19 U.S.C. § 1610
Section 1610 · Seizure; judicial forfeiture proceedings
This is the Tariff Act of 1930
Amended 7 times on record
Applied in 37 court decisions — leading case United States v. $38,000.00 in United States Currency (1987)
Most recently applied in Langbord v. United States Department of the Treasury (April 2015)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
If any vessel, vehicle, aircraft, merchandise, or baggage is not subject to section 1607 of this title, the appropriate customs officer shall transmit a report of the case, with the names of available witnesses, to the United States attorney for the district in which the seizure was made for the institution of the proper proceedings for the condemnation of such property.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Prior Provisions
Provisions similar to those of this section were contained in act Sept. 21, 1922, ch. 356, title IV, §610, 42 Stat. 985. That section was superseded by section 610 of act June 17, 1930, comprising this section, and repealed by section 651(a)(1) of the 1930 act.
Amendments
1988—Pub. L. 100–690 reenacted section without change.
1984—Pub. L. 98–573 substituted “If any vessel, vehicle, aircraft, merchandise, or baggage is not subject to section 1607 of this title” for “If the value of any vessel, vehicle, merchandise, or baggage so seized is greater than $10,000”.
Pub. L. 98–473 amended section in manner substantially identical to amendment by Pub. L. 98–573.
1978—Pub. L. 95–410 substituted “$10,000” for “$2,500” wherever appearing.
1970—Pub. L. 91–271 substituted reference to appropriate customs officer for reference to collector, and struck out reference to appraiser's return of value.
1954—Act Sept. 1, 1954, substituted “$2,500” for “$1,000”.
Effective Date of 1984 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 98–573 effective Oct. 15, 1984, see section 214(e) of Pub. L. 98–573, set out as a note under section 1304 of this title.
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.