Section 1 · Organization of customs service

Codification

Section was superseded in part by section 2071 et seq. of this title.

Prior Provisions

This was a provision of the sundry civil appropriation act for the fiscal year 1913. Prior to its incorporation into the Code, it reads as follows: “The President is authorized to reorganize the customs service and cause estimates to be submitted therefor on account of the fiscal year nineteen hundred and fourteen bringing the total cost of said service for said fiscal year within a sum not exceeding $10,150,000 instead of $10,500,000, the amount authorized to be expended therefor on account of the current fiscal year nineteen hundred and twelve; in making such reorganization and reduction in expenses he is authorized to abolish or consolidate collection districts, ports, and subports of entry and delivery, to discontinue needless offices and employments, to reduce excessive rates of compensation below amounts fixed by law or Executive order, and to do all such other and further things that in his judgment may be necessary to make such organization effective and within the limit of cost herein fixed; such reorganization shall be communicated to Congress at its next regular session and shall constitute for the fiscal year nineteen hundred and fourteen and until otherwise provided by Congress the permanent organization of the customs service.” Such of the foregoing provisions as were not carried into the Code were omitted as temporary and executed.

The plan of reorganization, with an estimate of the expenses of the same, was communicated by the President to Congress by Message dated March 3, 1913, as follows:

“Message from the President of the United States, Transmitting Plan of Reorganization of the Customs Service and Detailed Estimate of Expenses of the Same.

“To the Senate and House of Representatives:

“Whereas, by virtue of the provision of chapter 355 of the acts of 1912, approved August 24, 1912, being ‘An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and thirteen, and for other purposes,’ I was authorized to reorganize the customs service and cause estimates to be submitted therefor on account of the fiscal year 1914, reducing the total cost of said service for said fiscal year by an amount not less than $350,000, and I was further authorized in making such reorganization and reduction in expenses to abolish or consolidate collection districts, ports and subports of entry and delivery, to discontinue needless offices and employments, to reduce excessive rates of compensation below amounts fixed by law or Executive order, and to do all such other and further things that in my judgment may be necessary to make such reorganization effective and within the said limit of cost; and

“Whereas, it was further provided that such reorganization should be communicated to Congress at its next regular session and should constitute for the fiscal year 1914, and until otherwise provided by Congress, the permanent organization of the customs service: Now, therefore,

“It is hereby ordered and communicated that the following plan shall be the organization of the customs service for the said fiscal year 1914, and unless otherwise provided by Congress the permanent organization of the customs service:

“I. Customs Districts

“In lieu of all customs-collection districts, ports, and subports of entry and ports of delivery now or heretofore existing there shall be 49 customs-collection districts with district headquarters and port of entry as follows:” [The customs-collection districts, ports, and subports of entry and ports of delivery enumerated in the President's message to Congress have been changed since the date of the message and the districts and their boundaries and ports of entry are subject to further changes under section 2 of this title.]

“II. The use of the terms ‘port of delivery’ and ‘subport of entry’ is hereby discontinued, and all ports of entry, subports of entry, and ports of delivery not above specifically mentioned as ports of entry, are hereby abolished.

“III. The privileges of the first and seventh sections of the act of June 10, 1880, commonly known as the ‘immediate transportation act’ shall remain as heretofore existing with respect to the ports of entry above mentioned.

“IV. There shall be one collector of customs for each of the customs collection districts above established, who shall receive the compensation hereafter set forth, which shall constitute all the compensation and emoluments to be received by him and which shall be in lieu of all fees, commissions, salaries, or other emoluments of any name or nature (including the right to charge for blank manifests and clearances under the provisions of section 2648 of the Revised Statutes) heretofore received by or allowed to him.

“All moneys collected or received by such collectors of customs in their official capacities, whether as fees, storage, commissions, or from the sale of blank forms or otherwise, shall be covered into the Treasury.

“V. Such collectors shall maintain their principal offices at the headquarters of their respective districts, with the exception of the collectors for the districts of Virginia, Minnesota, and Duluth and Superior, who shall maintain a principal office at both Newport News and Norfolk, and at both St. Paul and Minneapolis, and at both Duluth and Superior, respectively.

“VI. The collector of customs or the surveyor of customs (if there be no collector) for any district heretofore existing in which the port above mentioned as the headquarters of a district hereby created is located shall continue to hold office as the collector of customs for such new district under his existing commission, or if the port so designated as the headquarters of any district hereby created by an independent port of delivery the collector or surveyor (if there be no collector) shall continue to hold office as the collector of customs for such new district under his existing commission, and the terms of office of all other collectors of customs, and the terms of office of all other surveyors of customs, except the surveyors of customs at the ports of Portland, Me., Boston, Mass., New York, N.Y., Philadelphia, Pa., Baltimore, Md., New Orleans, La., and San Francisco, Cal., shall cease and determine upon this reorganization going into effect.

“VII. The Secretary of the Treasury may appoint a deputy collector to have charge of each port of entry, who shall perform such duties and receive such compensation as the Secretary of the Treasury shall determine.

“VIII. The Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to prescribe uniform blank forms to be used in connection with the entry and clearance of merchandise, and to cause such forms to be printed and to be kept on sale at the various ports of entry as he may direct, the net proceeds of such sales to be covered into the Treasury.

“IX. Merchandise shall not be entered or delivered from customs custody elsewhere than at one of the ports of entry hereinbefore designated, except at the expense of the parties in interest, upon express authority from the Secretary of the Treasury and under conditions to be prescribed by him. When it shall be made to appear to the Secretary of the Treasury that the interests of commerce or the protection of the revenue so require, he may cause to be stationed at places in the various collection districts, though not named as ports of entry, officers or employees of the customs with authority to enter and clear vessels, to accept entries of merchandise, to collect duties, and to enforce the various provisions of the customs and navigation laws.

“X. All persons now in the classified civil service whose employment may be discontinued by reason of this reorganization shall be retained upon the list of eligibles for appointment to fill any vacancies hereafter occurring in the customs service.

“XI. The notice of dissatisfaction and protest provided for by subsections 13 and 14 of section 28 of the act approved August 5, 1909, shall be deemed to be finally abandoned and waived unless within 30 days from the date of filing thereof the person who filed such notice or protest shall deposit with the collector of customs a fee of $1 with respect to each appraisement, entry, or payment objected to. Such fee shall be deposited and accounted for as ‘Miscellaneous receipts,’ and in case the notice of dissatisfaction or protest in connection with which such fee was deposited shall be finally sustained in whole or in part, such fee shall be refunded to the importer, with the duties found to be collected in excess, from the appropriation for the refund to importers of excess of deposits.

“Attached hereto is a detailed estimate of the expenses of the customs service under the reorganization above provided. [Omitted as not permanent, and in any event superseded by section 6 of this title.]

“Done at Washington, D.C., this 3d day of March, 1913.

“Wm. H. Taft.”