[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 15, Volume 2]
[Revised as of January 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 15CFR301.1]

[Page 7-8]
 
                  TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND FOREIGN TRADE
 
 CHAPTER III--INTERNATIONAL TRADE ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
 
PART 301_INSTRUMENTS AND APPARATUS FOR EDUCATIONAL AND SCIENTIFIC 
INSTITUTIONS--Table of Contents
 
Sec.  301.1  General provisions.

    (a) Purpose. This part sets forth the regulations of the Department 
of Commerce and the Department of the Treasury applicable to the duty-
free importation of scientific instruments and apparatus by public or 
private nonprofit institutions.
    (b) Background. (1) The Agreement on the importation of Educational, 
Scientific and Cultural Materials (Florence Agreement; ``the 
Agreement'') is a multinational treaty, which seeks to further the cause 
of peace through the freer exchange of ideas and knowledge across 
national boundaries, primarily by eliminating tariffs on certain 
educational, scientific and cultural materials.
    (2) Annex D of the Agreement provides that scientific instruments 
and apparatus intended exclusively for educational purposes or pure 
scientific research use by qualified nonprofit institutions shall enjoy 
duty-free entry if instruments or apparatus of equivalent scientific 
value are not being manufactured in the country of importation.
    (3) The Annex D provisions are implemented for U.S. purposes in 
Subchapter X, Chapter 98, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United 
States (HTSUS).
    (c) Summary of statutory procedures and requirements. (1) U.S. Note 
1, Subchapter X, Chapter 98, HTSUS, provides, among other things, that 
articles covered by subheadings 9810.00.60 (scientific instruments and 
apparatus), 9810.00.65 (repair components therefor) and 9810.00.67 
(tools for maintaining and testing the above), HTSUS, must be 
exclusively for the use of the institutions involved and not for 
distribution, sale, or other commercial use within five years after 
entry. These articles may be transferred to another qualified nonprofit 
institution, but any commercial use within five years of entry shall 
result in the assessment of applicable duties pursuant to Sec.  
301.9(c).
    (2) An institution wishing to enter an instrument or apparatus under 
tariff subheading 9810.00.60, HTSUS, must file an application with the 
Secretary of the Treasury (U.S. Customs Service) in accordance with the 
regulations in this section. If the application is made in accordance 
with the regulations, notice of the application is published in the 
Federal Register to provide an opportunity for interested persons and 
government agencies to present views. The application is reviewed by the 
Secretary of Commerce (Director, Statutory Import Programs Staff) , who 
decides whether or not duty-free entry may be accorded the instrument 
and publishes the decision in the Federal Register. An appeal of the 
final decision may be filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 
Federal Circuit, on questions of law only, within 20 days after 
publication in the Federal Register.
    (3) Repair components for instruments or apparatus admitted duty-
free

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under subheading 9810.00.60, HTSUS require no application and may be 
entered duty-free in accordance with the procedures prescribed in Sec.  
301.10.
    (4) Tools specifically designed to be used for the maintenance, 
checking, gauging or repair of instruments or apparatus admitted under 
subheadings 9810.00.65 and 9810.00.67, HTSUS, require no application and 
may be entered duty-free in accordance with the procedures prescribed in 
Sec.  301.10.
    (d) Authority and delegations. The Act authorizes the Secretaries of 
Commerce and the Treasury to prescribe joint regulations to carry out 
their functions under U.S. Note 6, Subchapter X, Chapter 98, HTSUS. The 
Secretary of the Treasury has delegated authority to the Assistant 
Secretary for Enforcement, who has retained rulemaking authority and 
further delegated administration of the regulations to the Commissioner 
of the U.S. Customs Service. The authority of the Secretary of Commerce 
has been delegated to the Assistant Secretary for Import Administration 
who has retained rulemaking authority and further delegated 
administration of the regulations to the Director of the Statutory 
Import Programs Staff.

[47 FR 32517, July 28, 1982; 47 FR 34368, Aug. 9, 1982, as amended at 66 
FR 28832, May 25, 2001]