§ 15.1 Casualty, loss or theft, abatement or refund of duty for; application; evidence; allowance.1

(a) No abatement or refund will be made under section 563 (a), Tariff Act of 1930, as amended,2 unless the importer or his agent shall file within 30 days from the date of his discovery of the loss, theft, injury, or destruction an application in duplicate on customs Form 4315, and within 90 days from the said date the evidence of such loss, theft, injury, or destruction hereinafter required is submitted.

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1 This procedure is not applicable in the found of merchandise missing or worthless by the appraiser and so reported in his appraisement report. See §§ 15.8, 15.10, and 18.6 of this chapter.

"In no case shall there be any abatement or allowance made in the duties for any injury, deterioration, loss, or damage sustained by any merchandise while remaining in customs custody, except that the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized, upon production of proof satisfactory to him of the loss or theft of any merchandise while in the appraiser's stores, or of the actual injury or destruction, in whole or in part, of any merchandise by accidental fire or other casualty, while in bonded warehouse, or in the appraiser's stores, or while in transportation under bond, or while in the custody of the officers of the customs, although not in bond, or while within the limits of any port of entry and before having been landed under the supervision of the officers of the customs, to abate or refund, as the case may be, the duties upon such merchandise, in whole or in part, and to pay any such refund out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, and to cancel any warehouse bond or bonds, or enter satisfaction thereon in whole or in part, as the case may be, but no abatement or refund shall be made in respect of injury or destruction of any merchandise in bonded warehouse occurring after the expiration of three years from the date of importation. The decision of the Secretary of the Treasury as to the abatement or refund of the duties on any such merchandise shall be final and conclusive upon all persons.

"The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to prescribe such regulations as he may deem necessary to carry out the provisions of this subdivision and he may by such regulations limit the time within which proof of loss, theft, injury, or destruction shall be submitted, and may provide for the abatement or refund of duties, as authorized herein, by collectors of customs in cases in which the amount of the abatement or refund claimed is less than $25 and in which the importer has agreed to abide by the decision of the collector. The decision of

(b) The application and evidence shall be filed with the collector of customs at the port where the loss, theft, injury, or destruction occurred. In the case of total loss by fire or other casualty of merchandise while in transportation under bond, the application and evidence shall be filed at the port at which the transportation entry was made. In the case of partial destruction of or injury to such merchandise, the application and evidence shall be filed with the collector at the port of destination, unless the merchandise is returned to the port at which the transportation entry was made, in which case the application shall be filed at that port. In the case of partial destruction or injury, no application shall be entertained unless the appraiser shall have had an opportunity to examine the merchandise or the remainder thereof for the purpose of fixing the percentage of injury or destruction. Whether the duty involved is ad valorem, specific, or compound, the percentage of injury for the purpose of the allowance shall be determined by comparing the market value of comparable sound merchandise with the net salvage value of the injured merchandise computed on the basis of the market value of comparable injured merchandise, such comparison to be made as of the time and place of examination.

(c) In the case of alleged loss or theft while the merchandise is in the appraiser's stores, there shall be filed a declaration of the importer, owner, or ultimate consignee that he did not receive the merchandise and that to the best of his knowledge and belief it was lost or stolen as alleged in the application. In case the alleged loss or theft consisted of only a part of an examination package and was discovered after the release of the package from customs custody, the following evidence shall be submitted:

the collector in any such case shall be final and conclusive upon all persons.

"Any case pending before the United States Customs Court upon the effective date of this Act, under the provisions of section 563 of the Tariff Act of 1922, may, with the consent of the parties and the permission of the court, be transferred to the Secretary of the Treasury, or to the collector, for consideration and final determination in accordance with the provisions of this subdivision." (Tariff Act of 1930, sec. 563 (a) as amended; 19 U. S. C. 1563 (a))

(1) A declaration of each cartman, lighterman, or other carrier handling the package between the appraiser's stores and the place of delivery, setting forth the condition of the package at the time of receipt and delivery by him and whether or not there was any abstraction of the merchandise while the package was in his possession.

(2) A declaration of the person who first received the package for the importer, owner, or consignee as to whether or not he examined the package at the time of receipt, and, if so, as to its condition at that time.

(3) A declaration of the person who opened the package after release from customs custody that the alleged missing merchandise was not found by him in the said package or elsewhere.

(d) In the case of injury or destruction by accidental fire or other casualty, the following evidence shall be submitted by the applicant:

(1) A declaration of the master of the vessel, the conductor or driver of the vehicle, the proprietor of the warehouse, or other person (except a customs officer) having charge of the merchandise at the time of the casualty, stating the time, place, and nature of such casualty; that the merchandise was on board the vessel or vehicle, in the warehouse, or otherwise in his charge, as the case may be, at the time of the casualty; and that it was totally destroyed and there is no probability of recovering or saving any part thereof, or that it was injured as the result of the casualty.

(2) The bill of lading, the entry, and the invoice covering the merchandise, or certified copies of the foregoing, unless such documents are already in the possession of the collector at the port where the claim is filed.

(3) A copy of the insurance appraiser's report, if any.

(e) When the application and evidence specified in this section have been received and examined by the collector of customs, he shall determine whether the desired abatement or refund shall be made and notify the applicant of his decision.

