Air Commerce; Airport; Landing Rights; Security Area; Reports; Employment Changes; 19 C.F.R. 122.12; 19 C.F.R. 122.14; 19 C.F.R. 122.182.

HQ 112650 September 1, 1993 AIR-3-03 CO:R:IT:C 112650 JBW CATEGORY: Carriers Mr. Thomas E. Richardson Federal Express Senior Trade Regulatory Specialist International Regulatory Services 2600 Thousand Oaks Boulevard Suite 3400 Memphis, TN 38118-5790 RE: Air Commerce; Airport; Landing Rights; Security Area; Reports; Employment Changes; 19 C.F.R. 122.12; 19 C.F.R. 122.14; 19 C.F.R. 122.182. Dear Mr. Richardson: This letter is in response to your letters of March 26, 1993, and June 28, 1993, in which you ask whether the Customs Service at landing rights airports may require quarterly employee status reports under 19 C.F.R. 122.12(d) (1993). The issue underlying this inquiry arose from the assessment of a liquidated damage claim against Federal Express. We note at the outset that the Customs Service may not issue a ruling letter on an act or activity to which the Customs laws apply that a field office has acted upon and that is final in nature. 19 C.F.R. 177.1(a)(2)(ii) & (d)(3). Therefore, the effect of this letter is prospective only. FACTS: Federal Express is an air courier that operates in both domestic and international service out of numerous airports in the United States. As part of this operation, employees of Federal Express are granted access to Customs security areas. The Customs Service in Dallas, Texas, issued a liquidated damage claim against Federal Express for failing to file a quarterly report on the status of employees who hold identification cards issued by Customs to permit access to Customs security areas. You state that Dallas requires a quarterly report even when no employment change occurs in that quarter. You state that Customs supports this requirement by citing 19 C.F.R. 122.12(d). Federal Express has paid a mitigated damage amount to settle the Dallas case. ISSUE: Whether the Customs Service at landing rights airports may require the filing of quarterly employee status reports under 19 C.F.R. 122.12(d). LAW AND ANALYSIS: The Customs Regulations establish three classes of airports for purposes of administering customs laws and regulations. 19 C.F.R. Subpart B. The first landing of a private or commercial aircraft entering the United States from a foreign area must be at an international airport, unless permission to land at a landing rights or user fee airport has been granted. 19 C.F.R. 122.33(a). Regulations governing the operation of international airports are found in 19 C.F.R. 122.12 and are applicable only to those airports listed in 19 C.F.R. 122.13. Grounds for denial or withdrawal of permission to land at landing rights or user fee airports are provided in 19 C.F.R. 122.14(d). Rules governing the operation of Customs security areas in all classes of airports are found in subpart S of the part 122 of the Customs Regulations. Under these rules, employees of air carriers that have unescorted access to Customs security areas must display or produce on demand an identification card, strip, or seal issued by the Customs Service. 19 C.F.R. 122.182(a). Employers are required to notify the district director in writing at the time of changes in employment that result in an employee no longer requiring access to a Customs security area for an extended period of time. 19 C.F.R. 122.182(g). The employer is required to return the identification card, strip, or seal to Customs, and the notification is required to include information regarding the disposition of the identification card, strip, or seal. Id. Finally, the regulations require that a summary be filed quarterly or at shorter intervals as required by the district director of changes in employment and disposition of identification credentials issued by Customs. Id. Dallas-Fort Worth Airport is a landing rights airport. We agree that the regulations governing the operation of international airports found under 19 C.F.R. 122.12 are not applicable to Customs operations in Dallas-Fort Worth. Thus, it is incorrect to require the filing of an employee status report under 19 C.F.R. 122.12(d) at a landing rights airport. However, the regulations provide that a quarterly summary be filed for changes in employment status under 19 C.F.R. 122.182(g), and this provision is applicable to the operation at Dallas-Fort Worth or other landing rights airports. This quarterly summary required under the regulations is intended only to summarize information already provided to Customs at the time of changes in employment. Consequently, if no changes in employment have occurred or have been reported, the regulations do not require the filing of the quarterly summary. HOLDING: The Customs Service at landing rights airports may not require the filing of quarterly employee status reports under 19 C.F.R. 122.12(d). However, the regulations provide that a quarterly summary be filed for changes in employment under 19 C.F.R. 122.182(g), and this provision is applicable to the operation of landing rights airports. Sincerely, Acting Chief