26 Usc 4461

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TITLE 26—INTERNAL REVENUE CODE

(c) Use of documents possessed by taxpayer
Except in connection with the administration
or civil or criminal enforcement of any tax imposed by this title—
(1) any stamp denoting payment of the special tax under this chapter,
(2) any original, copy, or abstract possessed
by a taxpayer of any return, payment, or registration made by such taxpayer pursuant to
this chapter, and
(3) any information come at by the exploitation of any such document,
shall not be used against such taxpayer in any
criminal proceeding.
(d) Inspection by committees of Congress
Section 6103(f) shall apply with respect to any
return, payment, or registration made pursuant
to this chapter.
(Added Pub. L. 93–499, § 3(c)(1), Oct. 29, 1974, 88
Stat. 1550; amended Pub. L. 94–455, title XII,
§ 1202(h)(6), title XIX, § 1906(b)(13)(A), Oct. 4, 1976,
90 Stat. 1688, 1834.)
AMENDMENTS
1976—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 94–455, § 1906(b)(13)(A),
struck out ‘‘or his delegate’’ after ‘‘Secretary’’ wherever appearing.
Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 94–455, § 1202(h)(6), substituted
‘‘6103(f)’’ for ‘‘6103(d)’’.
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1976 AMENDMENT
Amendment by section 1202(h)(6) of Pub. L. 94–455 effective Jan. 1, 1977, see section 1202(i) of Pub. L. 94–455,
set out as a note under section 6103 of this title.
EFFECTIVE DATE
Section effective Dec. 1, 1974, and applicable only
with respect to wagers placed on or after such date, see
section 3(d)(1) of Pub. L. 93–499, set out as an Effective
Date of 1974 Amendment note under section 4401 of this
title.

CHAPTER 36—CERTAIN OTHER EXCISE
TAXES
Subchapter

Sec.1

A.
B.
B.

4461
4471

[C.
D.
[E, F.

Harbor maintenance tax ........................
Transportation by water .......................
Occupational tax on coin-operated devices ...................................................
Repealed.]
Tax on use of certain vehicles ...............
Repealed.]

2 4461

4481

AMENDMENTS
1997—Pub. L. 105–34, title XIV, § 1432(b)(2), Aug. 5, 1997,
110 Stat. 1050, struck out item for subchapter F ‘‘Tax on
removal of hard mineral resources from deep seabed’’.
1989—Pub. L. 101–239, title VII, § 7504(b), Dec. 19, 1989,
103 Stat. 2363, added item for subchapter B.
1986—Pub. L. 99–662, title XIV, § 1402(b), Nov. 17, 1986,
100 Stat. 4269, added item for subchapter A.
1982—Pub. L. 97–248, title II, § 280(c)(2)(A), Sept. 3,
1982, 96 Stat. 564, struck out item for subchapter E.
1980—Pub. L. 96–283, title IV, § 402(b), June 28, 1980, 94
Stat. 584, added item for subchapter F.
1970—Pub. L. 91–258, title II, § 206(d)(1), May 21, 1970, 84
Stat. 246, added item for subchapter E.
1965—Pub. L. 89–44, title IV, §§ 402, 404, June 21, 1965,
79 Stat. 148, 149, struck out items for subchapters A and
C.
1 Section

numbers editorially supplied.
2 Subchapter repealed by Pub. L. 95–600 without corresponding
amendment of chapter analysis.

§ 4461

1956—Act June 29, 1956, ch. 462, title II, § 206(c), 70
Stat. 391, added item for subchapter D.

Subchapter A—Harbor Maintenance Tax
Sec.

4461.
4462.

Imposition of tax.
Definitions and special rules.
PRIOR PROVISIONS

A prior subchapter A (§§ 4451 to 4457), act Aug. 16, 1954,
ch. 736, 68A Stat. 529, 530, related to tax on playing
cards, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 89–44, title IV, § 402,
June 21, 1965, 79 Stat. 148. Repeal of sections 4451 to 4457
applicable on and after June 22, 1965, see section
701(c)(2) of Pub. L. 89–44, set out in part as an Effective
Date of 1965 Amendment note under section 4905 of this
title.

§ 4461. Imposition of tax
(a) General rule
There is hereby imposed a tax on any port use.
(b) Amount of tax
The amount of the tax imposed by subsection
(a) on any port use shall be an amount equal to
0.125 percent of the value of the commercial
cargo involved.
(c) Liability and time of imposition of tax
(1) Liability
The tax imposed by subsection (a) shall be
paid by—
(A) in the case of cargo entering the
United States, the importer, or
(B) in any other case, the shipper.
(2) Time of imposition
Except as provided by regulations, the tax
imposed by subsection (a) shall be imposed at
the time of unloading.
(Added Pub. L. 99–662, title XIV, § 1402(a), Nov.
17, 1986, 100 Stat. 4266; amended Pub. L. 101–508,
title XI, § 11214(a), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1388–436;
Pub. L. 109–59, title XI, § 11116(b), Aug. 10, 2005,
119 Stat. 1951.)
PRIOR PROVISIONS
For prior section 4461, see Prior Provisions note set
out preceding section 4471 of this title.
AMENDMENTS
2005—Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 109–59, § 11116(b)(1), inserted ‘‘or’’ at end of subpar. (A), redesignated subpar.
(C) as (B), and struck out former subpar. (B) which read
as follows: ‘‘in the case of cargo to be exported from the
United States, the exporter, or’’.
Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 109–59, § 11116(b)(2), substituted
‘‘imposed’’ for ‘‘imposed—
‘‘(A) in the case of cargo to be exported from the
United States, at the time of loading, and
‘‘(B) in any other case,’’.
1990—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 101–508 substituted ‘‘0.125
percent’’ for ‘‘0.04 percent’’.
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2005 AMENDMENT
Pub. L. 109–59, title XI, § 11116(c), Aug. 10, 2005, 119
Stat. 1951, provided that: ‘‘The amendments made by
this section [amending this section and section 4462 of
this title] shall take effect before, on, and after the
date of the enactment of this Act [Aug. 10, 2005].’’
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1990 AMENDMENT
Section 11214(b) of Pub. L. 101–508 provided that: ‘‘The
amendment made by subsection (a) [amending this section] shall take effect on January 1, 1991.’’

