Interpretation ID: GF002147

Mr. Paul Fiore

Director of Government and Business Relations

Tire Industry Association

1532 Pointer Ridge Place

Suite G

Bowie, MD 20716-1883

Dear Mr. Fiore:

This is in response to your March 22, 2006, letter concerning certain tire marking requirements in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 119, New pneumatic tires for vehicles other than passenger cars. Specifically, you ask about load and inflation pressure markings on tires, and certain industry publications referenced by FMVSS No. 119. You also ask how these markings relate to Federal excise taxes. I begin by making two observations.

First, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) does not collect or regulate collection of excise taxes. Therefore, we recommend that you contact Donald L. Korb, Chief Counsel of the Internal Revenue Service, with questions concerning Federal excise taxes.

Second, George Feygin of my staff has previously provided you with a copy of our September 7, 2005, letter to Mark Jagow explaining that truck tires rated for dual load applications, including those produced solely for tandem use, must also be labeled with the maximum single load rating in addition to the dual load rating. Another copy of that letter is enclosed.

FMVSS No. 119 establishes performance and marking requirements for tires on certain types of vehicles and references several industry publications containing tire size and capacity information. The publications are listed in S5.1(b) of FMVSS No. 119. You ask if load carrying capacity marking of tires that are featured in these publications must match the published load carrying capacity.

S6.5 of FMVSS No. 119 requires, among other things, that truck tires be marked on each sidewall with the maximum load rating and corresponding inflation pressure for the particular tire (see paragraph (d)). S6.6 of FMVSS No. 119 further requires that if the maximum load rating for a particular tire size is shown in one or more of the publications described in S5.1(b) of FMVSS No. 119, each tire of that size designation shall have a maximum load rating that is not less than the published maximum load rating, or if there are differing published ratings for the same tire size designation, not less than the lowest published maximum load rating for the size designation.

You also ask whether any new publications are being considered for recognition under S5.1(b) of FMVSS No. 119. On February 16, 2006, we received a petition from Mark Jagow asking the agency to amend S5.1(b) of FMVSS No. 119 by adding the China Marking Standards publication to the list specified in that section. The agency has not made a decision on how to proceed on the petition. The agency would issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in order to afford an opportunity for comment before amending our regulations.

Finally, you ask what tire markings are required for truck tire casings that were not originally manufactured for sale in the United States and are imported here for retreading and subsequent sale. We note, used tires for use on motor vehicles other than passenger cars which have less than 2/32 inch of tread depth and which are imported solely for retreading may be imported without certification. This is a narrow exception to the requirement that used tires have a DOT symbol on the sidewall to be legally imported. In determining that these tires are not motor vehicle equipment, NHTSA found persuasive that those tires cannot legally be used on the public highways, and require remanufacturing before they can be operated on the highways.

There is no FMVSS applicable to retreaded tires for vehicles other than passenger cars. However, 49 CFR 574.5 does require each tire sold in the United States, including retreaded tires, to be labeled with Tire Identification Number (TIN) in order to facilitate a recall in the event of a defect. Under 574.5 (a) through (d), each TIN consists of (a) the manufacturers or retreaders identification code, (b) the tire size symbol, (c) optional tire type code, and (d) the date code; i.e. the week and year of manufacture. With respect to maximum load and maximum pressure, no regulation requires retreaded tires (for vehicles other than passenger cars) to show this information.

I hope you find this information helpful. If you have further questions, you may contact Mr. George Feygin of my staff at (202) 366-2992.

Sincerely,

Stephen P. Wood

Acting Chief Counsel

Enclosure

ref:119

d.6/23/06