Interpretation ID: nht70-1.47

DATE: 03/20/70

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; Francis Armstrong; NHTSA

TO: A.L. Clark

TITLE: FMVSR INTERPRETATION

TEXT: This is in reply to your letter of January 14, 1970, to Mr. Jones Forrester, Deputy Director, Office of Standards Praparation, that has ben referred to this office.

The information that you have attained from a firend, that a car built for you for your personal use and imported for purposes other than resale does not have to have a certification label, is correct. It should be noted, however, that the important criteria here is the matter of compliance with standards that are applicable on the date of manufacture.

Section 108(3) of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, Public Law 89-563, states:

"A motor vehicle . . . offered for importation in violation of paragraph (1) of subsection (a) shall be refused admission into the United States under joint regulations issued by the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary; except that the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary may, by such regulations, provide for authorizing the importation of such motor vehice . . . into the United States upon such terms and conditions (including the furnishing of a bond) as may appear to them appropriate to insure that any such motor vehicle . . . will be brought into comformity with any applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standard prescribed under this title, or will be exported or abandoned to the United States." A copy of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act is enclosed.

To augment this Section of the Act, 19 C.F.R. 12.80 has been established. This regulation states in essence that no vehicle shall not be refused entry if it bears a valid certification label. In the event the vehicle does not have a valid certification label other provisions for inportation are provided. A copy of that regulation is also enclosed. Iso Automotovcicoli held an Iteriam Temporary Exception Number 68-6, Public Law 90-283, that expired on December 19, 1968. This exemption covers passenger cars manufactured by that firm up to that date.

This company subsequently filed another petition for temporary exemption and was granted Temporary Exemption Number 68-for thair Rivolta model only. Exemption(Illegible word) the Grifo model was withheld because it lacked certain technical information. We are currently in communication with Iso over this matter.

The steps that you should take to free the ear from bond would be for you to contact Iso Automotoveicoli and establish the date of manufacture. If that date is sometime prior to December 19, 1968, an affidavit should be presented to Customs. If on the other hand the car was manufactured after that date, you should seek their advices as to what could be done to bring the vehicle into conformity commensurate with any temporary exemption that might be granted in the mean time. The regulations do not provide any other recourse other than corportation or abandonent to the United States.