19 U.S.C. § 1595a — Aiding unlawful importation

Page 290 TITLE 19—CUSTOMS DUTIES § 1595a Stat. 983. That section was superseded by section 595 of act June 17, 1930, comprising this section, and repealed by section 651(a)(1) of the 1930 act. Provisions somewhat similar to those in subsec. (a), but authorizing searches in the daytime only, with a further provision as to forfeitures, were contained in R.S. § 3066, as amended by act Apr. 25, 1882, ch. 89, 22 Stat. 49. Provisions for searches of buildings on or near the boundary line, and for seizure and forfeiture of mer- chandise, and removal of the building, were contained in R.S. § 3107. Provisions empowering persons, author- ized to make searches and seizures, to enter into or upon lands, inclosures, and buildings, were contained in R.S. § 3065. All of these sections were repealed by act Sept. 21, 1922, ch. 356, title IV, § 642, 42 Stat. 989. R.S. § 3091, authorized the issuance of a warrant, upon complaint and affidavit of fraud on the revenue, direct- ing the marshal of the district to enter any place and seize books or papers relating to merchandise in re- spect to which the alleged fraud was committed, and produce them before the judge. R.S. § 3092, provided that no warrant for such seizure should be issued unless the complaint should set forth the character of the fraud alleged, its nature, the im- portations in respect to which it was committed, and the papers to be seized, and required the return of such warrant as other warrants are returned. R.S. § 3093, provided that books and papers so seized should be subject to the order of the judge, who should allow the examination of the same by the collector or any officer authorized by him, and authorized the re- tention by the judge of such books and papers as he might deem necessary. The provisions of act July 18, 1866, § 39, and of act Mar. 2, 1867, § 2, which were incorporated into these three sections, were repealed by the Anti-Moiety Act of June 22, 1874, ch. 391, § 1, 18 Stat. 186. These sections were repealed, therefore, by that act, it having effect as subsequent to the Revised Statutes, and as repealing any portion of the revision inconsistent therewith, by virtue of R.S. § 5601. AMENDMENTS 1986—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 99–570 amended subsec. (a) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (a) read as fol- lows: ‘‘If any officer or person authorized to make searches and seizures shall have cause to suspect the presence in any dwelling house, store, or other building or place of any merchandise upon which the duties have not been paid, or which has been otherwise brought into the United States contrary to law, he may make application, under oath, to any justice of the peace, to any municipal, county, State, or Federal judge, or to any United States magistrate, and shall thereupon be entitled to a warrant to enter such dwelling house in the daytime only, or such store or other place at night or by day, and to search for and seize such merchan- dise: Provided, That if any such house, store, or other building, or place in which such merchandise shall be found, is upon or within ten feet of the boundary line between the United States and a foreign country, such portion thereof as is within the United States may forthwith be taken down or removed.’’ 1970—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 91–271 struck out ‘‘collector of customs or other’’ before ‘‘officer or person’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries CHANGE OF NAME ‘‘Magistrate judge’’ substituted for ‘‘magistrate’’ in subsec. (a)(1) pursuant to section 321 of Pub. L. 101–650, set out as a note under section 631 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1970 AMENDMENT For effective date of amendment by Pub. L. 91–271, see section 203 of Pub. L. 91–271, set out as a note under section 1500 of this title. TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS For transfer of functions, personnel, assets, and li- abilities of the United States Customs Service of the Department of the Treasury, including functions of the Secretary of the Treasury relating thereto, to the Sec- retary of Homeland Security, and for treatment of re- lated references, see sections 203(1), 551(d), 552(d), and 557 of Title 6, Domestic Security, and the Department of Homeland Security Reorganization Plan of Novem- ber 25, 2002, as modified, set out as a note under section 542 of Title 6. For establishment of U.S. Customs and Border Protection in the Department of Homeland Se- curity, treated as if included in Pub. L. 107–296 as of Nov. 25, 2002, see section 211 of Title 6, as amended gen- erally by Pub. L. 114–125, and section 802(b) of Pub. L. 114–125, set out as a note under section 211 of Title 6. § 1595a. Aiding unlawful importation (a) Importation, removal, etc. contrary to laws of United States