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SEC. 3712. SALE OF INDIVISIBLE PROPERTY.

When any property liable to distraint for taxes is not divisible, so as to enable the collector by sale of a part thereof to raise the whole amount of the tax, with all costs and charges, the whole of such property shall be sold, and the surplus of the proceeds of the sale, after making allowance for the amount of the tax, interest, penalties, and additions thereto, and for the costs and charges of the distraint and sale, shall be deposited with the Treasurer of the United States as provided in section 3971.

SEC. 3713. DISTRAINT BY COLLECTOR OUTSIDE HIS DISTRICT.

Any collector or deputy collector may, for the collection of taxes imposed upon any person, and committed to him for collection, seize and sell any of the property, real or personal (except property exempt from distraint and sale under section 3691), or any right or interest therein, of such person situated in any other collection district within the State in which such officer resides, notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) of section 3651; and his proceedings in relation thereto shall have the same effect as if the same were had in his proper collection district.

SEC. 3714. PERIOD OF LIMITATION UPON DISTRAINT. (a) LENGTH OF PERIOD.

For period within which distraint may be begun in case of

* * *

Miscellaneous taxes, see section 3312 (d).

(b) DATE OF BEGINNING DISTRAINT. In determining the running of any period of limitation in respect of distraint, the distraint shall be held to have been begun—

(1) PERSONAL PROPERTY. In the case of personal property, on the date on which the levy upon such property is made; or (2) REAL PROPERTY. In the case of real property, on the date on which notice of the time and place of sale is given to the person whose estate it is proposed to sell.

SEC. 3715. SUCCESSIVE SEIZURES.

Whenever any property, personal or real, which is seized and sold by virtue of the foregoing provisions, is not sufficient to satisfy the claim of the United States for which distraint or seizure is made, the collector may, thereafter, and as often as the same may be necessary, proceed to seize and sell in like manner any other property liable to seizure of the person against whom such claim exists, until the amount due from him, together with all expenses, is fully paid.

SEC. 3716. FEES AND CHARGES IN DISTRAINT AND SEIZURE CASES.

The Commissioner shall by regulation determine the fees and charges to be allowed in all cases of distraint and other seizures; and shall have power to determine whether any expense incurred in making any distraint or seizure was necessary.

SUBCHAPTER D-FORFEITURES

SEC. 3720. SEIZURE OF FORFEITABLE PROPERTY.

(a) PROPERTY SUBJECT TO SEIZURE AND FORFEITURE.

(1) MANUFACTURED ARTICLES. All goods, wares, merchandise, articles, or objects, on which taxes are imposed, which shall be found in the possession or custody or within the control of any person, for the purpose of being sold or removed by him in fraud of the internal revenue laws, or with design to avoid payment of said taxes, may be seized, and shall be forfeited to the United States.

(2) RAW MATERIALS.-All raw materials found in the possession of any person intending to manufacture the same into articles of a kind subject to tax for the purpose of fraudulently selling such manufactured articles, or with design to evade the payment of said tax, may also be seized, and shall be forfeited as aforesaid.

(3) EQUIPMENT.-All tools, implements, instruments, and personal property whatsoever, in the place or building, or within. any yard or inclosure where such articles or raw materials are found, may also be seized, and shall be forfeited as aforesaid. (b) AUTHORITY TO MAKE SEIZURES.

(1) COLLECTORS AND DEPUTY COLLECTORS.-Such property may be seized by the collector or deputy collector of the proper district, or by such other collector or deputy collector as may be specially authorized by the Commissioner for that purpose.

(2) OTHER INTERNAL REVENUE OFFICERS.--Any officer of internal revenue may be specially authorized by the Commissioner to seize any property which may by law be subject to seizure, and for that purpose such officer shall have all the power conferred by law upon collectors; and such special authority shall be limited in respect of time, place, and kind and class of property, as the Commissioner may specify.

