[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 19, Volume 1]
[Revised as of April 1, 2008]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 19CFR10.53]

[Page 121-122]
 
                        TITLE 19--CUSTOMS DUTIES
 
   CHAPTER I--BUREAU OF CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF 
              HOMELAND SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
 
PART 10_ARTICLES CONDITIONALLY FREE, SUBJECT TO A REDUCED RATE, ETC.--Table of Contents
 
                      Subpart A_General Provisions
 
Sec. 10.53  Antiques.

    (a) Articles accompanying a passenger and entitled to entry under 
the passenger's declaration and entry, or articles entered under an 
informal entry which are claimed to be free of duty under subheading 
9706.00.00, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), may 
be admitted free of duty upon the execution of a declaration on the face 
of the entry provided that the passenger or person filing the informal 
entry is the owner of the articles and that they are for his personal 
use and not for sale or other commercial use and provided the Customs 
officer concerned is satisfied that the articles are of the requisite 
age.
    (b) Antiques of the age prescribed by subheading 9706.00.00, HTSUS, 
or admitted under the provisions of paragraph (e) of this section, shall 
be admitted free of duty though repaired or renovated. If, however, an 
antique has been repaired with a substantial amount of additional 
material, without changing the original form or shape, the original and 
added portions shall be appraised and reported as separate entities and 
the basis for such report shall be plainly indicated on the invoice by 
the appraiser. In such cases duty shall be assessed on the portion 
added. If the repairs consist of an addition to an article of a feature 
which changes it substantially from the article originally produced, or 
if the antique portion has otherwise been so

[[Page 122]]

changed as to lose its identity as the article which was in existence 
prior to the time prescribed in subheading 9706.00.00, HTSUS, the entire 
article shall be excluded from free entry under subheading 9706.00.00, 
HTSUS.
    (c) Except for furniture admitted under the provisions of paragraph 
(e) of this section, furniture claimed to be free of duty under 
subheading 9706.00.00, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(HTSUS) may be entered for consumption at any port of entry within the 
customs territory of the United States. Furniture as used in this 
section of the regulations is defined as `movable articles of 
convenience or decoration for use in furnishing a house, apartment, 
place of business or accommodation'. This definition embraces most 
articles claimed to be free of duty as antiques.
    (d) A claim for the free entry of an article under subheading 
9706.00.00, HTSUS on the basis of antiquity may be made on the entry, or 
filed after entry at any time prior to liquidation of the entry, 
provided the article has not been released from Customs custody or it 
has been found upon examination before such release to be described in 
subheading 9706.00.00, HTSUS.
    (e) Antique articles otherwise prohibited entry by the Endangered 
Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1521, et seq.) may be entered if:
    (1) The article is composed in whole or in part of any endangered or 
threatened species listed in 50 CFR 17.11 or 17.12,
    (2) The article is not less than 100 years of age,
    (3) The article has not been repaired or modified with any part of 
any such endangered or threatened species, on or after December 28, 
1973,
    (4) The article is entered at a port designated in Sec. 12.26 of 
this chapter,
    (5) A Declaration for Importation or Exportation of Fish or Wildlife 
(USFWS Form 3-177) is filed at the time of entry with the port director 
who will forward the form to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and
    (6) The importer meets the requirements of paragraph (a) of this 
section.
    (f) The additional duty imposed by additional U.S. Note 2, Chapter 
97, HTSUS, shall apply to any article which is imported for sale and 
claimed, either at the time of entry or at a later date, to be free of 
duty under subheading 9706.00.00, HTSUS, if such article is later found 
to be unauthentic in respect of the antiquity claimed as a basis for 
such free entry, unless the claim under subheading 9706.00.00, HTSUS, is 
withdrawn in writing before the examination of the article for the 
purpose of appraisement or classification has begun.
    (g) The additional duty provided for in additional U.S. Note 2, 
Chapter 97, HTSUS shall not be assessed if the importer established by 
evidence satisfactory to the port director that the article was not 
imported for sale. In the case of any article imported in a passenger's 
baggage or entered under an informal entry, the Customs officer 
concerned may accept the statement of the owner that the article was not 
imported for sale if he is satisfied of the truth of such statement.

[28 FR 14663, Dec. 31, 1963]

    Editorial Note: For Federal Register citations affecting Sec. 
10.53, see the List of CFR Sections Affected, which appears in the 
Finding Aids section of the printed volume and on GPO Access.