集装箱折旧年限
·
中国： 根据财政部1993年颁发的“交通运输企业财务制度”，集装箱
箱使用年限为5－8年
·
美国： 美国IRS规定集装箱使用年限为5年。
Rev. Rul. 80-127
1980-1 C.B. 53.
Internal Revenue Service
Revenue Ruling
DEPRECIATION;
CLADR; SHIPPING CONTAINERS
Published:
May 12, 1980
26 CFR 1.167(a)-11:
Depreciation based on class lives and asset depreciation ranges for property
placed in service after December 31, 1970.
Depreciation;
CLADR; shipping containers. Shipping containers that are designed and regularly
used to transport cargo on the highway on specially designed trailers and to
transport cargo by water on specially designed cargo ships are included in
CLADR asset guideline class 00.27.
ISSUE
What is
the proper classification under the Class Life Asset Depreciation Range (CLADR)
System of the shipping containers described below?
FACTS
The
taxpayer is engaged in the business of leasing various types of
equipment. The taxpayer entered into a lease agreement with a
domestic steamship line for the rental of shipping containers to be used in the
lessee's business. The primary business of the lessee is the
operation of a fleet of vessels that provide water transportation of freight
between the United States and various international ports.
The
containers are designed for the transport of cargo by, and interchange between,
two modes of transport. These modes are highway, on specially
designed trailers, and marine, in the holds of specially designed container
ships.
The
lessee's customers load the containers at their own facilities, mount the
containers on specially designed trailers, and haul them over the road to the
lessee's docks. At the docks, the containers are removed from the
trailer, loaded on a ship, and carried to a foreign port. From
there, the containers may be remounted on a trailer and hauled over the road to
their destinations or unloaded on the pier.
The
containers are specifically designed to be used with trailers. Although the
containers are carried on oceangoing vessels for the majority of their useful
lives, they are regularly used in conjunction with special trailers.
The
taxpayer elected to adopt the CLADR System under section 1.167(a)-11 of the
Income Tax Regulations for the years in which the containers were placed in
service.
LAW AND ANALYSIS
Section
1.167(a)-11(a)(1) of the regulations provides an asset depreciation range and
class life system for determining the reasonable allowance for depreciation of
designated classes of assets placed in service after December 31, 1970.
Section
1.167(a)-11(b)(4)(ii) of the regulations provides that the asset guideline
classes and the asset guideline periods, and the asset depreciation ranges
determined from such periods, in effect for taxable years ending before the
effective date of the first supplemental asset guideline classes, asset
guideline periods, the asset depreciation ranges, established pursuant to this
section are set forth in Rev. Proc. 72-10, 1972-1 C.B. 721. Rev. Proc. 72-10
has been superseded by Rev. Proc. 77-10, 1977-1 C.B. 548.
Section
1.167(a)-11(e)(3)(iii) of the regulations provides that, in the case of leased
property, unless there is an asset guideline class in effect for lessors of
that property, the asset guideline class for that property shall be determined
as if the property were owned by the lessee. However, in the case of
an asset guideline class based upon the type of property (such as trucks or
railroad cars) as distinguished from the activity in which used, the property
shall be classified without regard to the activity of the lessee.
Rev.
Proc. 77-10 provides asset depreciation periods for various guideline classes
of assets. Classes with a 00 prefix prescribe asset guideline
periods and asset guideline ranges for specific depreciable assets regardless
of the business activity in which they are used. Class 00.27
prescribes the period and range for trailers and trailer-mounted containers.
Class
44.0, Water Transportation, prescribes the period and range for assets used in
the commercial and contract carrying of freight and passengers by
water. However, transportation assets included in classes with a
00.2 prefix are specifically excluded from class 44.0.
Pursuant
to section 1.167(a)-11(b)(4)(iii)(b) of the regulations, the containers would
be includable in class 44.0 unless they are properly includable in class
00.27. The exception occurs because class 00.27 is for depreciable
assets regardless of the
business activity
in which they are used, and they are specifically excluded from class
44.0. The question is, therefore, whether the containers may be
properly classified as trailer-mounted containers included in class 00.27.
The
containers are mounted on the trailers as a regular part of their normal use
and are specially designed to be used with the trailers. Therefore, the
containers fall directly within the 'trailer-mounted container' language of
class 00.27, notwithstanding that the containers are used, for the majority of
their useful lives, in the holds of container ships.
However,
class 00.27 does not include carrier-container semi-trailers or trailer mounted
containers such as those described in Rev. Rul. 73-231, 1973-1 C.B. 427, which
are normally used only within the confines of railroad yards, port areas, or
similar facilities. Although containers of this type are capable of
being used on the highway, such use is incidental since the single- axle design
combined with the heavy weight of these containers results in an axle weight
that is illegal on the public highways in most states.
HOLDING
The
leased shipping containers, designed for use over the road on specially
designed trailers and in the holds of container ships, are properly included in
CLADR asset guideline class 00.27. The result would be the same if
the containers were owned by the shipping company.
Rev. Rul. 80-127,
1980-1 C.B. 53.
00.27 CLASS : Life 5 years.