§144a Entry Under Bond of Exhibits of Arts, Sciences, and Industries, and Products of Soil, Mine, and Sea

Summary

Foreign goods that are brought into the United States only to be shown at permanent or temporary art, science, industry, or product exhibits at Rockefeller Center in Manhattan (between Fifth and Sixth Avenues and Forty-eighth and Fifty-first Streets) can enter without paying import taxes, if they follow rules set by the Secretary of the Treasury. The items can be sold during or after the show, but if they are sold or taken for use in the U.S., the normal import taxes and tariff rules that apply on the day they are withdrawn must be paid. For customs purposes, Rockefeller Center is treated as the only recipient of these imports. Rockefeller Center must pay any government costs that result, including customs officers’ salaries, under Treasury rules. If an imported item is still in the country two years after entry, it will be subject to whatever import duty is in effect then unless it was sold or exported earlier. Nothing here is an invitation from the U.S. government to anyone to bring in goods for exhibition.