46 U.S.C. § 60302: Special tonnage taxes

Summary

A tax must be paid when a ship enters a U.S. port from a foreign port. These charges apply even if another tonnage tax under section 60301 is also imposed. The rates are: 30 cents per ton for ships built in the U.S. but partly owned by someone from another country; 50 cents per ton for other non‑U.S. ships; 50 cents per ton for a U.S. ship that has an officer who is not a U.S. citizen; and $2 per ton for a foreign ship coming from a foreign place where U.S. ships are not usually allowed to trade. A non‑U.S. ship bringing goods from one customs district to another pays 50 cents per ton each time it enters. The 50‑cent tax does not apply if the ship is owned only by U.S. citizens and becomes documented as a U.S. vessel before leaving the port.

Title 46, §60302

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(a)Entry From Foreign Port or Place.—

Regardless of whether a tax is imposed under section 60301 of this title, a tax is imposed on a vessel at each entry in a port of the United States from a foreign port or place at the following rates:

(1)30 cents per ton on a vessel built in the United States but owned in any part by a subject of a foreign country.

(2)50 cents per ton on other vessels not of the United States.

(3)50 cents per ton on a vessel of the United States having an officer who is not a citizen of the United States.

(4)$2 per ton on a foreign vessel entering from a foreign port or place at which vessels of the United States are not ordinarily allowed to enter and trade.

(b)Vessels Not of the United States Transporting Property Between Districts.—

Regardless of whether a tax is imposed under section 60301 of this title, a tax of 50 cents per ton is imposed on a vessel not of the United States at each entry in one customs district from another district when transporting goods loaded in one district to be delivered in another district.

(c)Exception for Vessels Becoming Documented.—

The tax of 50 cents per ton under this section does not apply to a vessel that—

(1)is owned only by citizens of the United States; and

(2)after entering a port of the United States, becomes documented as a vessel of the United States before leaving that port.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 60302(a)46 App.:121 (1st sentence, 5th sentence words before semicolon, last sentence words after semicolon).R.S. § 4219 (1st, 2d sentences, 4th sentence words before semicolon, last sentence words before 1st semicolon and after last semicolon); Feb. 27, 1877, ch. 69, § 1, 19 Stat. 250. 60302(b)46 App.:121 (4th sentence words before proviso). 60302(c)46 App.:121 (4th sentence proviso).Mar. 4, 1915, ch. 171, § 1, 38 Stat. 1193. In subsections (a) and (b), the words “Regardless of whether a tax is imposed under section 60301 of this title” are added for clarity. See 19 C.F.R. § 4.20(c) (2003). In subsection (a)(1), the word “owned” is substituted for “belonging” for consistency in the revised title. In subsection (a)(3), the words “vessel of the United States” are substituted for “vessel” for clarity. In subsection (c), the words “The tax of 50 cents per ton” are substituted for “no such duty” in 46 App. U.S.C. 121 to conform more closely to the language in section 1 of the Act of March 4, 1915 (ch. 171, 38 Stat. 1193). The word “documented” is substituted for “registered” for consistency in the revised title. The words “In addition to the tonnage-duty above imposed, there shall be paid a tax, at the rate of thirty cents per ton, on vessels which shall be entered at any custom-house within the United States from any foreign port or place” in R.S. § 4219 were omitted from the original codification of R.S. § 4219 in 46 U.S.C. 121 (1926 edition, 44 Stat. 1467). A codification note which first appeared in the 1958 edition of the United States Code for 46 U.S.C. 121 says that the words apparently were omitted as superseded and repealed by section 14 of the Act of June 26, 1884 (ch. 121, 23 Stat. 57), as amended by section 11 of the Act of June 19, 1886 (ch. 421, 24 Stat. 81), and section 1 of the Act of April 4, 1888 (ch. 61, 25 Stat. 80).

§60302 Special Tonnage Taxes

Summary

Title 46, §60302

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Citations & Metadata