《TAIPEI TIMES》 Buyer of baseball superstar Ohtani’s 50/50 ball to be exempt from customs

/ Staff writer, with CNA

The Taiwanese company that won the auction for the 50th home run ball hit by Los Angeles Dodgers superstar slugger Shohei Ohtani would be exempt from paying customs duty on it, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday.

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The ball, which Ohtani hit out of the park to become the first player in Major League Baseball to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in one season, was purchased earlier this month by the Taiwanese private investment firm UC Capital Ltd （優式資本） for US$4.392 million.

Imported baseballs are typically subject to customs duties of 3.3 percent to 10 percent, with a rate of 3.3 percent assessed for balls from the US, a Customs Administration official said in a statement.

However, because of its historical significance, Ohtani’s 50th home run ball would qualify for an exemption for valuable collectibles classified under section 9705.10 of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, the official said.

The Harmonized System is a code used by most countries as a basis for their customs tariffs and the collection of trade statistics. Section 9705.10 refers to “collections and collectors’ pieces of archeological, ethnographic or historical interest.”

In terms of international precedents, French customs authorities used section 9705.10 of the system to classify the importation of a pair of shoes that US basketball star LeBron James wore during the 2005-2006 National Basketball Association season, the agency said.

Despite the customs duty exemption, UC Capital would likely still have to pay the 5 percent sales tax on the purchase, equivalent to about NT$7 million （US$218,062）, the Ministry of Finance said.

Officials are still looking into the possibility that the ball is covered under Article 49 of the Customs Act （關稅法） — which applies to items ranging from diplomatic gifts to relief supplies — in which case it would also be exempt from the sales tax, the ministry said.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES