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CHAPTER XXVII.

EVIDENCE

Evidence of Foreign Shipper

SEC. 1. Should it be deemed necessary to obtain evidence from the foreign manufacturer, seller or shipper relating to the classification or value of merchandise exported to the United States, it is provided by Paragraph U of Section III of the Act of October 3, 1913:

"That if any person, persons, corporations, or other bodies, selling, shipping, consigning, or manufacturing merchandise exported to the United States, shall fail or refuse to submit to the inspection of a duly accredited investigating officer of the United States, when so requested to do, any or all of his books, records, or accounts pertaining to the value or classification of such merchandise, then the Secretary of the Treasury, in his discretion, is authorized while such failure or refusal continues to levy an additional duty of 15 per centum ad valorem on all such merchandise when imported into the United States: Provided. however, That such additional duties shall not be imposed in case the laws of the country of exportation provide for the administration, by its duly authorized officers, of oaths to invoices, or statements of cost, before certification by consuls, and for punishment for false swearing under said oaths, whenever consuls are directed by the Secretary of State, under section twenty-eight hundred and sixty-two of the Revised Statutes, to require such oaths before certification of the invoices."

Evidence of American Importer

SEC. 2. In regard to obtaining evidence from the American importer pertaining to the value and classification of imported merchandise, it is provided by Paragraph E of Section III of the Act of October 3, 1913, relating to the entry by pro forma invoice, that:

"It shall be lawful for the collector or his deputy to examine the deponent under oath, touching the sources of his knowledge, information, or belief in the premises, and to require him to produce any letter, paper, or statement of account in his possession, or under his control which may assist the officers of customs in ascertaining the actual value of the importation or any part thereof, and in default of such production, when so requested, such owner, importer consignee, or agent shall be thereafter debarred from producing any such letter, paper, or statement for the purpose of avoiding any additional duty, penalty, or forfeiture incurred under this Act, unless he shall show to the satisfaction of the court, or the officers of the customs, as the case may be, that it was not in his power to produce the same when so demanded; and no merchandise shall be admitted to entry under the provisions of this section unless the collector shall be satisfied that the failure to produce a duly certified invoice is due to causes beyond the control of the owner, consignee, or agent thereof."

Failure of American Importer to Give Evidence

SEC. 3. It is also provided by Paragraph V of Section III of the Act of October 3, 1913:

"That if any person, persons, corporations, or other bodies. engaged in the importation of merchandise into the United States or engaged in dealing with such imported merchandise, shall fail or refuse to submit to the inspection of a duly accredited investigating officer of the United States, upon request so to do from the chief officer of customs at the port where such merchandise is entered, any or all of his books, records, or accounts pertaining to the value or classification of any such imported merchandise, then the Secretary of the Treasury, in his discretion, is authorized while such failure or refusal continues, to assess additional duty of 15 per centum ad valorem on all merchandise consigned to or imported by, or shipped, or intended for delivery, to such person, persons, corporations, or other bodies so failing or refusing."

Importer to Testify Under Oath

SEC. 4. With the further purpose of securing evidence from the American importer regarding the proper value and classification of the merchandise imported, it is provided by Paragraph O of Section III of the Act of October 3, 1913:

"That the general appraisers, or any of them, are hereby authorized to administer oaths, and said general appraisers, the boards of general appraisers, the local appraisers, or the collectors, as the case may be, may cite to appear before them, and examine upon oath any owner, importer, agent, consignee, or other person touching any matter or thing which they, or either of them, may deem material respecting any imported merchandise then under consideration or previously imported within one year, in ascertaining the classification or dutiable value thereof or the rate or amount of duty; and they, or either of them, may require the production of any letters, accounts, contracts, or invoices relating to said merchandise, and may require such testimony to be reduced to writing, and when so taken it shall be filed and preserved for use or reference until the final decision of the collector, appraiser, or said board of appraisers shall be made respecting the valuation or classification of said merchandise, as the case may be; and such evidence shall be given consideration in all subsequent proceedings relating to such merchandise."

