28 U.S.C. § 2463 — Property taken under revenue law not re-

Page 612 TITLE 28—JUDICIARY AND JUDICIAL PROCEDURE § 2462 ‘‘(A) the head of an agency shall adjust civil mon- etary penalties through an interim final rule- making; and ‘‘(B) the adjustment shall take effect not later than August 1, 2016. ‘‘(2) SUBSEQUENT ADJUSTMENTS.—For the second ad- justment made under subsection (a) after the date of enactment of the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, and each adjustment thereafter, the head of an agency shall adjust civil monetary penalties and shall make the adjustment notwithstanding section 553 of title 5, United States Code. ‘‘(c) EXCEPTION.—For the first adjustment made under subsection (a) after the date of enactment of the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Im- provements Act of 2015, the head of an agency may ad- just the amount of a civil monetary penalty by less than the otherwise required amount if— ‘‘(1) the head of the agency, after publishing a no- tice of proposed rulemaking and providing an oppor- tunity for comment, determines in a final rule that— ‘‘(A) increasing the civil monetary penalty by the otherwise required amount will have a negative economic impact; or ‘‘(B) the social costs of increasing the civil mone- tary penalty by the otherwise required amount out- weigh the benefits; and ‘‘(2) the Director of the Office of Management and Budget concurs with the determination of the head of the agency under paragraph (1). ‘‘(d) OTHER ADJUSTMENTS MADE.—If a civil monetary penalty subject to a cost-of-living adjustment under this Act is, during the 12 months preceding a required cost-of-living adjustment, increased by an amount greater than the amount of the adjustment required under subsection (a), the head of the agency is not re- quired to make the cost-of-living adjustment for that civil monetary penalty in that year. ‘‘COST-OF-LIVING ADJUSTMENTS OF CIVIL MONETARY PENALTIES ‘‘SEC. 5. (a) ADJUSTMENT.—The inflation adjustment under section 4 shall be determined by increasing the maximum civil monetary penalty or the range of min- imum and maximum civil monetary penalties, as appli- cable, for each civil monetary penalty by the cost-of- living adjustment. Any increase determined under this subsection shall be rounded to the nearest multiple of $1. ‘‘(b) DEFINITION.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in paragraph (2), for purposes of subsection (a), the term ‘cost-of- living adjustment’ means the percentage (if any) for each civil monetary penalty by which— ‘‘(A) the Consumer Price Index for the month of October preceding the date of the adjustment, ex- ceeds ‘‘(B) the Consumer Price Index for the month of October 1 year before the month of October referred to in subparagraph (A). ‘‘(2) INITIAL ADJUSTMENT.— ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subparagraph (C), for the first inflation adjustment under section 4 made by an agency after the date of enactment of the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 [Nov. 2, 2015], the term ‘cost-of-living adjustment’ means the percent- age (if any) for each civil monetary penalty by which the Consumer Price Index for the month of October, 2015 exceeds the Consumer Price Index for the month of October of the calendar year during which the amount of such civil monetary penalty was established or adjusted under a provision of law other than this Act. ‘‘(B) APPLICATION OF ADJUSTMENT.—The cost-of- living adjustment described in subparagraph (A) shall be applied to the amount of the civil mone- tary penalty as it was most recently established or adjusted under a provision of law other than this Act. ‘‘(C) MAXIMUM ADJUSTMENT.—The amount of the increase in a civil monetary penalty under subpara- graph (A) shall not exceed 150 percent of the amount of that civil monetary penalty on the date of enactment of the Federal Civil Penalties Infla- tion Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015. ‘‘SEC. 6. Any increase under this Act in a civil mone- tary penalty shall apply only to civil monetary pen- alties, including those whose associated violation pre- dated such increase, which are assessed after the date the increase takes effect. ‘‘SEC. 7. IMPLEMENTATION AND OVERSIGHT ENHANCE- MENTS ‘‘(a) OMB GUIDANCE.—Not later than February 29, 2016, not later than December 15, 2016, and December 15 of every year thereafter, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall issue guidance to agen- cies on implementing the inflation adjustments re- quired under this Act. ‘‘(b) AGENCY FINANCIAL REPORTS.—The head of each agency shall include in the Agency Financial Report submitted under OMB Circular A–136, or any successor thereto, information about the civil monetary pen- alties within the jurisdiction of the agency, including the adjustment of the civil monetary penalties by the head of the agency under this Act. ‘‘(c) GAO REVIEW.—The Comptroller General of the United States shall annually submit to Congress a re- port assessing the compliance of agencies with the in- flation adjustments required under this Act, which may be included as part of another report submitted to Con- gress.’’ [Pub. L. 104–134, title III, § 31001(s)(2), Apr. 26, 1996, 110 Stat. 1321–373, which provided that the first adjustment of a civil monetary penalty made pursuant to the amendment by § 31001(s)(1) of Pub. L. 104–134 (amending Pub. L. 101–410, set out above) could not exceed 10 per- cent of the penalty, was repealed by Pub. L. 114–74, title VII, § 701(c), Nov. 2, 2015, 129 Stat. 601.] [For authority of the Director of the Office of Man- agement and Budget to consolidate reports required under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, Pub. L. 101–410, set out above, to be sub- mitted between Jan. 1, 1995, and Sept. 30, 1997, or to ad- just their frequency and due dates, see section 404 of Pub. L. 103–356, set out as a note under section 501 of Title 31, Money and Finance.] § 2462. Time for commencing proceedings Except as otherwise provided by Act of Con- gress, an action, suit or proceeding for the en- forcement of any civil fine, penalty, or for- feiture, pecuniary or otherwise, shall not be en- tertained unless commenced within five years from the date when the claim first accrued if, within the same period, the offender or the prop- erty is found within the United States in order that proper service may be made thereon. (June 25, 1948, ch. 646, 62 Stat. 974.