19 U.S.C. § 1603 — Seizure; warrants and reports

Page 293 TITLE 19—CUSTOMS DUTIES § 1604 1 See Codification note below. 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. § 1603. Seizure; warrants and reports (a) Any property which is subject to forfeiture to the United States for violation of the cus- toms laws and which is not subject to search and seizure in accordance with the provisions of sec- tion 1595 of this title, may be seized by the ap- propriate officer or person upon process issued in the same manner as provided for a search warrant under the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. This authority is in addition to any seizure authority otherwise provided by law. (b) Whenever a seizure of merchandise for vio- lation of the customs laws is made, or a viola- tion of the customs laws is discovered, and legal proceedings by the United States attorney in connection with such seizure or discovery are required, it shall be the duty of the appropriate customs officer to report promptly such seizure or violation to the United States attorney for the district in which such violation has oc- curred, or in which such seizure was made, and to include in such report a statement of all the facts and circumstances of the case within his knowledge, with the names of the witnesses and a citation to the statute or statutes believed to have been violated, and on which reliance may be had for forfeiture or conviction. (June 17, 1930, ch. 497, title IV, § 603, 46 Stat. 754; June 25, 1938, ch. 679, § 27, 52 Stat. 1089; Pub. L. 91–271, title III, § 301(aa), June 2, 1970, 84 Stat. 291; Pub. L. 95–410, title I, § 110(b), Oct. 3, 1978, 92 Stat. 896; Pub. L. 100–690, title VII, § 7365, Nov. 18, 1988, 102 Stat. 4478.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, referred to in subsec. (a), are set out in the Appendix to Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure. PRIOR PROVISIONS Provisions similar to those in this section were con- tained in act Sept. 21, 1922, ch. 356, title IV, § 603, 42 Stat. 984. That section was superseded by section 603 of act June 17, 1930, comprising this section, and repealed by section 651(a)(1) of the 1930 act. A prior provision requiring the collector or other per- son causing a seizure to be made to give information thereof to the Solicitor of the Treasury, was contained in R.S. § 3083, as amended by act Feb. 27, 1877, ch. 69, § 1, 19 Stat. 247. R.S. § 3084 required collectors to report to the district attorney of the district in which any fine, penalty, or forfeiture might be incurred, a statement of all the facts and circumstances. Officers of customs de- tecting violations of the customs laws were required to report to the collectors, and the latter were required to report to the district attorneys, by act June 22, 1874, ch. 391, § 15, 18 Stat. 189. All of these sections were re- pealed by act Sept. 21, 1922, ch. 356, title IV, §§ 642, 643, 42 Stat. 989. AMENDMENTS 1988—Pub. L. 100–690, § 7365, substituted ‘‘Seizure; war- rants and reports’’ for ‘‘Seizure; customs officer’s re- ports’’ in section catchline, added subsec. (a), and des- ignated existing provisions as subsec. (b). 1978—Pub. L. 95–410 inserted ‘‘promptly’’ after ‘‘to re- port’’. 1970—Pub. L. 91–271 substituted reference to appro- priate customs officer for reference to collector or prin- cipal local officer of Customs Agency Service. 1938—Act June 25, 1938, amended section generally. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries 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. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1938 AMENDMENT Amendment by act June 25, 1938, effective on thir- tieth day following June 25, 1938, except as otherwise specifically provided, see section 37 of act June 25, 1938, set out as a note under section 1401 of this title. Executive Documents TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS Functions of all other officers of Department of the Treasury and functions of all agencies and employees of such Department transferred, with certain exceptions, to Secretary of the Treasury, with power vested in him to authorize their performance or performance of any of his functions, by any of such officers, agencies, and employees, by Reorg. Plan No. 26 of 1950, §§ 1, 2, eff. July 31, 1950, 15 F.R. 4935, 64 Stat. 1280, 1281, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Em- ployees. Customs Service was under Department of the Treasury. § 1604. Seizure; prosecution 1 It shall be the duty of the Attorney General of the United States immediately to inquire into the facts of cases reported to him by customs of- ficers and the laws applicable thereto, and if it appears probable that any fine, penalty, or for- feiture has been incurred by reason of such 1 vio- lation, for the recovery of which the institution of proceedings in the United States district court or the Court of International Trade is nec- essary, forthwith to cause the proper pro- ceedings to be commenced and prosecuted, with- out delay, for the recovery of such fine, penalty, or forfeiture in such case provided, unless, upon inquiry and examination, the Attorney General decides that such proceedings can not probably be sustained or that the ends of public justice do not require that they should be instituted or prosecuted, in which case he shall report the facts to the Secretary of the Treasury for his di- rection in the premises. (June 17, 1930, ch. 497, title IV, § 604, 46 Stat. 754; Pub. L. 91–271, title III, § 301(bb), June 2, 1970, 84 Stat. 291; Pub. L. 96–417, title VI, § 610, Oct. 10, 1980, 94 Stat. 1746.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION As enacted by act June 17, 1930, the catchline for this section was ‘‘Same—prosecution’’, as this section was intended to be read as a continuation of the provisions introduced in sections 1602 and 1603 of this title. The use of ‘‘such’’ in text is meant to refer back to section 1603 of this title. PRIOR PROVISIONS Provisions similar to those in this section were con- tained in act Sept. 21, 1922, ch. 356, title IV, § 604, 42