Except as specified in subsection (b) or (c) of section 1594 of this title, every vessel, vehicle, animal, aircraft, or other thing used in, to aid in, or to facilitate, by obtaining information or in any other way, the importation, bringing in, unlading, landing, removal, concealing, har- boring, or subsequent transportation of any arti- cle which is being or has been introduced, or at- tempted to be introduced, into the United States contrary to law, whether upon such ves- sel, vehicle, animal, aircraft, or other thing or otherwise, may be seized and forfeited together with its tackle, apparel, furniture, harness, or equipment. (b) Penalty for aiding unlawful importation Every person who directs, assists financially or otherwise, or is in any way concerned in any unlawful activity mentioned in the preceding subsection shall be liable to a penalty equal to the value of the article or articles introduced or attempted to be introduced. (c) Merchandise introduced contrary to law Merchandise which is introduced or attempted to be introduced into the United States contrary to law shall be treated as follows: (1) The merchandise shall be seized and for- feited if it— (A) is stolen, smuggled, or clandestinely imported or introduced; (B) is a controlled substance, as defined in the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), and is not imported in accordance with applicable law; (C) is a contraband article, as defined in section 80302 of title 49; or (D) is a plastic explosive, as defined in sec- tion 841(q) of title 18, which does not contain a detection agent, as defined in section 841(p) of such title. (2) The merchandise may be seized and for- feited if— (A) its importation or entry is subject to any restriction or prohibition which is im- posed by law relating to health, safety, or conservation and the merchandise is not in compliance with the applicable rule, regula- tion, or statute; (B) its importation or entry requires a li- cense, permit or other authorization of an agency of the United States Government and Page 291 TITLE 19—CUSTOMS DUTIES § 1595a the merchandise is not accompanied by such license, permit, or authorization; (C) it is merchandise or packaging in which copyright, trademark, or trade name protection violations are involved (includ- ing, but not limited to, violations of section 1124, 1125, or 1127 of title 15, section 506 of title 17, or section 2318 or 2320 of title 18); (D) it is trade dress merchandise involved in the violation of a court order citing sec- tion 1125 of title 15; (E) it is merchandise which is marked in- tentionally in violation of section 1304 of this title; (F) it is merchandise for which the im- porter has received written notices that pre- vious importations of identical merchandise from the same supplier were found to have been marked in violation of section 1304 of this title; or (G) U.S. Customs and Border Protection determines it is a technology, product, serv- ice, device, component, or part thereof the importation of which is prohibited under subsection (a)(2) or (b)(1) of section 1201 of title 17. (3) If the importation or entry of the mer- chandise is subject to quantitative restric- tions requiring a visa, permit, license, or other similar document, or stamp from the United States Government or from a foreign govern- ment or issuing authority pursuant to a bilat- eral or multilateral agreement, the merchan- dise shall be subject to detention in accord- ance with section 1499 of this title unless the appropriate visa, license, permit, or similar document or stamp is presented to the Cus- toms Service; but if the visa, permit, license, or similar document or stamp which is pre- sented in connection with the importation or entry of the merchandise is counterfeit, the merchandise may be seized and forfeited. (4) If the merchandise is imported or intro- duced contrary to a provision of law which governs the classification or value of merchan- dise and there are no issues as to the admissi- bility of the merchandise into the United States, it shall not be seized except in accord- ance with section 1592 of this title. (5) In any case where the seizure and for- feiture of merchandise are required or author- ized by this section, the Secretary may— (A) remit the forfeiture under section 1618 of this title, or (B) permit the exportation of the merchan- dise, unless its release would adversely af- fect health, safety, or conservation or be in contravention of a bilateral or multilateral agreement or treaty. (d) Merchandise exported contrary to law Merchandise exported or sent from the United States or attempted to be exported or sent from the United States contrary to law, or the pro- ceeds or value thereof, and property used to fa- cilitate the exporting or sending of such mer- chandise, the attempted exporting or sending of such merchandise, or the receipt, purchase, transportation, concealment, or sale of such merchandise prior to exportation shall be seized and forfeited to the United States. (June 17, 1930, ch. 497, title IV, § 596, as added Sept. 1, 1954, ch. 1213, title V, § 502, 68 Stat. 1140; amended Pub. L. 99–570, title III, § 3123, Oct. 27, 1986, 100 Stat. 3207–87; Pub. L. 103–182, title VI, § 624, Dec. 8, 1993, 107 Stat. 2187; Pub. L. 104–132, title VI, § 606, Apr. 24, 1996, 110 Stat. 1290; Pub. L. 109–177, title III, § 311(d), Mar. 9, 2006, 120 Stat. 242; Pub. L. 110–403, title II, § 209(b), Oct. 13, 2008, 122 Stat. 4264; Pub. L. 114–125, title III, § 303(a), Feb. 24, 2016, 130 Stat. 150.