Who may apply. An applicant for duty-free entry of an instrument under subheading 9810.00.60, HTSUS must be a public or private nonprofit 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.

Application forms. Applications must be made on form ITA-338P which may be obtained from the Statutory Import Programs Staff, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230, the Web site at http://ia.ita.doc.gov/sips/index.html, or from the various District Offices of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Where to apply. Applications must be filed with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, at the address specified on page 1 of the form.

Five copies of the form, including relevant supporting documents, must be submitted. One of these copies shall 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. The remaining four copies of the form may be copies of the original. Attachments should be fully identified and referenced to the question(s) on the form to which they relate.

A single application (in the requisite number of copies) may be submitted for any quantity of the same type or model of foreign instrument provided that the entire quantity is intended to be used for the same purposes and provided that all units are included on a single purchase order. A separate application shall be submitted for each different type or model or variation in the type or model of instrument for which duty-free entry is sought even if covered by a single purchase order. Orders calling for multiple deliveries of the same type or model of instrument over a substantial period of time may, at the discretion of the Director, require multiple applications.

An application for components of an instrument to be assembled in the United States as described in § 301.2(f) may be filed provided that all of the components for the complete, assembled instrument are covered by, and fully described in, the application. See also § 301.2(k).

Failure to answer completely all questions on the form in accordance with the instructions on the form or to supply the requisite number of copies of the form and supporting documents may result in delays in processing of the application while the deficiencies are remedied, return of the application without processing, or denial of the application without prejudice to resubmission. Any questions on these regulations or the application form should be addressed to the Director.