(c) RESPONSIBILITY.—

For the issuance of certificates of probable cause relieving officers making seizures of responsibility for damages, see R. S. 970 (U. S. C., Title 28, § 818).1

SEC. 3721. CUSTODY OF SEIZED GOODS PRIOR TO JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS.

Any goods, wares, merchandise, articles, or objects which may be seized, under the provisions of section 3720, by any collector or deputy collector may, at the option of the collector, be delivered to the marshal of the district, and remain in the care and custody and under the control of said marshal, until he shall obtain possession by process of law.

R. S. 970 has been superseded by section 2465 of Title 28 of the United States Code (62 Stat. 975); see Appendix II.

SEC. 3722. SPECIAL DISPOSITION OF PERISHABLE GOODS.

When any property which is seized under the provisions of section 3720 is liable to perish or become greatly reduced in price or value by keeping, or when it can not be kept without great expense

(a) APPLICATION FOR EXAMINATION. The owner thereof, or the marshal of the district, may apply to the collector of the district to examine it; and

(b) APPRAISAL.-If, in the opinion of said collector, it shall be necessary that the said property should be sold to prevent such waste or expense, he shall appraise the same; and thereupon

(c) RETURN TO OWNER UNDER BOND.-The owner shall have said. property returned to him upon giving bond in such form as may be prescribed by the Commissioner, and in an amount equal to the appraised value, with such sureties as the collector shall deem good and sufficient, to abide the final order, decree, or judgment of the court having cognizance of the case, and to pay the amount of said appraised value to the collector, marshal, or otherwise, as he may be ordered and directed by the court, which bond shall be filed by said collector with the United States district attorney for the district in which the proceedings in rem authorized in section 3723 may be commenced.

(d) SALE IN ABSENCE OF BOND.

(1) ORDER TO SELL.-If said owner shall neglect or refuse to give said bond, the collector shall issue to a deputy collector or to the marshal aforesaid an order to sell the same.

(2) MANNER OF SALE. The deputy collector or marshal shall thereupon advertise and sell the said property at public auction in the same manner as goods may be sold on final execution in said district.

(3) DISPOSITION OF PROCEEDS.-The proceeds of the sale, after deducting the reasonable costs of the seizure and sale, shall be paid to the court aforesaid, to abide its final order, decree, or judgment.

SEC. 3723. JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS TO ENFORCE FORFEITURE.

(a) NATURE AND VENUE.-The proceedings to enforce such forfeitures shall be in the nature of a proceeding in rem in the district court of the United States for the district where such seizure is made.

(b) SERVICE OF PROCESS WHEN PROPERTY HAS BEEN RETURNED UNDER BOND.-In case bond as provided in section 3722 (c) shall have been executed and the property returned before seizure thereof by virtue of process in the proceedings in rem authorized in subsection (a) of this section, the marshal shall give notice of pendency of proceedings in court to the parties executing said bond, by personal service or publication, and in such manner and form as the court may direct, and the court shall thereupon have jurisdiction of said matter and parties in the same manner as if such property had been seized by virtue of the process aforesaid.

(c) COST OF SEIZURE TAXABLE.-The cost of seizure made before process issues shall be taxable by the court.

SEC. 3724. GOODS VALUED AT $500 OR LESS.

In all cases of seizure of any goods, wares, or merchandise as being subject to forfeiture under any provision of the internal revenue laws which, in the opinion of the collector or deputy collector making the seizure, are of the appraised value of $500 or less, the said collector or deputy collector shall, except in cases otherwise provided, proceed as follows:

Said

(a) LIST AND APPRAISEMENT. He shall cause a list containing a particular description of the goods, wares, or merchandise seized to be prepared in duplicate, and an appraisement thereof to be made by three sworn appraisers, to be selected by him, who shall be respectable and disinterested citizens of the United States residing within the collection district wherein the seizure was made. list and appraisement shall be properly attested by the said collector or deputy collector and the said appraisers, for which service each of the said appraisers shall be allowed the sum of $1.50 a day, to be paid in the manner provided by law for other necessary charges of collectors.

