TITLE 46 - US CODE - CHAPTER 4 - TONNAGE DUTIES

46 USC Appendix 121 - Amount of tonnage duties

Upon vessels which shall be entered in the United States from any foreign port or place there shall be paid duties as follows: On vessels built within the United States but belonging wholly or in part to subjects of foreign powers, at the rate of thirty cents per ton; on other vessels not of the United States, at the rate of fifty cents per ton, and any vessel any officer of which shall not be a citizen of the United States shall pay a tax of fifty cents per ton. A tonnage duty of 9 cents per ton, not to exceed in the aggregate 45 cents per ton in any one year, for fiscal years 1991 through 2002, and 2 cents per ton, not to exceed in the aggregate 10 cents per ton in any one year, for each fiscal year thereafter is imposed at each entry on all vessels which shall be entered in any port of the United States from any foreign port or place in North America, Central America, the West India Islands, the Bahama Islands, the Bermuda Islands, or the coast of South America bordering on the Caribbean Sea, or Newfoundland, and on all vessels (except vessels of the United States, recreational vessels, and barges, as those terms are defined in section 2101 of title 46) that depart a United States port or place and return to the same port or place without being entered in the United States from another port or place; and a duty of 27 cents per ton, not to exceed $1.35 per ton per annum, for fiscal years 1991 through 2002, and 6 cents per ton, not to exceed 30 cents per ton per annum, for each fiscal year thereafter is imposed at each entry on all vessels which shall be entered in any port of the United States from any other foreign port. However, neither duty shall be imposed on vessels in distress or not engaged in trade. Upon every vessel not of the United States, which shall be entered in one district from another district, having on board goods, wares, or merchandise taken in one district to be delivered in another district, duties shall be paid at the rate of 50 cents per ton: Provided, That no such duty shall be required where a vessel owned by citizens of the United States, but not a vessel of the United States, after entering an American port, shall, before leaving the same, be registered as a vessel of the United States. On all foreign vessels which shall be entered in the United States from any foreign port or place, to and with which vessels of the United States are not ordinarily permitted to enter and trade, there shall be paid a duty at the rate of $2 per ton; and none of the duties on tonnage above mentioned shall be levied on the vessels of any foreign nation if the President of the United States shall be satisfied that the discriminating or countervailing duties of such foreign nations, so far as they operate to the disadvantage of the United States, have been abolished. Any rights or privileges acquired by any foreign nation under the laws and treaties of the United States relative to the duty of tonnage on vessels shall not be impaired; and any vessel any officer of which shall not be a citizen of the United States shall pay a tax of 50 cents per ton.

46 USC Appendix 122 - Coasting and fishing vessels

No vessel belonging to any citizen of the United States, trading from one port within the United States to another port within the United States, or employed in the bank, whale, or other fisheries, shall be subject to tonnage tax or duty, if such vessel be licensed, registered, or enrolled.

46 USC Appendix 123 - Documented vessels with registry endorsement in trade with Canada

Documented vessels with a registry endorsement, engaged in foreign trade on the Great Lakes or their tributary or connecting waters in trade with Canada, shall not thereby become liable to the payment of tonnage tax.

46 USC Appendix 124 - Passenger vessels trading between ports of United States and foreign ports

Any passenger vessel engaged triweekly or oftener in trade between ports of the United States and foreign ports shall be exempt from tonnage taxes while such service triweekly or oftener is maintained.

46 USC Appendix 125 - Vessels making daily trips on interior waters

In cases of vessels making regular daily trips between any port of the United States and any port in the Dominion of Canada, wholly upon interior waters not navigable to the ocean, no tonnage fees shall be charged against such vessel by the officers of the United States, except upon the first clearing of such vessel in each year.

46 USC Appendix 128 - Light money

A duty of 50 cents per ton, to be denominated light money, shall be levied and collected on all vessels not of the United States which may enter the ports of the United States. Such light money shall be levied and collected in the same manner and under the same regulations as the tonnage duties: Provided, That no such duty shall be required where a vessel owned by citizens of the United States, but not a vessel of the United States, after entering an American port, shall, before leaving the same, be registered as a vessel of the United States.

46 USC Appendix 129 - Exemption of unregistered vessels owned by citizens

Section 128 of this Appendix shall not be deemed to operate upon unregistered vessels, owned by citizens of the United States, and carrying regular documents, issued from a customhouse of the United States, proving the vessel to be American property. Upon the entry of every such vessel from any foreign port, if the same shall be at the port at which the owner or any of the part owners reside, such owner or part owners shall make oath that the document possessed by such vessel contains the name or names of all the persons who are then the owners of the vessel; or if any part of such vessel has been sold or transferred since the date of such document, that such is the case, and that no foreign subject or citizen has, to the best of his knowledge and belief, any share, by way of trust, confidence, or otherwise, in such vessel. If the owner or any part owner does not reside at the port or place at which such vessel shall enter, then the master shall make oath to the like effect. If the owner or part owner, where there is one, or the master, where there is no owner, shall refuse to so swear, such vessel shall not be entitled to the privileges granted by this section.

46 USC Appendix 132 - Vessels not entering by sea

Vessels entering otherwise than by sea from a foreign port at which tonnage or lighthouse dues or other equivalent tax or taxes are not imposed on vessels of the United States shall be exempt from the tonnage duty of 9 cents per ton, not to exceed in the aggregate 45 cents per ton in any one year, for fiscal years 1991 through 2002, and 2 cents per ton, not to exceed in the aggregate 10 cents per ton in any one year, for each fiscal year thereafter, prescribed by section 121 of this Appendix.

46 USC Appendix 133 - Hospital ships in time of war

Hospital ships, concerning which the conditions set forth in articles 1, 2, and 3 of the convention concluded at The Hague on July 29, 1899, for the adaptation to maritime warfare of the principles of the Geneva convention of August 22, 1864, are fulfilled, shall, in the ports of the United States and the possessions thereof, be exempted, in time of war, from all dues and taxes imposed on vessels by the laws of the United States, and from all pilotage charges.

46 USC Appendix 134 - Designation by President of hospital ships exempted

The President of the United States shall by proclamation name the hospital ships to which section 133 of this Appendix shall apply, and shall indicate the time when the exemptions provided for shall begin and end.

46 USC Appendix 135 - Rights under treaties preserved

Nothing contained in title 48 of the Revised Statutes shall be deemed in anywise to impair any rights and privileges which have been or may be acquired by any foreign nation under the laws and treaties of the United States relative to the duty on tonnage of vessels, or any other duty on vessels.