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Controlled Substances Act, referred to in subsec. (c)(1)(B), is title II of Pub. L. 91–513, Oct. 27, 1970, 84 Stat. 1242, which is classified principally to subchapter I (§ 801 et seq.) of chapter 13 of Title 21, Food and Drugs. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 801 of Title 21 and Tables. CODIFICATION In subsec. (c)(1)(C), ‘‘section 80302 of title 49’’ sub- stituted for ‘‘section 1 of the Act of August 9, 1939 (49 U.S.C. App. 781)’’ on authority of Pub. L. 103–272, § 6(b), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1378, the first section of which en- acted subtitles II, III, and V to X of Title 49, Transpor- tation. PRIOR PROVISIONS A prior section 596 of act June 17, 1930, ch. 497, title IV, 46 Stat. 752, related to buildings on boundary, prior to repeal by act June 25, 1948, ch. 645, § 21, 62 Stat. 862, eff. Sept. 1, 1948. AMENDMENTS 2016—Subsec. (c)(2)(G). Pub. L. 114–125 added subpar. (G). 2008—Subsec. (c)(2)(C). Pub. L. 110–403, which directed amendment of section 596(c)(2)(c) of the Tariff Act of 1950 by striking out ‘‘or 509’’, was executed by striking out ‘‘or 509’’ after ‘‘506’’ in subsec. (c)(2)(C) of this sec- tion, which is section 596 of the Tariff Act of 1930, to re- flect the probable intent of Congress. 2006—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 109–177 added subsec. (d). 1996—Subsec. (c)(1)(D). Pub. L. 104–132 added subpar. (D). 1993—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 103–182 amended subsec. (c) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (c) read as fol- lows: ‘‘Any merchandise that is introduced or at- tempted to be introduced into the United States con- trary to law (other than in violation of section 1592 of this title) may be seized and forfeited.’’ 1986—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 99–570, § 3123(1), (2), sub- stituted ‘‘subsection (b) or (c) of section 1594’’ for ‘‘the proviso to section 1594’’ and ‘‘may be seized’’ for ‘‘shall be seized’’. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 99–570, § 3123(3), added subsec. (c). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1996 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 104–132 effective 1 year after Apr. 24, 1996, see section 607 of Pub. L. 104–132, set out as a note under section 841 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure. TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS For transfer of functions, personnel, assets, and li- abilities of the United States Customs Service of the Department of the Treasury, including functions of the Secretary of the Treasury relating thereto, to the Sec- retary of Homeland Security, and for treatment of re- lated references, see sections 203(1), 551(d), 552(d), and 557 of Title 6, Domestic Security, and the Department of Homeland Security Reorganization Plan of Novem- Page 292 TITLE 19—CUSTOMS DUTIES §§ 1596 to 1598 ber 25, 2002, as modified, set out as a note under section 542 of Title 6. For establishment of U.S. Customs and Border Protection in the Department of Homeland Se- curity, treated as if included in Pub. L. 107–296 as of Nov. 25, 2002, see section 211 of Title 6, as amended gen- erally by Pub. L. 114–125, and section 802(b) of Pub. L. 114–125, set out as a note under section 211 of Title 6. §§ 1596 to 1598. Repealed. June 25, 1948, ch. 645, § 21, 62 Stat. 862, eff. Sept. 1, 1948 Section 1596, act June 17, 1930, ch. 497, title IV, § 596, 46 Stat. 752, related to buildings on boundary. See sec- tion 547 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure. Section 1597, act June 17, 1930, ch. 497, title IV, § 597, 46 Stat. 752, related to fraudulent treatment of goods in warehouses. See section 548 of Title 18. Section 1598, acts June 17, 1930, ch. 497, title IV, § 598, 46 Stat. 752; June 25, 1938, ch. 679, § 26, 52 Stat. 1089, re- lated to offenses concerning seals and unlawful removal of goods from custom custody. See section 549 of Title 18. § 1599. Officers not to be interested in vessels or cargo No person employed under the authority of the United States, in the collection of duties on im- ports or tonnage, shall own, either in whole or in part, any vessel (other than a yacht or other pleasure boat), or act as agent, attorney, or con- signee for the owner or owners of any vessel, or of any cargo or lading on board the same; nor shall any such person import, or be concerned directly or indirectly in the importation of, any merchandise for sale into the United States. Every person who violates this section shall be liable to a penalty of $500. (June 17, 1930, ch. 497, title IV, § 599, 46 Stat. 753; Pub. L. 95–410, title II, § 212, Oct. 3, 1978, 92 Stat. 904.) Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS Identical provisions were contained in R.S. § 2638, which was superseded by act Sept. 21, 1922, ch. 356, title IV, § 599, 42 Stat. 984, and repealed by section 642 there- of. Section 599 of the 1922 act was superseded by section 599 of act June 17, 1930, comprising this section, and re- pealed by section 651(a)(1) of the 1930 act. AMENDMENTS 1978—Pub. L. 95–410 excepted from the interest prohi- bition ownership of a yacht or other pleasure boat. § 1600. Application of the customs laws to other seizures by customs officers The procedures set forth in sections 1602 through 1619 of this title shall apply to seizures of any property effected by customs officers under any law enforced or administered by the Customs Service unless such law specifies dif- ferent procedures. (June 17, 1930, ch. 497, title IV, § 600, as added Pub. L. 98–473, title II, § 323, Oct. 12, 1984, 98 Stat. 2057.) Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS A prior section 600 of act June 17, 1930, ch. 497, title IV, 46 Stat. 753, related to gratuities, prior to repeal by act June 25, 1948, ch. 645, § 21, 62 Stat. 862, eff. Sept. 1, 1948. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS For transfer of functions, personnel, assets, and li- abilities of the United States Customs Service of the Department of the Treasury, including functions of the Secretary of the Treasury relating thereto, to the Sec- retary of Homeland Security, and for treatment of re- lated references, see sections 203(1), 551(d), 552(d), and 557 of Title 6, Domestic Security, and the Department of Homeland Security Reorganization Plan of Novem- ber 25, 2002, as modified, set out as a note under section 542 of Title 6. For establishment of U.S. Customs and Border Protection in the Department of Homeland Se- curity, treated as if included in Pub. L. 107–296 as of Nov. 25, 2002, see section 211 of Title 6, as amended gen- erally by Pub. L. 114–125, and section 802(b) of Pub. L. 114–125, set out as a note under section 211 of Title 6. §§ 1601, 1601a. Repealed. June 25, 1948, ch. 645, § 21, 62 Stat. 862, eff. Sept. 1, 1948 Section 1601, act June 17, 1930, ch. 497, title IV, § 601, 46 Stat. 753, related to bribery. Section 1601a, act Aug. 5, 1935, ch. 438, title III, § 309, 49 Stat. 528, related to wearing of uniform or badge of Coast Guard or Customs Service while violating rev- enue laws. See sections 702, 703, and 912 of Title 18. § 1602. Seizure; report to customs officer It shall be the duty of any officer, agent, or other person authorized by law to make seizures of merchandise or baggage subject to seizure for violation of the customs laws, to report every such seizure immediately to the appropriate customs officer for the district in which such violation occurred, and to turn over and deliver to such customs officer any vessel, vehicle, air- craft, merchandise, or baggage seized by him, and to report immediately to such customs offi- cer every violation of the customs laws. (June 17, 1930, ch. 497, title IV, § 602, 46 Stat. 754; Pub. L. 91–271, title III, § 301(z), June 2, 1970, 84 Stat. 290; Pub. L. 98–473, title II, § 321, Oct. 12, 1984, 98 Stat. 2056; Pub. L. 98–573, title II, § 213(a)(1), Oct. 30, 1984, 98 Stat. 2984.) Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS Provisions similar to those in this section were con- tained in act Sept. 21, 1922, ch. 356, title IV, § 602, 42 Stat. 984. That section was superseded by section 602 of act June 17, 1930, comprising this section, and repealed by section 651(a)(1) of the 1930 act. Prior provisions requiring officers or persons em- ployed in the customs revenue service, upon detection of any violation of the customs laws, to make com- plaint to the collector, were contained in act June 22, 1874, ch. 391, § 15, 18 Stat. 189, prior to repeal by act Sept. 21, 1922, ch. 356, title IV, § 643, 42 Stat. 989. AMENDMENTS 1984—Pub. L. 98–573 and Pub. L. 98–473 inserted ref- erence to aircraft. 1970—Pub. L. 91–271 substituted references to appro- priate customs officer or such customs officer for ref- erences to collector wherever appearing. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1984 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 98–573 effective Oct. 15, 1984, see section 214(e) of Pub. L. 98–573, set out as a note under section 1304 of this title.