SAN JUAN: US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) San Juan Field Operations officers and import specialists seized a motor vehicle that was falsely declared as a utility terrain vehicle (UTV), not complying with federal motor vehicle safety standards.
“Intercepting illegal and unsafe imports is a top priority for CBP,” stated Edward Ryan, Assistant Director of Field Operations for Trade in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. “By partnering with our colleagues in the Department of Transportation, we are stopping illegally imported, unsafe vehicles from driving on our roadways and helping to keep the public safe.”
CBP’s Trade Sensitive Team (TST) performed an intensive examination of merchandise manifested as a UTV, which revealed that its structure and components were not of a typical UTV. CBP consulted the inspection with the US Department of Transportation (DOT), whose findings indicated that the UTVs’ components and construction met the criteria to consider the item as a “motor vehicle.”
To be lawfully imported, a vehicle must be originally manufactured to comply with all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) and bear a label certifying such compliance that is permanently affixed in a prescribed location by the vehicle’s original manufacturer in order to be imported free of restrictions into the United States.
For CBP clearance, an importer will need the shipper’s or carrier’s original bill of lading, the bill of sale, foreign registration, and any other documents covering the vehicle. You will also be required to complete forms by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and DOT, declaring the emissions and safety provisions under which the vehicle is being imported.
