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The CHAIRMAN. Without objection, it will be inserted in the record. Mr. BOEHNE. Whose synopsis is that, Mr. Chairman?

The CHAIRMAN. It comes from the Treasury Department and was prepared at my request.

(The synopsis referred to is as follows:)

SYNOPSIS OF PROPOSED CUSTOMS ADMINISTRATIVE ACT OF 1937 (H. R. 6738)

SECTION 1

Short title: "Customs Administrative Act of 1937."

SECTION 2

Excludes Wake Island and Midway Islands from territory in which our general tariff laws are applicable. Supplies are to be landed on these islands for American commercial air line and its employees but not for commercial purposes and expense of customs administration would not be justified.

SECTION 3

Revision of law requiring imports to be marked to indicate the country of their origin. Requires each imported article, or its container, to be marked to inform the ultimate purchaser as to the origin of the article, eliminating the present requirement that article and immediate container and outer package be marked. Provides exceptions for marking requirements where such exceptions can be justified on basis of administrative experience. Provides that the 10 percent additional marking duty shall not apply if goods are marked after importation but before entry into commerce of this country. Retains penal provisions against defacing or obliterating marking to indicate the origin of imports.

SECTION 4

Extends privilege of temporary free importation under bond to include (1) all articles to be exported after being changed in condition otherwise than by alteration or repair but not in such manner that drawback of duty could be obtained on exportation; (2) private automobiles, motorcycles, etc., to be used for business purposes; (3) locomotives or other railroad equipment temporarily brought into the United States to meet an emergency; (4) professional equipment, tools of trade, and camping equipment to be used temporarily by nonresidents; and (5) articles of special design for temporary use exclusively in connection with the manufacture or production of articles for export.

SECTION 5

Revises existing law to state the established rule that when duties on imports depend upon the quantity of goods imported, such quantity is to be ascertained as of the time of importation, except where law makes other provision for special

cases.

Provides that no administrative ruling resulting in the imposition of a higher rate of duty or charge except under the Antidumping Act shall be effective prior to the expiration of 30 days after the date such ruling is published.

SECTION 6

Authorizes existing practices under which collectors of customs disregard differences of less than $1 between the total duties or taxes deposited or tentatively assessed and the amount of duties actually accruing.

Gives collectors discretionary authority to admit articles free when expense and inconvenience of collecting duty would be disproportionate to the amount of such duty, but not exceeding $5 worth of goods in any one day in the case of articles accompanying, and for the personal or household use of, persons arriving in the United States or $1 in any other case. This is in accord with the present practice.

SECTION 7

Definitions of bases of valuation to be used for customs appraisals amended to eliminate requirement established by a recent court decision that sales to third countries must be considered by appraisers.

SECTION 8

Provides for payment of overtime compensation in all cases where customs employees perform services outside regular hours of business, the expense to be borne by the person requesting such services. Such compensation is now authorized in most, but not all, cases.

SECTION 9

Restates patchwork law in clearer manner and covers gaps in existing law by imposing penalties on persons who bring in merchandise from a contiguous country otherwise than in a vessel or vehicle and do not report the arrival of such merchandise to customs, or who fail to obtain a permit from customs before proceedings inland, or who carry passengers beyond a customs station without reporting.

SECTION 10

Adds new provision to tariff act to authorize the inspection, examination, and search of persons, baggage, or merchandise discharged or unladen from a vessel arriving in the United States or the Virgin Islands from a foreign port or place or from a port or place in any Territory or possession of the United States, whether directly or via another port or place in the United States or the Virgin Islands, and whether or not any or all of such persons' baggage or merchandise has previously been examined or inspected by customs officers.

SECTION 11

Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to permit separate entries for portions of one shipment of imported merchandise. A single entry for each shipment has heretofore been required.

SECTION 12

Restates existing law providing that imported merchandise for which entry has not been completed within 1 year shall be regarded as abandoned to the Government, and covers administrative practice of permitting such merchandise and merchandise regarded as abandoned because not withdrawn from warehouse within statutory period to be released to consignee upon payment of duties and charges at any time prior to sale. Also settles any doubt as to when certain classes of goods are to be regarded as abandoned and to the rate of duty applicable when the law is changed between the date of abandonment and the date of release to the consignee.

