Collapse to view only § 1705. Destruction of forfeited vessel or vehicle

§ 1701. Customs-enforcement area
(a) Establishment; extent and duration; enforcement of laws applicable to waters adjacent to customs waters
(b) Boarding vessels; arrest and seizure; compliance with treaty provisions; authority of Secretary of Commerce unaffected
(Aug. 5, 1935, ch. 438, title I, § 1, 49 Stat. 517.)
§ 1702. Repealed. June 25, 1948, ch. 645, § 21, 62 Stat. 862, eff. Sept. 1, 1948
§ 1703. Seizure and forfeiture of vessels
(a) Vessels subject to seizure and forfeiture
(b) “Vessels of the United States” defined
(c) Acts constituting prima facie evidence vessel engaged in smuggling
(Aug. 5, 1935, ch. 438, title I, § 3, 49 Stat. 518.)
§ 1704. Refusal or revocation of registry, enrollment, license or number on evidence that vessel engaging in smuggling; appeal; immunity from liability

Subject to appeal to the Secretary of the Treasury and under such regulations as he may prescribe, when the Secretary of Transportation is shown upon evidence which he deems sufficient that such vessel is being, or is intended to be, employed to smuggle, transport, or otherwise assist in the unlawful introduction or importation into the United States of any merchandise or person, or to smuggle any merchandise into the territory of any foreign government in violation of the laws there in force, if under the laws of such foreign government any penalty or forfeiture is provided for violation of the laws of the United States respecting the customs revenue, or whenever, from the design or fittings of any vessel or the nature of any repairs made thereon, it is apparent to the Secretary of Transportation that such vessel has been built or adapted for the purpose of smuggling merchandise, the the 1

1 So in original.
Secretary of Transportation shall revoke any endorsement on the vessel’s certificate of documentation or number (when the Secretary is the authority issuing the number under chapter 123 of title 46) or refuse the same if application be made therefor, as the case may be. The Secretary of Transportation and all persons acting by or under his direction shall be indemnified from any penalties or actions for damages for carrying out the provisions of this section.

(Aug. 5, 1935, ch. 438, title I, § 4, 49 Stat. 519; 1946 Reorg. Plan No. 3, §§ 101–104, eff. July 16, 1946, 11 F.R. 7875, 60 Stat. 1097; Pub. L. 103–182, title VI, § 689(b), Dec. 8, 1993, 107 Stat. 2222.)
§ 1705. Destruction of forfeited vessel or vehicle

Any vessel or vehicle forfeited to the United States, whether summarily or by a decree of any court, for violation of any law respecting the revenue, may, in the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury, if he deems it necessary to protect the revenue of the United States, be destroyed in lieu of the sale thereof under existing law.

(Aug. 5, 1935, ch. 438, title I, § 5, 49 Stat. 519.)
§ 1706. Importation in vessels under thirty tons and aircraft; licenses; labels as prima facie evidence of foreign origin of merchandise

Except into the districts adjoining to the Dominion of Canada, or into the districts adjacent to Mexico, no merchandise of foreign growth or manufacture subject to the payment of duties shall be brought into the United States from any foreign port or place, or from any hovering vessel, in any vessel of less than thirty net tons burden without special license granted by the Secretary of the Treasury under such conditions as he may prescribe, nor in any other manner than by sea, except by aircraft duly licensed in accordance with law, or landed or unladen at any other port than is directed by law, under the penalty of seizure and forfeiture of all such unlicensed vessels or aircraft and of the merchandise imported therein, landed or unladen in any manner. Marks, labels, brands, or stamps, indicative of foreign origin, upon or accompanying merchandise or containers of merchandise found upon any such vessel or aircraft, shall be prima facie evidence of the foreign origin of such merchandise.

(Aug. 5, 1935, ch. 438, title I, § 6, 49 Stat. 519.)
§ 1706a. Civil penalties for trading without required certificate of documentation

Whenever a vessel, entitled to be documented and not so documented, is employed in a trade for which certificates of documentation are issued under the vessel documentation laws, other than a trade covered by a registry, the vessel is liable to a civil penalty of $500 for each port at which it arrives without the proper certificate of documentation, and if it has on board any merchandise of foreign growth or manufacture (sea stores excepted), or any taxable domestic spirits, wines, or other alcoholic liquors, on which the duties or taxes have not been paid or secured to be paid, the vessel, together with its equipment and cargo, is liable to seizure and forfeiture. Marks, labels, brands, or stamps, indicative of foreign origin, upon or accompanying merchandise or containers of merchandise found on board such vessel, shall be prima facie evidence of the foreign origin of such merchandise.

(June 19, 1886, ch. 421, § 7, 24 Stat. 81; Aug. 5, 1935, ch. 438, title III, § 314, 49 Stat. 529; Pub. L. 96–594, title I, § 126(e), Dec. 24, 1980, 94 Stat. 3459.)
§ 1707. Repealed. Pub. L. 104–295, § 3(a)(2), Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3515
§ 1708. Repealed. Pub. L. 106–36, title I, § 1001(b)(6), June 25, 1999, 113 Stat. 132
§ 1709. Definitions
When used in this Act:
(a) The term “United States”, when used in a geographical sense, includes all Territories and possessions of the United States, except the Virgin Islands, the Canal Zone, American Samoa, Wake Island, Midway Islands, Kingman Reef, Johnston Island, and the island of Guam.
(b) The term “officer of the customs” means any officer of the Customs Service or any commissioned, warrant, or petty officer of the Coast Guard, or agent or other person authorized by law or by the Secretary of the Treasury, or appointed in writing by a collector, to perform the duties of an officer of the Customs Service.
(c) The term “customs waters” means, in the case of a foreign vessel subject to a treaty or other arrangement between a foreign government and the United States enabling or permitting the authorities of the United States to board, examine, search, seize, or otherwise to enforce upon such vessel upon the high seas the laws of the United States, the waters within such distance of the coast of the United States as the said authorities are or may be so enabled or permitted by such treaty or arrangement and, in the case of every other vessel, the waters within four leagues of the coast of the United States.
(d) The term “hovering vessel” means any vessel which is found or kept off the coast of the United States within or without the customs waters, if, from the history, conduct, character, or location of the vessel, it is reasonable to believe that such vessel is being used or may be used to introduce or promote or facilitate the introduction or attempted introduction of merchandise into the United States in violation of the laws respecting the revenue.
(Aug. 5, 1935, ch. 438, title IV, § 401, 49 Stat. 529; June 25, 1938, ch. 679, § 2, 52 Stat. 1077; Proc. No. 2695, July 4, 1946, 11 F.R. 7517, 60 Stat. 1352; June 30, 1955, ch. 258, § 2(b), 69 Stat. 242.)
§ 1710. Separability

If any clause, sentence, paragraph, or part of this Act, or the application thereof to any person, or circumstances, is held invalid, the application thereof to other persons, or circumstances, and the remainder of the Act, shall not be affected thereby.

(Aug. 5, 1935, ch. 438, title IV, § 402, 49 Stat. 529.)
§ 1711. Citation of chapter

This Act may be cited as the “Anti-Smuggling Act”.

(Aug. 5, 1935, ch. 438, title IV, § 403, 49 Stat. 529.)