{"data":{"id":"us/19-cfr-10.59","jurisdiction":"us","citation":"19 CFR 10.59","heading":"Exemption from customs duties and internal-revenue tax.","body":"(a) A vessel shall not be considered to be actually engaged in the foreign trade, or in trade between the Atlantic and Pacific ports of the United States, or between the United States and its possessions, or between Hawaii and any other part of the United States or between Alaska and any other part of the United States, as the case may be, for the purpose of withdrawing supplies free of duty and internal-revenue tax pursuant to section 309(a), Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, unless it is—\n(1) Operating on a regular schedule in a class of trade which entitles it to the privilege;\n(2) Actually transporting passengers or merchandise to or from a foreign port, a port on the opposite coast of the United States, or between a port in a possession of the United States and a port in the United States or in another of its possessions, or between Hawaii and any other part of the United States or between Alaska and any other part of the United States;\n(3) Departing in ballast (without cargo or passengers) from one port for another, domestic or foreign, for the purpose of lading passengers or cargo at the port of destination for carriage in a class of trade specified in section 309(a), Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, for which class of trade the vessel is suitable and substantially ready for service with necessary fittings, outfit, and equipment already installed on its departure in ballast, and from which it is not diverted prior to carriage of passengers or cargo in such trade. A written declaration of the owner or agent of the vessel may be required in connection with the withdrawal, certifying to the vessel's suitableness and substantial readiness with necessary fittings, outfit, and equipment already installed on its departure in ballast for service in a class of trade specified in section 309 and agreeing to notify the port director if it is laid up or diverted from such class of trade prior to the carriage of cargo or passengers in such trade.\n(b) A withdrawal of articles may not be made under section 309, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, for use on a trial or test trip of a vessel preparatory to its actually engaging in trades.\n(c) The classes of articles which may be withdrawn as provided for by section 309, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, include the containers in which the articles are withdrawn and laden even though for tariff purposes the containers are classifiable separately from their contents, except unusual containers within the purview of General Rule of Interpretation 5, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).\n(d) For the purpose of allowing the privileges of section 309, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, to aircraft as provided for therein, an aircraft shall be deemed to be a vessel within the meaning of each provision of this section and of §§ 10.60 through 10.64 which may be applied to aircraft.\n(e) A documented vessel with a fisheries license endorsement and foreign fishing vessels of 5 net tons or over may be allowed to withdraw distilled spirits (including alcohol), wines, and beer conditionally free under section 309, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1309), if the port director is satisfied from the quantity requested, in the light of (1) whether the vessel is employed in substantially continuous fishing activities, and (2) the vessel's complement, that none of the withdrawn articles is intended to be removed from the vessel in, or otherwise returned to, the United States without the payment of duty or tax. Such withdrawal shall be permitted only after the approval by the port director of a special written application, in triplicate, on Customs Form 5125, of the withdrawer, supported by a bond on Customs Form 301, containing the bond conditions set forth in § 113.62 of this chapter executed by the withdrawer. Such application shall be filed with Customs Form 7501, or its electronic equivalent, or 7512, as the case may be. The original and the triplicate copy of the application, after approval, shall be stamped with the withdrawal number and date thereof and shall be returned to the withdrawer for use as prescribed below. Approval of each such application shall be subject to the condition that the original and the triplicate copy shall be presented thereafter by the withdrawer or the vessel's master to the port director within 24 hours (excluding Saturday, Sunday, and holidays) after each subsequent arrival of the vessel at a Customs port or station and that an accounting shall be made at the time of such presentation of the disposition of the articles until the port director is satisfied that all of them have been consumed on board, or landed under Custom's supervision, and takes up the original application. (The withdrawer shall retain the triplicate copy as evidence of consumption on board or landing under Customs supervision.) The approval shall be subject to the further conditions that any such withdrawn article remaining on board while the vessel is in port shall be safeguarded in the manner and to such extent as the district director for the port or place of arrival shall deem necessary and that failure to comply with the conditions upon which a conditionally free withdrawal is approved shall subject the total quantity of withdrawn articles to the assessment and collection of an amount equal to the duties and taxes that would have been assessed on the entire quantity of supplies withdrawn had such supplies been regularly entered, or withdrawn, for consumption.