aircraft status declaration brochure - millbrook...
TRANSCRIPT
The
pu
rpos
e of
th
is b
roch
ure
is
to c
lari
fy t
he p
rope
r de
clar
atio
n
of “
priv
ate”
vs.
“co
mm
erci
al”
stat
us o
f ai
rcra
ft a
nd a
ircr
aft
oper
ator
s at
tim
e of
inb
ound
Cus
tom
s an
d B
orde
r Pr
otec
tion
(CBP
) cl
eara
nce.
1300
Pen
nsy
lvan
ia A
venu
e, N
WW
ash
ingt
on, D
C 2
0229
1-80
0-B
E-A
LER
T
Plea
se v
isit
the
U.S
. Cu
stom
s an
d B
orde
r Pr
otec
tion
Web
sit
e at
ww
w.c
bp.g
ov
CB
P Pu
blic
atio
n N
o. 0
000-
0622
Oct
ober
200
3
Air
craf
t St
atus
D
ecla
rati
onIn
form
atio
n fo
r All
Pilo
ts
and
Ope
rato
rs o
f Airc
raft
Tran
spor
ting
Pass
enge
rs
and/
or C
argo
(In
clud
ing
Mai
l)
“C
omm
ercial Aircraft” are defined by U
.S. C
ustoms regulations as aircraft “tran
sporting passengers and/or cargo for som
e payment
or other consideration
, including m
oney or services rendered.” 19 C
.F.R. § 122.1(d). A
“C
omm
ercial Aircraft” also includes any aircraft
which is not carrying passengers and/or cargo
at the time of its inbound C
BP clearance, but w
hich, nonetheless, left the U.S. w
ith passengers and/or cargo transported to a foreign area for “com
mercial purposes.”
“Private A
ircraft” are defined as aircraft w
hich are not carrying passengers and/or cargo for “com
mercial purposes” (that is, for
payment or other consideration). 19 C
.F.R. §
122.1(h)(1). “Private Aircraft” also m
ay include returning aircraft w
hich are not carrying passengers and/or cargo and did not leave the U
.S. with passengers and/or cargo carried for
“comm
ercial purposes.” 19 C.F.R
. § 122.1(h)(3).
C
onsistent with the above definitions, a
“comm
ercial aircraft” departing the U.S.
carrying passengers and/or cargo (including processed and unprocessed m
ail) for payment
(that is, for a “comm
ercial purpose”) MA
Y N
OT
be declared by the pilot or aircraft operator as a “private aircraft” upon its return to the U
.S.
In determ
ining whether an aircraft is “private”
or “comm
ercial” for CBP clearance purposes,
pilots and/or aircraft operators must ask
themselves the follow
ing:
1. H
as any form of paym
ent or other consideration been supplied (or agreed to be supplied), directly or indirectly, to the pilot and/or aircraft operator by any passenger, any non
-passenger third-party, or any business (i.e. a hotel, resort, casino, travel agency, charter broker, etc.) not
directly connected with the actual operation,
ownership or navigation of the aircraft (or
the operator’s air transport business)?
Indirect third party paym
ents include pay-m
ents provided to a pilot and/or aircraft operator by a hotel, resort, casino, travel agent, charter broker, etc. for the service of transporting its guests or custom
ers, regard-less of w
hether such payments are m
ade:
(a) on a non-scheduled per flight basis,
(b) in accordance with a so
-called “private carriage” contract betw
een such a business and the pilot and/or operator, or
(c) through any other means.
2. W
as such payment provided (or agreed to
be provided) as consideration for the service of transporting any passenger(s) and/or item
of cargo, including cargo consisting of processed or unprocessed m
ail or other item
s transported via an air courier service agreem
ent?
If the an
swer to both
of the above inquiries is
in the affirm
ative, then the aircraft conducting
the flight mu
st be declared as a “comm
ercial” aircraft conducting a flight for “com
mercial
purposes” as set forth
in 19 C
.F.R. §
§ 122.1(d).
C
onsistent with the above definitions, a pilot
and/or operator of a “comm
ercial aircraft” M
AY N
OT truthfully file a Private A
ircraft Enforcem
ent System (“PA
ES”) Report (C
ustoms
Form 178), w
ithout notifying CBP personnel
of the true comm
ercial nature and purpose of the flight. Subm
ission of a false PAES R
eport under these circum
stances will constitute
a criminal offense if done know
ingly and w
illfully. Moreover, it w
ould amount to a
potential criminal false statem
ent for any pilot
or other flight crew m
ember of such an aircraft
to affirmatively set forth that the purpose of
his/her travel was “personal” upon any C
BP declaration (C
ustoms Form
6059B) that is filed by the pilot along w
ith such a PAES R
eport.
Pilots and aircraft operators should be aw
are that FA
A regu
lations and publication
s do not d
ictate whether a particu
lar aircraft or flight operation
is “private” or “comm
ercial” for CB
P pu
rposes. For example, the alleged distinctions
made by the Federal A
ir Regulations betw
een “private” and “com
mon” carriage operations,
as well as issues pertaining to w
hether or not an aircraft operator is “holding out” to the public, or is engaged in leasing, “w
et-leasing,” or operating pursuant to a so
-called “private carriage” agreem
ent is irrelevant in determining
whether an aircraft is “private” or “com
mercial”
within the m
eaning of the Custom
s regulations.
It is the duty of the pilot and/or aircraft operator seeking C
BP clearance to properly ascertain w
hether an aircraft presented to CBP
is “comm
ercial” within the m
eaning of the above-m
entioned regulations. As stated earlier,
this determination m
ust be made independent
of any contrary interpretation of the terms
“private” or “comm
ercial” arising from the
Federal Air R
egulations or addressed by the FAA
in any of its publications or circulars.
A
ll comm
erical aircraft are subject to applicable fees and subm
ission of electronic manifests as
provided for by regulations.
Please visit the CBP w
eb site for an explanation of clearance procedures for aircraft being operated in a com
mercial capacity, including requirem
ents for posting C
ustoms bonds and for providing advance
passenger and cargo manifests.