[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 19, Volume 2]

[Revised as of April 1, 2006]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 19CFR148.33]



[Page 144-145]

 

                        TITLE 19--CUSTOMS DUTIES

 

   CHAPTER I--BUREAU OF CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF 

        HOMELAND SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY (CONTINUED)

 

PART 148_PERSONAL DECLARATIONS AND EXEMPTIONS--Table of Contents

 

              Subpart D_Exemptions for Returning Residents

 

Sec.  148.33  Articles acquired abroad.



    (a) Exemption. Each returning resident is entitled to bring in free 

of duty and internal revenue tax under subheadings 9804.00.65, 

9804.00.70 and 9804.00.72, and Chapter 98, U.S. Note 3, Harmonized 

Tariff Schedule of the United States (19 U.S.C. 1202), articles for his 

personal or household use which were purchased or otherwise acquired 

abroad merely as an incident of the foreign journey from which he is 

returning, subject to the limitations and conditions set forth in this 

section and Sec. Sec.  148.34-148.38. The aggregate fair retail value in 

the country of acquisition of such articles for personal and household 

use shall not exceed:

    (1) $400, and provided that the articles accompany the returning 

resident;

    (2) Whether or not the articles accompany the returning resident, 

$600 in the case of a direct arrival from a beneficiary country as 

defined in Sec.  10.191(b)(1) of this chapter, not more than $400 of 

which shall have been acquired elsewhere than in beneficiary countries; 

or

    (3) Whether or not the articles accompany the returning resident, 

$1,200 in the case of a direct or indirect arrival from American Samoa, 

Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or the Virgin 

Islands of the United States, not more than $400 of which shall have 

been acquired elsewhere than in such locations except that up to $600 of 

which may have been acquired in one or more beneficiary countries as 

defined in Sec.  10.191(b)(1) of this chapter.

    (b) Application to articles of highest rate of duty. The $400, $600, 

or $1,200 exemption shall be applied to the aggregate fair retail value 

in the country of acquisition of the articles acquired abroad which are 

subject to the highest rates of duty. If an internal revenue tax is 

applicable, it shall be combined with the duty in determining which 

rates are highest.

    (c) Gifts. An article acquired abroad by a returning resident and 

imported by him to be disposed of after importation as his bona fide 

gift is considered to be for the personal use of the returning resident 

and may be included in the exemption.

    (d) Tobacco products and alcoholic beverages. Cigars, cigarettes, 

manufactured tobacco, and alcoholic beverages may be included in the 

exemption to which a returning resident is entitled, with the following 

limits:

    (1) No more than 200 cigarettes and 100 cigars may be included, 

except that in the case of American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the 

Northern Mariana Islands and the Virgin Islands of the United States the 

cigarette limit is 1,000, not more than 200 of which shall have been 

acquired elsewhere than in such locations;

    (2) No alcoholic beverages shall be included in the case of an 

individual who has not attained the age of 21; and

    (3) No more than 1 liter of alcoholic beverages may be included, 

except that:

    (i) An individual returning directly or indirectly from American 

Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands or the 

Virgin Islands of the United States may include in the exemption not 

more than 5 liters of alcoholic beverages, not more than 1 liter of 

which shall have been acquired elsewhere than in such locations and not 

more than 4 liters of which shall have been produced elsewhere than in 

such locations; and

    (ii) An individual returning directly from a beneficiary country as 

defined in Sec.  10.191(b)(1) of this chapter may include in the 

exemption not more than 2 liters of alcoholic beverages if at



[[Page 145]]



least 1 liter is the product of one or more beneficiary countries.

    (e) Exemption not applicable. The exemption does not apply to 

articles intended for sale or acquired on commission, i.e., for the 

account of another person, with or without compensation for the service 

rendered. Articles acquired on one journey and left in a foreign country 

cannot be allowed the exemption accruing upon the return of the resident 

from a subsequent journey.

    (f) Remainder not applicable to subsequent journey. A returning 

resident who has received a total exemption of less than the $400, $600, 

or $1,200 maximum in connection with his return from one journey is not 

entitled to apply the unused portion of that maximum amount to articles 

acquired abroad on a subsequent journey.



[T.D. 73-27, 38 FR 2449, Jan. 26, 1973, as amended by T.D. 78-394, 43 FR 

49788, Oct. 25, 1978; T.D. 80-179, 45 FR 45580, July 7, 1980; T.D. 86-

118, 51 FR 22516, June 20, 1986; T.D. 89-1, 53 FR 51264, Dec. 21, 1988; 

T.D. 97-75, 62 FR 46441, Sept. 3, 1997]