1990, the statute was amended to exempt from duty equipment purchased for or repairs made to LASH barges documented under the laws of the United States and utilized as cargo containers. 19 U.S.C. 1466(h). The statute applied this amendment to "any entry made before the date of enactment of this Act that is not liquidated on the date of enactment of this Act...." Customs and Trade Act of 1990, 484E, Pub. L. No. 101- 382, 104 Stat. 629, 709-10 (1990). This office has held that for purposes of the retroactive application of 19 U.S.C. 1466(h), the benefits of said legislation will inure to those entries that were not finally liquidated (i.e., for which no timely protest was filed or court action initiated) on or before August 20, 1990. Applying these rules, we determine that the cost of repairs made to the LASH barges under consideration are not subject to duty under 19 U.S.C. 1466. The LASH vessels are United States vessels that are used as cargo containers. Moreover, because of the procedural difficulties noted in our earlier ruling, this entry has not been finally liquidated. See Headquarters Ruling Letter 111165. The entry therefore should be accorded the benefits of the exemption for LASH barges found in 19 U.S.C. 1466(h). HOLDING: The cost of repairs made to the LASH barges under consideration are not subject to duty under 19 U.S.C. 1466. Sincerely, B. James Fritz Chief Carrier Rulings Branch