(a) Without Commissioner's approval. An application for entry by appraisement may be approved by the port director without securing the approval of the Commissioner of Customs for any of the following merchandise:

(1) Merchandise damaged on the voyage of importation, by fire or through marine casualty or any other cause, without fault on the part of the shipper;

(2) Merchandise recovered from a wrecked or stranded vessel;

(3) Household effects used abroad and personal effects, not imported in pursuance of a purchase or agreement for purchase and not intended for sale;

(4) Articles sent by persons in foreign countries as gifts to persons in the United States;

(5) Tools of trade of a person arriving in the United States;

(6) Personal effects of citizens of the United States who have died in a foreign country; and

(7) Any of the following articles, which are deemed in accordance with section 498(a)(10), Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1498(a)(10)), to be articles the value of which cannot be declared:

(i) Articles which are secondhand;

(ii) Articles which have become deteriorated or damaged before importation otherwise than as specified in paragraph (a)(1) of this section;

(iii) Articles which are not the subject of a commercial transaction; and

(iv) So-called overages or dock accumulations which cannot be identified with any particular shipment.

(b) With Commissioner's approval. Entry by appraisement for merchandise not provided for in paragraph (a) of this section shall be allowed only with the approval of the Commissioner of Customs. Each request for such approval shall be filed in triplicate with the port director and shall state in detail the reasons for the request for entry by appraisement.

(c) Merchandise not eligible. An application for an entry by appraisement shall not be approved after the merchandise has been appraised or released from Customs custody, nor for damaged merchandise when the damage occurs after importation.