U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued an interim final rule that, effective Sept. 16, amended its regulations in an effort to simplify the tonnage tax process, decrease the number of errors in assessing tonnage taxes, and simplify the tracking of tonnage tax payments. Comments on this rule are due no later than Nov. 17.
CBP assesses and collects tonnage taxes on vessels brought into the U.S. from a foreign port or place. In general CBP calculates regular tonnage taxes based on either a lower rate of two cents per net ton for certain specified vessels, not to exceed 10 cents per net ton in any one year, or a higher rate of six cents per net ton, not to exceed 30 cents per net ton per year, for all other vessels.
There is a yearly maximum for the payment of regular tonnage taxes, and when determining whether a vessel has met that maximum CBP previously calculated a tonnage year unique to each vessel. This rule revises that process by defining the tonnage year for every vessel as the federal government’s fiscal year (Oct. 1 through Sept. 30). CBP notes that vessels that were just paid up in September, or are not yet paid up, will begin a new tonnage year from scratch on Oct. 1, 2025.
The rule also eliminates the paper CBP Form 1002, Certificate of Payment of Tonnage Tax, and provides that the tonnage tax payment information provided via the Mobile Collections and Receipt application or CBP Form 368 will now serve as the certificate of payment. This rule further permits CBP to issue a single electronic receipt for the payment of tonnage taxes and light money.
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