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All merchandise purchased from outside the United States is inspected by United States Customs officials upon its entry into the country. U.S. Customs procedures help assure that imports are processed as quickly and as accurately as possible. They also help protect American business in international trade.
What does Customs do?
The primary duties of U.S. Customs include the assessment and collection
of all duties, taxes, and fees on imported merchandise, supervision
of entry and unloading of vessels, and enforcement of customs laws.
They also work to combat smuggling and fraud on customs revenue
and enforce the regulations of several other Federal agencies at
ports of entry in the United States.
Entry Process
When a shipment reaches the United States, the importer (i.e. purchaser,
or licensed customs broker designated by the purchaser) must file
entry documents with U.S. Customs officials for their merchandise
at the port of entry, usually Minneapolis-St. Paul or Chicago. Imported
goods are not legally entered until after the shipment has arrived
within the port of entry, goods have been examined by customs, delivery
of the merchandise has been authorized by customs, and estimated duties
have been paid.
Duty-Free Entry
The U.S. Custom's regulations provide that scientific and apparatus intended exclusively for educational purposes or pure scientific research used by qualified non-profit institutions shall enjoy duty-free entry if instruments or apparatus of equivalent scientific value are not being manufactured in the country of importation.
You must make application for Duty-Free Status and your application must be approved by the
Department of Commerce for the Duty-Free Status to be effective. You must make application
yourself, the University of Minnesota's Import/Export Broker cannot perform this task for you.
U.S. Custom's regulations state that an applicant for duty-free entry for an instrument must be
a public or private non-profit institution which is established for educational or scientific
purposes and which has placed a bona fide order or has a firm intention to place a bona fide
order for a foreign instrument within 60 days following a favorable decision on the institution's
application.
Applications must be made on form ITA-338P. Five copies of the application form must be submitted,
one of which must be signed in the original by the person in the applicant institution under whose
direction and control the foreign instrument will be used and who is familiar with the intended uses
of the instrument.
Click here to obtain a copy of form ITA-338P
Click here for a copy of more detailed instructions
If you need other assistance with this form, contact Jan Kopczeski at (612) 624-1696.
Who Imports Goods?
Merchandise arriving in the United States by commercial carrier must
be entered by the purchaser or by the licensed customs broker designated
by the purchaser.
Customs brokers (Schenker or otherwise designated) are authorized
by the tariff laws of the United States to act as agents for importers2
in the transaction of their Customs business (the U of M is the importer).
They are private individuals or firms licensed by the Customs Service.
Customs brokers represent their clients in customs matters which include
but are not limited to document preparation and delivery of goods
from airport to the end-user. The fees charged for customs broker
services may vary according to the extent of services performed.
1 The importers or Licensed Customs Brokers
for the University is Schenker International enless the selling vendor
has designated their own importer as part of the purchase.
2 U.S. Customs employees are not authorized
to act as agents for importers.
Controller's Organization
Purchasing Services is one of the many departments that report the Controller's Organization.
Internal Service Organizations (ISOs)
ISOs and Auxiliaries are University departments that provide products or services for sale to other University departments.
University Travel Services
University Travel Services is your complete, one-stop location for all travel related questions; from policy to prices, it's all here.