CON-5-CO:R:C:E SR
District Director of Customs
P.O. Box 37260
6269 Ace Industrial Drive, Cudahy WI.
Milwaukee, WI 53237-0260
RE: Application for Further Review of Protest No. 3701-94-
100020, concerning duty-free importation of a secondary telescope
mirror under 9812.00.20, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United
States.
Dear Sir
The above-referenced protest was forwarded to our office on
Application for Further Review of Protest No. 3701-94-100020,
dated April 7, 1994. We have considered the facts and the issue
raised; our decision follows.
FACTS:
A secondary mirror was imported by the University of Chicago
for installation in a working telescope. When the entry was
liquidated Customs classified the mirror under subheading
9002.90.4000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
(HTSUS), as mirrors, fittings for instruments, at a rate of duty
of 8 percent ad valorem.
The protestant claims that the mirror should have been
accorded duty-free treatment under subheading 9812.00.20, HTSUS,
which provides for articles imported for exhibition by any
institution established for the encouragement of education or
science. On the protest form the protestant states as follows:
The subject imported mirror will be installed in the
California Institute of Technology Submillimeter Observatory
on public property on Mount Maunakea in Hawaii. It is a
secondary mirror for a working telescope and will be clearly
visible to the public when installed. The observatory is
open for public tours, and the mirror will be viewed by the
many elementary and high school students and members of the
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public who visit the observatory each year. It will also be
used for scientific educational and research purposes by
undergraduate and graduate students and faculty.
A letter dated July 7, 1992, from the University of Chicago
to the importer's broker states that the mirror will become a
part of the permanent equipment of the university. It will be
used for scientific purposes by astrophysicists.
ISSUE:
Whether the mirror at issue should be allowed duty-free
treatment under subheading 9812.00.20, HTSUS.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Articles may be imported free of duty under subheading
9812.00.20, HTSUS, if they are imported for exhibition by an
institution established for the encouragement of education or
science. Subheading 9812.00.20, HTSUS, is in subchapter XII.
U.S. Note 1 of Subchapter XII states that the provisions of this
subchapter do not apply to articles for any purpose other than
exhibition.
The mirror at issue is to be permanently installed in a
telescope for the use of astrophysicists. The fact that the
telescope is located on public property or that tours of the
observatory are offered to the public does not make the mirror an
exhibition piece. Because the telescope is used for scientific
purposes it can not be imported duty-free under subheading
9812.00.20, HTSUS.
HOLDING:
The protest is denied. The mirror does not qualify as an
article of exhibition under subheading 9812.00.20, HTSUS.
In accordance with Section 3A(11)(b) of Customs Directive
099 3550-065, dated August 4, 1993, Subject: Revised Protest
Directive, this decision should be mailed by your office to the
protestant no later than 60 days from the date of this letter.
Any reliquidation of the entry in accordance with this decision
must be accomplished prior to the mailing of the decision. Sixty
days from the date of this decision, the Office of Regulations
and Rulings will take steps to make the decision available to
Customs personnel via the Customs Rulings Module in ACS and to
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the public via the Diskette Subscription Service, Lexis, Freedom
of Information Act and other public access channels.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division