Penalty for Failure to Give Evidence

SEC. 5. Failure to comply may involve the penalties provided for under Paragraph P of Section III of the Act of October 3, 1913, to the effect:

"That if any person so cited to appear shall neglect or refuse to attend, or shall decline to answer, or shall refuse to answer in writing any interrogatories, and subscribe his name to his deposition, or to produce such papers when required by a general appraiser, or a board of general appraisers, or a local appraiser, or a collector, he shall be liable to a penalty of not less than $20 nor more than $500; and if such person be the owner, importer, or consignee, the appraisement which the Board of General Appraisers, or local appraiser, or collector where there is no appraiser, may make of the merchandise shall be final and conclusive; and any person who shall willfully and corruptly swear falsely on an examination before any general appraiser, or Board of General Appraisers, or local appraiser, or collector, shall be deemed guilty of perjury; and if he is the owner, importer, or consignee, the merchandise shall be forfeited, or the value thereof may be recovered from him.”

CHAPTER XXVIII

SPECIAL AGENCY SERVICE

Inspection of Books, Papers and Accounts of Customs Officers

SEC. 1. It is provided by Section 2640 of the Revised Statutes that:

"Collectors, Naval Officers, and Surveyors shall attend in person at the ports to which they are respectively appointed; and shall keep fair and true accounts and records of all their transactions, as officers of the customs, in such manner and form as may from time to time be directed by the Secretary of the Treasury; and shall at all times submit their books, papers and accounts to the inspection of such persons as may be appointel for that purpose; and shall once in every month, or oftener if they shall be required, transmit their accounts for settlement to the officer or officers whose duty it shall be to make such settlement. And if any collector, naval officer, or surveyor shall omit to keep fair and true accounts, or shall refuse to submit forthwith his books, papers, and accounts to inspection as required by law, or if any collector shall omit or refuse to render his accounts for settlement, for a term exceeding three months after the same shall have been required by the proper officer, the delinquent officer shall be liable to a penalty of one thousand dollars, to be recovered with costs of suit."

Special Agents to Be Appointed

SEC. 2. For the purpose of conducting the inspection of the books, papers and accounts of customs officers called for under Section 2640 of the Revised Statutes, and for the detection of frauds on the revenue, it is provided by Section 2649 of the Revised Statutes that:

"The Secretary of the Treasury may appoint special agents, not exceeding (twenty-eight) in number, for the purpose of making the examinations of the books, papers, and accounts of

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collectors and other officers of the customs, and to be employed generally, under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, in the prevention and detection of frauds on the customs revenue; and the expense thereof shall be charged to the appropriation to defray the expense of collecting the revenue from customs.❞

Special Agents in Contiguous Foreign Territory

SEC. 3. It is also provided by Section 2999 of the Revised Statutes that:

"For the purpose of better guarding against frauds upon the revenue on foreign merchandise transported between the ports of the Atlantic and those of the Pacific overland through any foreign territory, the Secretary of the Treasury may appoint special sworn agents as inspectors of the customs, to reside in such foreign territory where such merchandise may be landed or embarked, with power to superintend the landing or shipping of all merchandise passing coastwise between the ports of the United States and the Pacific and Atlantic. It shall be their duty, under such regulations and instructions as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe, to guard against the perpetration of frauds upon the revenue. The compensation paid to such inspectors shall not in the aggregate exceed five thousand dollars per annum."

Special Agency Districts

SEC. 4. Under various Acts of Congress the number of Special Agents to be employed has been varied from time to time. At present there are seventeen Special Agency Districts provided for, comprising one or more customs collections districts each. (T. D. 33706, T. D. 36974 and 37634.)

Special Commissioners

SEC. 5. As a part of the Special Agency Service there have also been stationed abroad Special Commissioners whose duty it is to furnish the Customs Service with all useful and necessary information regarding foreign market values of merchandise shipped to the United States, and to make such special investigations as may be deemed necessary.

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