§ 520.13 Exemptions and exceptions.

• (a) General. Exemptions from the requirements of this part are governed by 46 U.S.C. 40103 and § 502.92 of this chapter.
• (b) Services. The following services are exempt from the requirements of this part:

- (1) Equipment interchange agreements. Equipment-interchange agreements between common carriers subject to this part and inland carriers, where such agreements are not referred to in the carriers' tariffs and do not affect the tariff rates, charges or practices of the carriers.

- (2) Controlled carriers in foreign commerce. A controlled common carrier is exempt from the provisions of this part exclusively applicable to controlled carriers when:

• (i) The vessels of the controlling state are entitled by a treaty of the United States to receive national or most-favored-nation treatment; or

- (ii) The controlled carrier operates in a trade served exclusively by controlled carriers.

- (3) Terminal barge operators in Pacific Slope states. Transportation provided by terminal barge operators in Pacific Slope states barging containers and containerized cargo by barge between points in the United States are exempt from the tariff publication requirements of subtitle IV of title 46 of the United States Code and the rules of this part, where:

• (i) The cargo is moving between a point in a foreign country or a non-contiguous State, territory, or possession and a point in the United States;

- (ii) The transportation by barge between points in the United States is furnished by a terminal operator as a service substitute in lieu of a direct vessel call by the common carrier by water transporting the containers or containerized cargo under a through bill of lading; and

- (iii) Such terminal operator is a Pacific Slope state, municipality, or other public body or agency subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission, and the only one furnishing the particular circumscribed barge service in question as of January 2, 1975.

• (c) Cargo types. The following cargo types are not subject to the requirements of this part:

- (1) Bulk cargo, forest products, etc. This part does not apply to bulk cargo, forest products, recycled metal scrap, new assembled motor vehicles, waste paper and paper waste. Carriers or conferences which voluntarily publish tariff provisions covering otherwise exempt transportation thereby subject themselves to the requirements of this part, including the requirement to adhere to the tariff provisions.

- (2) Mail in foreign commerce. Transportation of mail between the United States and foreign countries.

- (3) Used military household goods. Transportation of used military household goods and personal effects by ocean transportation intermediaries.

- (4) Department of Defense cargo. Transportation of U.S. Department of Defense cargo moving in foreign commerce under terms and conditions negotiated and approved by the Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command and published in a universal service contract. An exact copy of the universal service contract, including any amendments thereto, must be provided to the Commission in electronic format upon request.

- (5) Used household goods—General Services Administration. Transportation of used household goods and personal effects by ocean transportation intermediaries shipped for federal civilian executive agencies under the International Household Goods Program administered by the General Services Administration.

• (d) Services involving foreign countries. The following transportation services involving foreign countries are not subject to the requirements of this part:

- (1) Between foreign countries. This part does not apply to transportation of cargo between foreign countries, including that which is transshipped from one ocean common carrier to another (or between vessels of the same common carrier) at a U.S. port or transferred between an ocean common carrier and another transportation mode at a U.S. port for overland carriage through the United States, where the ocean common carrier accepts custody of the cargo in a foreign country and issues a through bill of lading covering its transportation to a foreign point of destination.

- (2) Between Canada and U.S. The following services are exempt from the filing requirements of subtitle IV of title 46 of the United States Code and the rules of this part:

• (i) Prince Rupert and Alaska —(A) Vehicles. Transportation by vessels operated by the State of Alaska between Prince Rupert, Canada and ports in southeastern Alaska, if all the following conditions are met:

( 1 ) Carriage of property is limited to vehicles;

( 2 ) Tolls levied for vehicles are based solely on space utilized rather than the weight or contents of the vehicle and are the same whether the vehicle is loaded or empty;

( 3 ) The vessel operator does not move the vehicles on or off the ship; and

( 4 ) The common carrier does not participate in any joint rate establishing through routes or in any other type of agreement with any other common carrier.

• (B) Passengers. Transportation of passengers, commercial buses carrying passengers, personal vehicles and personal effects by vessels operated by the State of Alaska between Seattle, Washington and Prince Rupert, Canada, only if such vehicles and personal effects are the accompanying personal property of the passengers and are not transported for the purpose of sale.

- (ii) British Columbia and Puget Sound Ports; rail cars —(A) Through rates. Transportation by water of cargo moving in rail cars between British Columbia, Canada, and United States ports on Puget Sound, and between British Columbia, Canada, and ports or points in Alaska, if the cargo does not originate in or is not destined to foreign countries other than Canada, and if:

( 1 ) The through rates are filed with the Surface Transportation Board and/or the Canadian Transport Commission; and

( 2 ) Certified copies of the rate divisions and of all agreements, arrangements or concurrences, entered into in connection with the transportation of such cargo, are filed with the Commission within 30 days of the effectiveness of such rate divisions, agreements, arrangements or concurrences.

• (B) Bulk; port-to-port. Transportation by water of cargo moving in bulk without mark or count in rail cars on a local port-to-port rate basis between ports in British Columbia, Canada and United States ports on Puget Sound, only if the rates charged for any particular bulk type commodity on any one sailing are identical for all shippers, except that:

( 1 ) This exemption does not apply to cargo originating in or destined to foreign countries other than Canada; and

( 2 ) The carrier will remain subject to all other provisions of the subtitle IV of title 46 of the United States Code.

• (e) NVOCC Negotiated Rate Arrangements. An NVOCC that satisfies the requirements of part 532 of this chapter is exempt from the requirement in this part that it include rates in a tariff open to public inspection in an automated tariff system.

[64 FR 11225, Mar. 8, 1999, as amended at 74 FR 50722, Oct. 1, 2009; 76 FR 11360, Mar. 2, 2011; 78 FR 42888, July 18, 2013; 89 FR 33, Jan. 2, 2024]