SECTION 13

Makes express provision for requiring a bond to insure compliance with all laws and regulations (governing the admission of merchandise into the commerce of the United States) with respect to the packages of an importation which are released to the importer before examination and appraisement is made on the basis of the representative packages retained for that purpose.

SECTION 14

Provides that a special regulation or instruction permitting examination of less than the usual 10 percent of each importaton may be applicable at one or more ports, to one or more importations, or to one or more classes of merchandise. Court rulings that such regulations under existing law must have general application have seriously interferred with customs administration. Also provides that no appraisement shall be held invalid because less than the statutory quantity of merchandise was examined unless the party claiming such invalidity can show that an incorrect appraisement resulted from the failure to examine additional goods.

Provides further that when the appraisement of an importation is held to be invalid, the United States Customs Court must find the proper dutiable value of the goods.

SECTION 15

Revises the law with respect to protests by American manufacturers, producers, and wholesalers against rates of duty assessed on imports competing with their products. Under the new law importers may import their merchandise upon payment of duties in accordance with Treasury findings until a prima-facie case against the correctness of such findings is made by a judicial decision adverse to the Treasury's findings. This will curb the use of the law by domestic interests to harass importers.

SECTION 16

Restates law with respect to refunds and errors with minor changes designed to express more precisely the established interpretation of existing law. Places a 1year limitation upon the time within which an erroneous assessment of duty on personal or household effects may be corrected without a formal protest having been filed.

SECTION 17

Provides that expenses of customs officers in connection with admeasurement of vessels at places other than a customs port of entry shall be borne by the owners of the vessels, and that all reimbursements of expenditures from customs appropriations shall be deposited to the credit of the appropriation from which they were paid.

SECTION 18

Provides that taxes on imports shall be construed to be customs duties only if the law under which they are imposed provides that they shall be treated as customs duties. This will not remove controversies concerning such taxes from the jurisdiction of the customs courts where such courts now have such jurisdiction, but will preclude any court from holding that provisions of law, particularly exemptions and preferences, applying only to duties are applicable also to internalrevenue taxes accruing on imports.

SECTION 19

Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to permit merchandise in transit through the United States, now required to be carried by a common carrier, to be carried otherwise than by a common carrier if no common carrier facilities are reasonably available.

SECTION 20

Expressly provides for existing administrative practices with respect to the transfer of the right to withdraw imports entered for warehouse; provides that such transfers shall be irrevocable in defined circumstances; and defines the customs rights of the transferee. Provision also made covering the administrative practice of permitting merchandise to be withdrawn for transfer to another bonded warehouse at the same port.

SECTION 21

Restates law prohibiting refund or remission of duties by reason of exportation after imports are released from customs custody to include exceptions established by court decisions and administrative practices.

SECTION 22

Covers a gap in existing law by making it a crime for any unauthorized person to put a customs seal, fastening, or mark on any warehouse or package containing merchandise or baggage, or willfully to assist or encourage another so to do.

SECTION 23

Amends law relating to reports by customs field officers of violations of law to provide that such reports shall be made to the United States attorney only if action by him will be required, and to eliminate a requirement that such reports be made to the Solicitor of the Treasury, an office which has been abolished.

SECTION 24

Amends law relating to the disposition of customs seizures to conform to recent laws prohibiting the sale at auction of certain classes of seized goods.

SECTION 25

Changes law relating to disposition of the proceeds from the sale of customs seizures to eliminate any basis for a claim that any part of such proceeds is available to cover duties on the seized goods which can be collected from the importer, and thereby relieve importer from liability for duties.

SECTION 26

Authority of Secretary to exact security in cases where no express statutory authority exists further clarified to include cases not only where such bonds are required for the protection of the revenue but also in order to assure compliance with noncustoms laws and regulations enforced by customs officers. Provides that a consolidated bond (single entry or term), in lieu of separate bonds, may be taken to assure compliance with two or more provisions of law. Cancelation of bond authorized in the event of a breach of a condition thereof without payment of any penalty in cases where a violation is entirely a technical one or without any real culpability on the part of the importer.

