h089759- u. s. customsand border protection（美国海关和边境保护h089759）.docVIP

HQ H089759 December 23, 2010 OT:RR:CTF:VS H089759 YAG CATEGORY: Valuation Port Director U.S. Customs and Border Protection Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport 301 E. Ocean Blvd. Suite 1400 Long Beach, CA 90802 Re: Request for Internal Advice; Dutiability of Royalty Payments; Software Dear Port Director: This is in response to your memorandum, dated December 16, 2009, forwarding the internal advice request, submitted by the law firm of Fitch, King, LLC, on behalf of their client, [xxx], the Importer/Buyer, concerning the dutiability of royalty fees paid to the unrelated third party licensors. The royalty fees are paid on certain merchandise, to parties unrelated to the manufacturers, importer, or licensees, for the use of the software in the United States upon the resale of the imported merchandise in the United States. The Importer has asked that certain information submitted in connection with this internal advice be treated as confidential. Inasmuch as the Importer’s request conforms to the requirements of 19 CFR §177.2(b)(7), the Importer’s request for confidentiality is approved. The information contained within brackets and all attachments to the internal advice request, forwarded to our office, will not be released to the public and will be withheld from published versions of this ruling. FACTS: [xxx], the Importer/Buyer (hereinafter the “Importer”), purchases two (2) [xxx] in-dash GPS Navigation System Models from the [xxx], the seller (hereinafter the “Seller”): (1) the [xxx] (hereinafter the “Z model”); and (2) the [xxx] (hereinafter the “X model”). The Z model is manufactured in country A [xxx] by [xxx], and the X model is manufactured in country B [xxx] by [xxx]. The manufacturers are related to the Seller, and the Importer. The terms of sale of both models is FOB Country A [xxx] and Country B [xxx], respectively. These products are free of duty, and subject only to the Harbor Maintenance and the Merchand