(f) The applicant may file with the collector of customs a petition addressed to the Commissioner of Customs for a review of the collector's decision. Such petition shall be filed in duplicate within 30 days from the date of the notice of the collector's decision, shall completely

identify the case, and shall set forth in detail the objections to the collector's decision. When such a petition has been filed, the collector shall promptly transmit both copies thereof and the entire file to the Bureau, together with a full statement of his views. When the Bureau's decision has been received, the collector shall proceed in conformity therewith.

(g) The collector may waive the production of any of the evidence above required if the validity of the claim is otherwise established to his satisfaction. (Sec. 563, 46 Stat. 746, as amended; 19 U. S. C. 1563)

§ 15.2

Perishable merchandise con

demned; allowance.

When fruit or other perishable merchandise has been condemned within 10 days after landing, and the notice has been filed pursuant to section 506(2), Tariff Act of 1930,* an investigation shall be conducted before an allowance may be made in the liquidation of the entry in order to determine whether the conditions of the statute have been satisfied. Such allowance shall be limited to perishable goods condemned by the health officers or authorities in the original package, unless segregation of the goods was under constant customs supervision at the importer's expense. (Sec. 506(2), 46 Stat. 732; 19 U.S.C. 1506(2)) § 15.3 Abandonment of merchandise under section 506(1), Tariff Act of 1930.

"(2) Perishable merchandise, condemned.~ Where fruit or other perishable merchandise has been condemned at the port of entry, within ten days after landing, by the health officers or other legally constituted authorities, and the consignee, within five days after such condemnation, files with the collector written notice thereof, an invoiced description and the location thereof and the name of the vessel or vehicle in which imported." (Tariff Act of 1930, sec. 503 (2): 19 U. S. C. 1506 (2))

Act of 1930," shall be filed with the collector of customs at the port where the entry is filed within 30 days after the date of entry" or, in the case of examination packages, within 30 days after release, whether or not delivery is taken by the importer immediately after entry or release as the case may be.

(b) The party abandoning the merchandise shall identify it with that described in the invoice used in making entry to the satisfaction of the collector, who shall cause such examination thereof to be made as may be necessary to verify such identification. When repacking is necessary to segregate the abandoned merchandise from the remainder of the shipment, such repacking shall be done at the expense of the party in interest and under customs supervision.

(Sec. 506, 46 Stat. 732; 19 U. S. C. 1506)

§ 15.4 Abandonment or destruction of merchandise in bond.

(a) Applications for the abandonment or destruction of merchandise in bond pursuant to section 563(b) or 557 (c), Tariff Act of 1930, as amended,' shall be

5 "Allowance shall be made in the estimation and liquidation of duties under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury in the following cases:

"(1) Abandonment within thirty days.— Where the importer abandons to the United States within thirty days after entry in the case of merchandise not sent to the appraiser's stores for examination, or within thirty days after the release of the examination packages or quantities of merchandise in the case of merchandise sent to the appraiser s stores for examination, any imported merchandise representing 5 per centum or more of the total value of all the merchandise of the same class or kind entered in the invoice in which the item appears, and delivers, within the applicable thirty-day period, the portion so abandoned to such place as the collector directs unless the collector is satisfied that the merchandise is so far destroyed as to be nondeliverable," (Tariff Act of 1960, sec. 506 (1); 19 U. S. C. 1506 (1))

The date of entry is the date the entry is made as stated in § 8.4 (d), (e), or (f) of this chapter.

"Under such regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe and subject to any conditions imposed thereby the consignee may at any time within three years from the date of original importation, abandon to the Government any merchandise in bonded warehouse, whereupon any duties on such merchandise may be remitted or refunded as the case may be, but any merchandise so abandoned shall not be less than an

filed with the collector by the consignee or his duly qualified representative on customs Form 3499, with the title modified to read "Application and Permit To Abandon (or Destroy) Goods in Bond." When an application is for permission to destroy, the proposed method of destruction shall be stated in the application and be subject to the approval of the collector. No application to abandon or destroy warehoused merchandise shall be approved unless concurred in by the warehouse proprietor.

(b) A person in whom the right to withdraw merchandise entered for warehousing is vested in accordance with § 8.39 or § 18.16 (a) of this chapter is entitled exclusively to the rights and privileges initially held by the consignee in respect of abandonment or destruction of such merchandise.

(c) When in the opinion of the collector the abandonment of merchandise under section 563 (b), Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, will involve any expense or cost to the Government, or the merchandise is worthless or unsalable, or cannot be sold for a sum sufficient to pay the expenses of sale, abandonment under such section 563 (b) shall not be permitted unless the applicant deposits a sum which in the opinion of the collector will be sufficient to save the Government harmless from any expense or cost resulting from such abandonment. The sum so advanced shall be placed in a special deposit account and expended to cover the cost of destruction or to meet any deficit should the merchandise be sold and the proceeds of sale be less than the expenses of such sale. After meeting such expenses or deficit, any balance remaining shall be refunded to the applicant. However, the applicant may elect to destroy such merchandise under cus

entire package and shall be abandoned in the original package without having been repacked while in a bonded warehouse (other than a bonded manipulating warehouse)." (Tariff Act of 1930, sec. 563 (b), as amended; 19 U. S. C. 1563 (b))

"Merchandise entered under bond, under any provision of law, may, upon payment of all charges other than duty on the mer chandise, be destroyed, at the request and at the expense of the consignee, within the bonded period under customs supervision, in lieu of exportation, and upon such destruction the entry of such merchandise shall be liquidated without payment of duty and any duties collected shall be refunded." (Tariff Act of 1930, sec. 557 (c), as amended, 19 U. S. C. 1557 (c))