\nExemption from internal-revenue tax on distilled spirits, alcohol, wines, and beer removed from any internal-revenue bonded warehouse, industrial alcohol premises, bonded wine cellar, or brewery; and drawback on taxpaid distilled spirits or wines removed from an export storage room, or on taxpaid beer removed from a brewery (or place of storage elsewhere), for use as supplies on vessels under section 309, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, are governed by regulations of the Internal Revenue Service.\n(f) Pursuant to section 309(d) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, the Department of Commerce has found and advised the Secretary of the Treasury of the foreign countries which allow privileges to aircraft registered in the United States substantially reciprocal to those described in sections 309 and 317 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended. Advices also have been received of changes and limitations of privileges allowed. In accordance with these advices, Treasury decisions are issued extending to the aircraft of foreign countries free withdrawal privileges reciprocal to those found by the Secretary of Commerce to be extended by those countries to aircraft registered in the United States or making changes in such privileges on the basis of new findings. Listed below by countries are the Treasury decisions issued pursuant to such findings which are currently in effect:\nCountry Treasury Decision(s) Exceptions if any, as noted—\nAbu Dhabi 95-45\nArgentina 54925 (1) 92-20 Applicable only as to aircraft equipment, spare parts, and supplies.\nAustralia 54747 (1) Not applicable to ground equipment.\nAustria 80-68\nBahamas 52798 (3)\nBahrain 95-45\nBelgium 52846 (2)\nBenin 71-215,93-\nBermuda 49944 (4)\nBrazil 53281 (2)\nCanada 69-149 69-245 Not applicable to ground equipment during period May 1 to September 16, 1969, inclusive.\nChile 66-128 (2)\nChina* 82-91\nColombia 70-107 (1)\nCosta Rica 53658 (1)\nCuba 81-198 Applicable only as to aircraft supplies.\nCzechoslovakia 70-107 (1)\nDenmark 51966 (3)\nDominican Republic 54522 (1)\nEcuador 52510 (4)\nEgypt 74-3 85-141\nEl Salvador 54675 (1)\nFinland 69-120 (2)\nFrance 67-96 (1) Not applicable to tobacco products under section 317 of the tariff act. Not applicable to ground equipment.\nFederal Republic of Germany 69-150 Not applicable to ground equipment.\nGreece 54847 (1)\nGuyana 78-28\nHonduras 71-154\nIceland 67-265 (1)\nIndia 55155 (1)\nIndonesia 90-61 Applicable only as to aviation fuels and lubricants.\nIran 75-254\nIreland 55291 (1)\nIsrael 52831 (3)\nItaly 69-223 Not applicable to ground equipment.\nIvory Coast 71-215\nJamaica 70-250\nJapan 53550 (1), 88-45 Not applicable to ground support equipment as of August 1, 1986\nJordan 74-102\nKenya 71-102 Applicable only as to aircraft fuels and lubricants.\nLebanon 53902 (1)\nLuxembourg 89-77 Applicable only as to aviation fuels.\nMexico 54506 (5)\nMorocco 75-254\nNetherlands 52494 (2)\nNetherlands Antilles 71-211\nNew Zealand 73-52 Not applicable to ground equipment.\nNicaragua 54640 (1)\nNorway 51966 (3)\nOman 95-45\nPakistan 55416 (1)\nPanama 55453 (1)\nPeru 52911 (2)\nPoland 72-153\nPortugal 68-107 (1) Not applicable to ground equipment.\nQatar 95-45\nRepublic of Korea 71-140\nRepublic of the Philippines 71-197\nRomania 75-35\nSaudi Arabia 73-307, 92-68\nSenegal 71-215\nSingapore 93-25\nSouth Africa 69-162 Not applicable to ground equipment.\nSpain 54522 (2)\nSweden 51966 (3)\nSwitzerland 56047\nTaiwan 70-107 (1), 82-91 Not applicable to ground equipment.\nTanzania 71-102 Applicable only as to aircraft fuels and lubricants.\nThailand 71-138, 89-6\nTrinidad and Tobago 56441 (1)\nTurkey 89-7\nUganda 71-102 Applicable only as to aircraft fuels and lubricants.\nUnion of Soviet Socialist Republics 67-123 (1)\nUnited Kingdom 69-176 Not applicable to ground equipment.\nVenezuela 55425 (1)\nYugoslavia 71-138\nZambia 89-5\n*See also Taiwan","path":["Title 19—Customs Duties","CHAPTER I—U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY","PART 10—ARTICLES CONDITIONALLY FREE, SUBJECT TO A REDUCED RATE, ETC.","Subpart A—General Provisions"],"source_url":"https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2026-08-25/title-19.xml","current_through":"2026-08-25","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-08-27T02:24:40Z","sha256":"eaa47056f9717ffd714a378b5393df3ea24e2ef1cd017eefffd1164921e1cae4","source_id":"us-cfr","stale":true,"prev":"us/19-cfr-10.58","next":"us/19-cfr-10.60"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}