SECTION 27

Amends law relating to free importation of wool to be used in making carpets and other designated articles to eliminate requirement that proof of specific use be furnished within 3 years and to provide that duties at regular rates shall be assessed on all wools not used in making the designated articles unless it is shown that such wools are wastes in condition that such use is commercially impracticable. Authorizes continuance of administrative practice of assessing a special duty of 14 cents per pound on noils diverted from carpet manufacture.

SECTION 28

Consolidates tariff provisions relating to the free entry of American goods returned after having been exported. Eliminates the present requirement that to be entitled to free entry the goods must be imported by or for the account of the person who exported them. Extends the privilege of free return of containers of merchandise to new kinds of containers of foreign origin which have once paid duty. Provides that domestic products exported with benefit of draw-back of duties paid on component materials or wtihout payment of internal-revenue taxes may be returned under conditions no less favorable than those applicable at the time of importation to like articles of foreign origin. Provision granting free entry to articles exported to be repaired extended to articles exported to be altered.

SECTION 29

Existing law relating to the free entry of articles not exceeding $100 in value brought in by returning residents restated to conform with certain decisions of the courts; to facilitate the identification of merchandise entitled to free entry; and to require absence from the United States for not less than 48 hours before the privilege of free entry may be enjoyed.

SECTION 30

Repeals general provision for free entry of antiques and collateral matter. Actual experience has convinced the Treasury Department that a general provision for the free entry of antiques cannot be effectively administered.

SECTION 31

Empowers the Secretary of the Treasury to appoint officers now appointed by collectors, comptrollers of customs, and appraiser of merchandise at New York and to authorize any customs officer to perform any duties of a collector of customs. Eliminates present requirements that candidates for appointment to positions as inferior customs officers and employees may be so appointed only upon

[graphic]

nomination of superior officers, and that assistant collectors, assistan and chief assistant appraiser can only be demoted for cause. Secretary of the Treasury to appoint the solicitor at New York ar such other ports as he deems necessary and to delegate to collect and other officers and employees of the Treasury Department func present he is only authorized to delegate to officers of the Burea Abolishes the office of the surveyor of customs at New York.

Provides that bill shall be effective 30 days after its enactment e wise provided in the bill.

Mr. JENKINS. Mr. Chairman, there are some people terested in some of these items in connection with the not know what to advise them as to when they may com heard. They could not be here today. They want to b some of these hearings in order to get the general trend Is there any tendency on the part of the majority to limit ings, say to 2 or 3 days, or anything like that?

The CHAIRMAN. Not so far as I know; we intend to hold comprehensive hearings.

Mr. JENKINS. I think it would be advantageous, pr advised these people to come here about Friday of this we still be on this bill at that time?

The CHAIRMAN. I would advise not before Friday. I d we will get very far today. We may not get through w nesses from the Treasury today.

Mr. TREADWAY. You do not expect to sit in the aftern The CHAIRMAN. No, sir.

Mr. THOMPSON. Mr. Chairman, I would like to poin there are some very important matters scheduled to com House during the balance of this week. On tomorrow appropriation is in order, and that will probably take a cou Mr. JENKINS. Then I think it is safe to conclude that with these hearings until next week some time at least? The CHAIRMAN. I should think so.

Mr. COOPER. In line with the suggestion made by Mr. I think it is apparent that we cannot safely figure on an sessions this week. We have a very important bill this and the relief bill the next 2 days. That runs us through

The CHAIRMAN. We probably will not sit on Saturday. Mr. COOPER. Probably not on Saturday afternoon, an think it is reasonably safe to anticipate that we will have or sessions this week.

Mr. THOMPSON. I agree with the gentleman.

Mr. TREADWAY. May I ask one further question, just f tion? When this bill came up from the Treasury there panying it a long document from which, as I understan morning, this so-called synopsis has been made. Is th planation available?

The CHAIRMAN. That is what you asked for a few mom Mr. TREADWAY. No. The one that I asked be put in is a comparative statement showing the changes from the The CHAIRMAN. So far as I know, it is the same thing know of any other.

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