Answer first
Core rule
Classify the article normally, then test the exact Chapter 98 provision. Heading 9801 generally turns on return without advancement in value or improvement in condition abroad; qualifying 9802 repairs or alterations generally assess duty on the value of the foreign repair or alteration, not automatically on the article's full value. The normal classification and applicable Chapter 99 measures still matter.
Authority and lookup route
Locate the rule before returning to the facts. Links point to government or official publications.
Reference lookup task
Compare HTSUS 9801.00.10 with the applicable 9802 repair/alteration provision. Build a two-column checklist for prior export, foreign operation, time limit, declarations, value evidence, and duty base.
Route: Normal classification → Chapter 98 heading text and notes → 19 CFR §§ 10.1 or 10.8 → Chapter 99 check
Worked example
A U.S. machine worth $20,000 is sent to Germany, restored to its original operating condition for a non-warranty repair charge of $1,000, and returned without being remanufactured into a new article. What value is central to a qualifying 9802 repair claim?
- 1Confirm the normal classification and that the foreign operation is a repair rather than manufacture of a new or commercially different article.
- 2Locate the exact 9802 repair provision and complete the declarations and value proof required by § 10.8.
- 3Use the $1,000 foreign repair charge as the central dutiable-value fact, subject to the precise provision and any additions or special rule.
Conclusion: The $1,000 foreign repair value is central, not automatically the machine's full $20,000 value. Eligibility, documentation, normal classification, and any Chapter 99 consequence must still be verified.
Common traps
- Treating every U.S.-made return as automatically free without testing the exact 9801 conditions.
- Calling an operation a repair when it creates a new or commercially different article.
- Using the full article value for every qualifying repair, or assuming repair value can never include additions.
- Omitting the normal tariff classification and Chapter 99 review because a Chapter 98 provision may apply.