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TITLE 26—INTERNAL REVENUE CODE
EFFECTIVE DATE

Section 1402(c) of Pub. L. 99–662 provided that: ‘‘The
amendments made by this section [enacting this section and section 4462 of this title] shall take effect on
April 1, 1987.’’
AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS
Section 1403(b) of Pub. L. 99–662, authorized to be appropriated to Department of the Treasury (from fees
collected under section 58c(9), (10) of Title 19, Customs
Duties) such sums as necessary to pay all expenses of
administration incurred by such Department in administering this subchapter for periods to which such fees
apply, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 103–182, title VI,
§ 690(c)(8), Dec. 8, 1993, 107 Stat. 2223.
STUDY OF CARGO DIVERSION
Section 1407 of Pub. L. 99–662, as amended by Pub. L.
100–647, title II, § 2002(c), Nov. 10, 1988, 102 Stat. 3597,
provided that:
‘‘(a) INITIAL STUDY.—The Secretary of the Treasury,
in consultation with United States ports, the Secretary
of the Army, the Secretary of Transportation, the
United States Trade Representative and other appropriate Federal agencies, shall conduct a study to determine the impact of the port use tax imposed under section 4461(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 [now
1986] on potential diversions of cargo from particular
United States ports to any port in a country contiguous to the United States. The report of the study shall
be submitted to the Ways and Means Committee of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the United States Senate not later than December 1, 1988.
‘‘(b) REVIEW.—The Secretary of the Treasury may, at
any time, review and revise the findings of the study
conducted pursuant to subsection (a) with respect to
any United States port (or to any transaction or class
of transactions at such port).
‘‘(c) IMPLEMENTATION OF FINDINGS.—For purposes of
section 4462(d)(2)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1954 [now 1986], the findings of the study or review conducted pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall be effective 60 days after notification to the
ports concerned.’’

§ 4462. Definitions and special rules
(a) Definitions
For purposes of this subchapter—
(1) Port use
The term ‘‘port use’’ means—
(A) the loading of commercial cargo on, or
(B) the unloading of commercial cargo
from,
a commercial vessel at a port.
(2) Port
(A) In general
The term ‘‘port’’ means any channel or
harbor (or component thereof) in the United
States, which—
(i) is not an inland waterway, and
(ii) is open to public navigation.
(B) Exception for certain facilities
The term ‘‘port’’ does not include any
channel or harbor with respect to which no
Federal funds have been used since 1977 for
construction, maintenance, or operation, or
which was deauthorized by Federal law before 1985.
(C) Special rule for Columbia River
The term ‘‘port’’ shall include the channels of the Columbia River in the States of

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Oregon and Washington only up to the downstream side of Bonneville lock and dam.
(3) Commercial cargo
(A) In general
The term ‘‘commercial cargo’’ means any
cargo transported on a commercial vessel,
including passengers transported for compensation or hire.
(B) Certain items not included
The term ‘‘commercial cargo’’ does not include—
(i) bunker fuel, ship’s stores, sea stores,
or the legitimate equipment necessary to
the operation of a vessel, or
(ii) fish or other aquatic animal life
caught and not previously landed on shore.
(4) Commercial vessel
(A) In general
The term ‘‘commercial vessel’’ means any
vessel used—
(i) in transporting cargo by water for
compensation or hire, or
(ii) in transporting cargo by water in the
business of the owner, lessee, or operator
of the vessel.
(B) Exclusion of ferries
(i) In general
The term ‘‘commercial vessel’’ does not
include any ferry engaged primarily in the
ferrying of passengers (including their vehicles) between points within the United
States, or between the United States and
contiguous countries.
(ii) Ferry
The term ‘‘ferry’’ means any vessel
which arrives in the United States on a
regular schedule during its operating season at intervals of at least once each business day.
(5) Value
(A) In general
The term ‘‘value’’ means, except as provided in regulations, the value of any commercial cargo as determined by standard
commercial documentation.
(B) Transportation of passengers
In the case of the transportation of passengers for hire, the term ‘‘value’’ means the
actual charge paid for such service or the
prevailing charge for comparable service if
no actual charge is paid.
(b) Special rule for Alaska, Hawaii, and possessions
(1) In general
No tax shall be imposed under section 4461(a)
with respect to—
(A) cargo loaded on a vessel in a port in
the United States mainland for transportation to Alaska, Hawaii, or any possession
of the United States for ultimate use or consumption in Alaska, Hawaii, or any possession of the United States,
(B) cargo loaded on a vessel in Alaska, Hawaii, or any possession of the United States