(a) Statutory exceptions. Service contracts for the movement of the following, as defined in section 3 of the Act (46 U.S.C. 40102), § 530.3 or § 520.2 of this chapter, are excepted by section 8(c) of the Act (46 U.S.C. 40502) from the requirements of that section, and are therefore not subject to the requirements of this part:
(1) Bulk cargo;
(2) Forest products;
(3) Recycled metal scrap;
(4) New assembled motor vehicles; and
(5) Waste paper or paper waste.
(b) Commission exemptions. Exemptions from the requirements of this part are governed by 46 U.S.C. 40103(a) and §§ 502.10 and 502.92 of this chapter. The following commodities and/or services are exempt from the requirements of this part:
(1) Mail in foreign commerce. Transportation of mail between the United States and foreign countries.
(2) 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 Surface Deployment and Distribution Command and published in a universal service contract. An exact copy of the universal service contract, including any amendments thereto, shall be filed with the Commission as soon as it becomes available.
(c) Inclusion of excepted or exempted matter.
(1) The Commission will not accept for filing service contracts which exclusively concern the commodities or services listed in paragraph (a) or (b) of this section.
(2) Service contracts filed with the Commission may include the commodities or services listed in paragraph (a) or (b) of this section only if:
(i) There is a tariff of general applicability for the transportation, which contains a specific commodity rate for the commodity or service in question; or
(ii) The service contract itself sets forth a rate or charge which will be applied if the contract is canceled, as defined in § 530.10(a)(3).
(d) Waiver. Upon filing a service contract pursuant to paragraph (c) of this section, the service contract shall be subject to the same requirements as those for service contracts generally.
(e) Essential terms publication exemption. Ocean common carriers are exempt from the requirement in 46 U.S.C. 40502(d) to publish and make available to the general public in tariff format a concise statement of certain essential terms when a service contract is filed with the Commission.
[64 FR 23793, May 4, 1999, as amended at 74 FR 50724, Oct. 1, 2009; 85 FR 23229, Apr. 27, 2020; 85 FR 38089, June 25, 2020; 86 FR 21662, Apr. 23, 2021]