(b) NOTICE OF SEIZURE.-If the said goods are found by the said appraisers to be of the value of $500 or less, the said collector or deputy collector shall publish a notice, for three weeks, in some newspaper of the district where the seizure was made, describing the articles, and stating the time, place, and cause of their seizure, and requiring any person claiming them to appear and make such claim within 30 days from the date of the first publication of such notice.

(c) EXECUTION OF BOND BY CLAIMANT.-Any person claiming the goods, wares, or merchandise so seized, within the time specified in the notice, may file with the said collector or deputy collector a claim, stating his interest in the articles seized, and may execute a bond to the United States in the penal sum of $250, with sureties to be approved by the said collector or deputy collector, conditioned that, in case of condemnation of the articles so seized, the obligors shall pay all the costs and expenses of the proceedings to obtain such condemnation; and, upon the delivery of such bond to the collector or deputy collector, he shall transmit the same, with the duplicate list or description of the goods seized, to the United States district attorney for the district, and said attorney shall proceed thereon in the ordinary manner prescribed by law.

(d) SALE IN ABSENCE OF BOND.-If no claim is interposed and no bond is given within the time above specified, the collector or deputy collector, as the case may be, shall give ten days' notice of the sale of the goods, wares, or merchandise by publication, and, at the time and place specified in the notice, shall sell the articles so seized at public auction.

(e) DEPOSIT OF PROCEEDS OF SALE.-After deducting the expenses of appraisement and sale, the collector or deputy collector, as the case may be, shall deposit the proceeds to the credit of the Secretary.

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(f) REMISSION OF FORFEITURE.-1

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(1) CLAIM. Within one year after the sale of any goods, wares, or merchandise, as provided in the preceding subsections, any person claiming to be interested in the property sold may apply to the Secretary for a remission of the forfeiture thereof, or of any part thereof, and a restoration of the proceeds of the sale.

(2) ALLOWANCE.-The Secretary may grant the same upon satisfactory proof, to be furnished in such manner as he shall prescribe: Provided, That it shall be satisfactorily shown

(A) That the applicant, at the time of the seizure and sale of the said property, and during the intervening time, was absent, out of the United States, or in such circumstances as prevented him from knowing of the seizure, and that he did not know of the same; and also

(B) That the said forfeiture was incurred without willful negligence or any intention of fraud on the part of the owner of said property.

(g) DISTRIBUTION OF PROCEEDS OF SALE. If no application for restoration of the proceeds is made within one year, as prescribed in the foregoing subsection, the Secretary shall, at the expiration of the said time, cause the proceeds of the sale of the said property to be distributed according to law, as in the case of goods, wares, or merchandise condemned and sold pursuant to the decree of a competent court. SEC. 3725. STAMPING, MARKING, AND BRANDING SEIZED GOODS. Where any whisky or tobacco, or other article of manufacture or produce requiring brands, stamps, or marks of whatever kind to be placed thereon, shall be sold upon distraint, forfeiture (except as provided in section 2805 with respect to distilled spirits), or other process provided by law, the same not having been branded, stamped, or marked, as required by law, the officer selling the same shall, upon sale thereof, fix or cause to be affixed the brands, stamps, or marks so required.

SEC. 3726. CUSTOMS LAWS APPLICABLE.

The provisions of law applicable to the remission or mitigation by the Secretary of forfeitures under the customs laws shall apply to forfeitures incurred or alleged to have been incurred under the internal revenue laws.

SEC. 3727. CROSS REFERENCES.

For provisions relating to—

Destruction of stills and distilling apparatus after judgment of forfeiture, see section 2853.

Release of seized distillery or distilling apparatus before judgment, see section 2852.

Disposal of forfeited distilled spirits and equipment and material for distilling, see section 2807.

1 Subsections (f) and (g) are probably superseded by section 3726.

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