Newly Released CBP HQ Rulings on Feb. 13
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated Feb. 13 with the following headquarters rulings (ruling revocations and modifications will be detailed elsewhere in a separate article as they are announced in the Customs Bulletin):
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H321332: 46 U.S.C. § 55102; 19 C.F.R. § 4.80b(a); New and Different Product; LNG Bunker Fuel
| Ruling: (1) The proposed liquefaction operations would result in the creation of a new and different product. (2) The proposed transportation by a non-coastwise-qualified vessel would not be a violation of the Jones Act. |
| Issues: (1) Whether liquified natural gas for use as marine bunker fuel constitutes a new and different product from the pipeline natural gas from which it is produced, (2) and whether the LNG’s proposed transportation by a non-coastwise-qualified vessel would constitute a violation of 46 U.S.C. § 55102. |
| Item: Bunker fuel for marine vessels. Bunker fuel is defined as “any of various fuel oils used especially on ships.” It is a broad category that includes marine gas oil, marine diesel oil, intermediate fuel oil, marine fuel oil and heavy fuel oil. |
| Reason: During the liquefaction process, multiple components are removed from the gas -- components that are separate and independently marketable products. The process performed on the Pipeline Natural Gas at issue here is clearly more extensive than simple liquefication or purification. |
| Ruling Date: Feb. 7, 2023 |