[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2648 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2648

 To amend the Tariff Act of 1930 to clarify the rules for treatment of 
  international travel merchandise and bonded warehouses and staging 
                                 areas.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 29, 1999

   Mr. Shaw introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Tariff Act of 1930 to clarify the rules for treatment of 
  international travel merchandise and bonded warehouses and staging 
                                 areas.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 555 of the 
Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1555) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(c) International Travel Merchandise.--
            ``(1) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
                    ``(A) the term `international travel merchandise' 
                means duty-free or domestic merchandise which is placed 
                on board aircraft on international flights for sale to 
                passengers, but which is not merchandise incidental to 
                the operation of a duty-free sales enterprise;
                    ``(B) the term `staging area' is an area controlled 
                by the proprietor of a bonded warehouse outside of the 
                physical parameters of the bonded warehouse in which 
                manipulation of international travel merchandise in 
                carts occurs;
                    ``(C) the term `duty-free merchandise' means 
                merchandise on which the liability for payment of duty 
                or tax imposed by reason of importation has been 
                deferred pending exportation from the customs 
                territory;
                    ``(D) the term `manipulation' means the 
                repackaging, cleaning, sorting, or removal from or 
                placement on carts of international travel merchandise; 
                and
                    ``(E) the term `cart' means a portable container 
                holding international travel merchandise on an aircraft 
                for exportation.
            ``(2) Bonded warehouse for international travel 
        merchandise.--The Secretary shall by regulation establish a 
        separate class of bonded warehouse for the storage and 
        manipulation of international travel merchandise pending its 
        placement on board aircraft departing for foreign destinations.
            ``(3) Rules for treatment of international travel 
        merchandise and bonded warehouses and staging areas.--(A) The 
        proprietor of a bonded warehouse established for the storage 
        and manipulation of international travel merchandise shall give 
        a bond in such sum and with such sureties as may be approved by 
        the Secretary of the Treasury to secure the Government against 
        any loss or expense connected with or arising from the deposit, 
        storage, or manipulation of merchandise in such warehouse. The 
        warehouse proprietor's bond shall also secure the manipulation 
        of international travel merchandise in a staging area.
            ``(B) A transfer of liability from the international 
        carrier to the warehouse proprietor occurs when the carrier 
        assigns custody of international travel merchandise to the 
        warehouse proprietor for purposes of entry into warehouse or 
        for manipulation in the staging area.
            ``(C) A transfer of liability from the warehouse proprietor 
        to the international carrier occurs when the bonded warehouse 
        proprietor assigns custody of international travel merchandise 
        to the carrier.
            ``(D) The Secretary is authorized to promulgate regulations 
        to require the proprietor and the international carrier to keep 
        records of the disposition of any cart brought into the United 
        States and all merchandise on such cart.''.
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