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES Based on title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., § 791 (R.S. § 1047). Changes were made in phraseology. § 2463. Property taken under revenue law not re- pleviable All property taken or detained under any rev- enue law of the United States shall not be repleviable, but shall be deemed to be in the cus- tody of the law and subject only to the orders and decrees of the courts of the United States having jurisdiction thereof. (June 25, 1948, ch. 646, 62 Stat. 974.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES Based on title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., § 747 (R.S. § 934). Page 613 TITLE 28—JUDICIARY AND JUDICIAL PROCEDURE § 2465 Changes were made in phraseology. § 2464. Security; special bond (a) Except in cases of seizures for forfeiture under any law of the United States, whenever a warrant of arrest or other process in rem is issued in any admiralty case, the United States marshal shall stay the execution of such proc- ess, or discharge the property arrested if the process has been levied, on receiving from the respondent or claimant of the property a bond or stipulation in double the amount claimed by the libellant, with sufficient surety, to be approved by the judge of the district court where the case is pending, or, in his absence, by the collector of the port, conditioned to answer the decree of the court in such case. Such bond or stipulation shall be returned to the court, and judgment or decree thereon, against both the principal and sureties, may be secured at the time of ren- dering the decree in the original case. The owner of any vessel may deliver to the marshal a bond or stipulation, with sufficient surety, to be ap- proved by the judge of the district court, condi- tioned to answer the decree of such court in all or any cases that are brought thereafter in such court against the vessel. Thereupon the execu- tion of all such process against such vessel shall be stayed so long as the amount secured by such bond or stipulation is at least double the aggre- gate amount claimed by libellants in such suits which are begun and pending against such ves- sel. Similar judgments or decrees and remedies may be had on such bond or stipulation as if a special bond or stipulation had been filed in each of such suits. (b) The court may make necessary orders to carry this section into effect, particularly in giving proper notice of any such suit. Such bond or stipulation shall be indorsed by the clerk with a minute of the suits wherein process is so stayed. Further security may be required by the court at any time. (c) If a special bond or stipulation in the par- ticular case is given under this section, the li- ability as to said case on the general bond or stipulation shall cease. The parties may stipu- late the amount of the bond or stipulation for the release of a vessel or other property to be not more than the amount claimed in the libel, with interest, plus an allowance for libellant’s costs. In the event of the inability or refusal of the parties to so stipulate, the court shall fix the amount, but if not so fixed then a bond shall be required in the amount prescribed in this sec- tion. (June 25, 1948, ch. 646, 62 Stat. 974.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES Based on title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., § 754 (R.S. § 941; Mar. 3, 1899, ch. 441, 30 Stat. 1354; Aug. 3, 1935, ch. 431, § 3, 49 Stat. 513). Changes were made in phraseology. Executive Documents TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS All offices of collector of customs, comptroller of cus- toms, surveyor of customs, and appraiser of merchan- dise of Bureau of Customs of Department of the Treas- ury to which appointments were required to be made by the President with the advice and consent of the Sen- ate were ordered abolished, with such offices to be ter- minated not later than Dec. 31, 1966, by Reorg. Plan No. 1, of 1965, eff. May 25, 1965, 30 F.R. 7035, 79 Stat. 1317, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organiza- tion and Employees. All functions of the offices elimi- nated were already vested in the Secretary of the Treasury by Reorg. Plan No. 26 of 1950, eff. July 31, 1950, 15 F.R. 4935, 64 Stat. 1280, set out in the Appendix to Title 5. § 2465. Return of property to claimant; liability for wrongful seizure; attorney fees, costs, and interest (a) Upon the entry of a judgment for the claimant in any proceeding to condemn or for- feit property seized or arrested under any provi- sion of Federal law— (1) such property shall be returned forthwith to the claimant or his agent; and (2) if it appears that there was reasonable cause for the seizure or arrest, the court shall cause a proper certificate thereof to be entered and, in such case, neither the person who made the seizure or arrest nor the prosecutor shall be liable to suit or judgment on account of such suit or prosecution, nor shall the claim- ant be entitled to costs, except as provided in subsection (b). (b)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), in any civil proceeding to forfeit property under any provision of Federal law in which the claim- ant substantially prevails, the United States shall be liable for— (A) reasonable attorney fees and other liti- gation costs reasonably incurred by the claim- ant; (B) post-judgment interest, as set forth in section 1961 of this title; and (C) in cases involving currency, other nego- tiable instruments, or the proceeds of an in- terlocutory sale— (i) interest actually paid to the United States from the date of seizure or arrest of the property that resulted from the invest- ment of the property in an interest-bearing account or instrument; and (ii) an imputed amount of interest that such currency, instruments, or proceeds would have earned at the rate applicable to the 30-day Treasury Bill, for any period dur- ing which no interest was paid (not includ- ing any period when the property reasonably was in use as evidence in an official pro- ceeding or in conducting scientific tests for the purpose of collecting evidence), com- mencing 15 days after the property was seized by a Federal law enforcement agency, or was turned over to a Federal law enforce- ment agency by a State or local law enforce- ment agency. (2)(A) The United States shall not be required to disgorge the value of any intangible benefits nor make any other payments to the claimant not specifically authorized by this subsection. (B) The provisions of paragraph (1) shall not apply if the claimant is convicted of a crime for which the interest of the claimant in the prop- erty was subject to forfeiture under a Federal criminal forfeiture law. (C) If there are multiple claims to the same property, the United States shall not be liable