WASHINGTON (April 29, 2002) — U.S. Customs Service has published a proposed regulatory change that would allow merchandise that has to be shipped in multiple shipments because of its size or nature to be entered on one entry under one classification.

The change would pertain to an item that is shipped disassembled or unassembled because of its size or nature. That is, the item cannot be accommodated on a single conveyance; is ordered, invoiced, and classifiable as a single entity and is consigned to one person in the U.S.; is imported within 10 days at one U.S. port of entry; and is not subject to quota or visa.

Customs would reserve the right to deny use of the incremental release procedure for such reasons as when a particular shipment has been selected for examination.

The importer would be required to submit an application to file a single entry, by annotating the release document, or by submitting a letter to Customs at least five working days in advance of the arrival of the first conveyance that includes justification for the need for more than one conveyance, a copy of the relevant invoice or purchase order (or electronic equivalent), and the proposed single HTS number.

The proposed rule would require customs to notify the applicant of the approval or denial of the application within three working days of the receipt of the application.

The proposed rule would also require that any spare parts accompanying a portion of an entity be classified and entered separately.