The port director will pass free of duty and tax, without preparing an entry as provided for in § 145.12, packages containing merchandise having an aggregate fair retail value in the country of shipment of not over $800, subject to the requirements set forth in §§ 10.151 and 10.153 of this chapter.

The port director shall pass free of duty and tax, without preparing an entry as provided for in § 145.12, articles sent as bona-fide gifts from persons in foreign countries to persons in the United States having an aggregate fair retail value in the country of shipment not exceeding $100 ($200, in the case of articles sent from persons in the Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa), subject to the requirements set forth in §§ 10.152 and 10.153 of this chapter.

(a) U.S. military and civilian personnel returning from extended duty abroad. Section 148.74 of this chapter sets forth specific requirements for exemptions from duty under subheading 9805.00.50, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (19 U.S.C. 1202), for personal and household effects of military and civilian personnel of the United States returning upon the completion of extended duty abroad. A copy of the official travel orders shall be attached to or enclosed in each mail article and the outside of each mail article shall be clearly marked to show that exemption from duty is being claimed.

(b) Other personal and household effects, and tools of trade. Certain personal and household effects and tools of trade may be passed free of duty without issuing an entry, in accordance with § 148.53 of this chapter.

Products of the United States returned after having been exported, which have not been advanced in value or improved in condition while abroad, may be passed free of duty without issuing an entry and without the declarations provided for in § 10.1(a) of this chapter, provided the shipment is valued at not over $2,500 and the port director is satisfied that the merchandise is free of duty under subheading 9801.00.10, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (19 U.S.C. 1202).

Books and other articles classifiable under subheading 4903.00.00, 4904.00.00, 4905.91.00, 4905.99.00, 9701.10.00, 9701.90.00, 9810.00.05, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) (19 U.S.C. 1202), imported by and addressed directly to a library or other institution described in subheading 9810.00.05 or 9101.30, HTSUS may be passed free of duty without issuing an entry, if the port director is satisfied that the merchandise is entitled to free entry. A declaration may be required in accordance with § 10.43 of this chapter under the procedure specified in § 145.42.

(a) Mail articles for copyright. Mail articles marked for copyright which are addressed to the Library of Congress, to the U.S. Copyright Office, or to the office of the Register of Copyrights, Washington, DC, shall be passed free of duty without issuing an entry.

(b) Books, engravings, and other articles. Books, classifiable under subheading 4903.00.00, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) (19 U.S.C. 1202), and engravings, etchings, and other articles enumerated in subheading 9808.00.10, HTSUS, shall be passed free of duty without issuing an entry when they are addressed to the Library of Congress or any department or agency of the U.S. Government.

(c) Official Government documents. Other mail articles addressed to offices or officials of the U.S. Government, believed to contain only official documents, shall be passed free of duty without issuing an entry. Such mail articles, when believed to contain merchandise, shall be treated in the same manner as other mail articles of merchandise so addressed.

Mail articles bearing the official seal of a foreign government with which the United States has diplomatic relations, accompanied by certificates bearing such seal to the effect that they contain only official communications or documents, shall be admitted free of duty without Customs examination.

Free entry of articles in mail articles addressed to diplomatic officers, representatives of certain international organizations, and similar persons is governed by subpart I of part 148 of this chapter.

Plant material may be imported by mail free of duty for immediate exportation by mail subject to the following regulations, which have been approved by the Department of Agriculture and the Postal Service. This procedure shall not affect the movement of plant material in the internal mails through the United States:

(a) Permit for entry. Each shipment shall be dispatched in the mails from abroad, accompanied by a yellow and green special mail tag bearing the serial number of the permit for entry for immediate exportation or immediate transportation and exportation, issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and also by the postal form of Customs declaration.

(b) Place of inspection. Upon arrival, the shipment shall be detained by or redispatched to the postmaster at Washington, DC, Brownsville, Tex., Hoboken, NJ, Honolulu, Hawaii, Laredo, Tex., Miami, Fla., San Francisco, Calif., San Juan, P.R., San Pedro, Calif., or Seattle, Wash., as may be appropriate, according to the address on the green and yellow tag, and there submitted to the Customs officer and the Federal quarantine inspector. The merchandise shall be accorded special handling only at these cities, and under no circumstances shall it be permitted to enter the commerce of the United States.

(c) Special handling. After inspection by the Customs and quarantine officers, and with their approval, the addressee or his authorized agent shall repack and readdress the mail package under Customs supervision; endorse and sign on the package a waiver of the addressee's right to withdraw the mail article from the mails; affix to the mail article the necessary postage; and comply with any other mailing and export requirements, after which the package shall be delivered under Customs supervision to the postmaster for exportation by mail in accordance with § 145.71.

(d) Entry not required. It will not be necessary to issue a Customs mail entry nor to require a formal entry of the shipment.

Shipments of conditionally or unconditionally free merchandise not specifically treated elsewhere in this part may be passed free of duty and tax without issuing an entry, if the value is not over $2,500 and the port director is satisfied that the merchandise is entitled to free entry.

The port director may, at his discretion, require appropriate proof of duty-free status before releasing conditionally free merchandise. This proof may be obtained by either of the following methods:

(a) Retain shipment and request proof. The shipment may be retained by the port director while the necessary proof is requested from the addressee. If the requested proof is not received within 30 days, a mail entry shall be issued at the ordinary rate of duty which would apply if the merchandise were not conditionally free, and the mail entry shall be forwarded with the shipment for collection of duties.

(b) Send shipment with form and entry. If the only proof required for free entry is a declaration signed by the addressee, the port director may issue a mail entry at the ordinary duty which would apply if the merchandise were not conditionally free. The shipment shall then be forwarded together with the mail entry, a copy of the appropriate declaration form, and instructions to the postmaster to deliver the shipment free of duty if the importer executes the declaration, and to collect the full duty shown on the mail entry if the importer does not execute the declaration.

Unaccompanied tourist shipments for which entry is claimed under subheading 9804.00.70, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (19 U.S.C. 1202), may be passed free of duty and tax if the requirements of § 148.115(a) of this chapter are met. The Declaration of Unaccompanied Articles, Customs Form 255, shall be removed by the Customs officer from the shipment and retained for Customs purposes.