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deficit in the revenues of the said islands resulting from the provisions of this act the sum of $100,000 is hereby appropriated, to be paid out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, and to be applied under the direction of the President of the United States.

"SEC. 7. That the sum of $25,000,000 is hereby appropriated, out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to be paid in the city of Washington to the diplomatic representative or other agent of His Majesty the King of Denmark duly authorized to receive said money, in full consideration of the cession of the Danish West Indian Islands to the United States made by the convention between the United States of America and His Majesty the King of Denmark entered into August fourth, nineteen hundred and sixteen, and ratified by the Senate of the United States on the seventh day of September, nineteen hundred and sixteen.

"SEC. 8. That this act, with the exception of section seven. shall be in force and effect and become operative immediately upon the payment by the United States of the said sum of $25,000,000. The fact and date of such payment shall thereupon be made public by a proclamation issued by the President and published in the said Danish West Indian Islands and in the United States. Section seven shall become immediately effective and the appropriation thereby provided for shall be immediately available.

"Approved, March 3, 1917."

These islands are now officially designated as the "Virgin Islands of the United States."

Importations from the Panama Canal Zone

SEC. 7. In view of the treaty between the United States and the Republic of Panama (33 Stat. 2234) and the various Acts of Congress relating to the Panama Canal Zone, merchandise brought into the United States from such zone is properly subject to duty as provided in the Act of March 2, 1905 (33) Stat. 843), entitled:

"An Act fixing the status of merchandise coming into the United States from the Canal Zone, Isthmus of Panama, providing:

"That all laws affecting imports of articles, goods, wares and merchandise and entry of persons into the United States from foreign countries shall apply to articles, goods, wares, and mer

chandise and persons coming from the Canal Zone, Isthmus of Panama, and seeking entry into any State or Territory of the United States or the District of Columbia."

(T. D. 30448.)

Shipments between the United States and the Panama Canal Zone will be treated in all respects as shipments to and from foreign countries. (Article 201, Customs Regulations, 1915.)

The customs administration of the Panama Canal Zone is under the jurisdiction of the United States War Department, which has prescribed special tariff schedules applicable to importations into that zone.

Importations from Guam and Tutuila

SEC. 8. While the Islands of Guam and Tutuila are American territory, they do not, however, constitute customs collection districts, in view of the exception specified in the enacting clause of the Tariff Act of October 3, 1913. (Chapter V, Section 1.)

Merchandise arriving in the United States from the Islands of Guam and Tutuila will be admitted to free entry if accompanied by a certificate from the chief customs officer at the port of shipment showing the same to be the growth or produce of those islands. If not accompanied by such certifi cate, duties will be assessed thereon as if imported from a foreign country. (Article 200, Customs Regulations, 1915.)

The customs administration of the Islands of Guam and Tutuila is under the jurisdiction of the United States Navy Department, which has prescribed special tariff schedules applicable to importations into those islands.

CHAPTER XXXVI

CUSTOMS REGULATIONS

Authority to Prescribe Regulations.

SEC. 1. As has been heretofore stated, the Secretary of the Treasury is charged under existing law with the collection of duties from imports, and has authority to prescribe all necessary rules and regulations to that end. (Sections 249, 251, 2652 and 2949 of the Revised Statutes.) (Chapter I, Section 2.) (Chapter VII, Section 4.)

General regulations for the information and guidance of customs officers are prescribed and published from time to time. Those in force at this time were published under date of August 13, 1915, and are known as the Customs Regulations of 1915.

Special Regulations

SEC. 2. In addition to this general authority to prescribe regulations, the Secretary of the Treasury is specifically authorized under various paragraphs of the Tariff Act of October 3, 1913, to make all necessary regulations to enforce their respective provisions. (See Paragraphs 152, 162, 238, 244, 404, 427, 478, 573, 582, 611, 642, 653, 654, 655 of Section I; Paragraphs E, Q and X of Section III, and Paragraphs J, K, L, M, N, O and P of Section IV of the Act of October 3, 1913.)

Force and Validity of Regulations

SEC. 3. Where such regulations are reasonable they have the force of law, and a compliance there

with becomes a condition precedent to the entry of the merchandise through the customs.

If it is the opinion of the importer that the regulations are unreasonable, impossible of compliance and outside the intent and purpose of the Statute to which they relate, he may question their force and validity by protest under Paragraph N of Section III of the Act of October 3, 1913, and obtain a review by the Board of United States General Appraisers, and by the United States Court of Customs Appeals if the issue involved is one affecting the rate and amount of duties, or of the fees, charges and exactions imposed.

Authority to Waive, Amend or Revoke Regulations

SEC. 4. The Secretary of the Treasury being authorized by law to prescribe all necessary Customs Regulations, it follows that it is within his authority to waive, amend or revoke the same as he may deem proper. (Chapter XXXVII, Section 3.)

CHAPTER XXXVII

TREASURY DECISIONS

Publication of Decisions of the General Appraisers and Boards of General Appraisers

SEC. 1. It is provided by Paragraph Q of Section III of the Tariff Act of October 3, 1913:

"That all decisions of the general appraisers and of the boards of general appraisers, respecting values and rates of duty, shall be preserved and filed, and shall be open to inspection under proper regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury. All decisions of the general appraisers shall be reported forthwith to the Secretary of the Treasury and to the Board of General Appraisers on duty at the port of New York, and the report to the board shall be accompanied, whenever practicable, by samples of the merchandise in question, and it shall be the duty of the said board, under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, to cause an abstract to be made and published of such decisions of the appraisers as they or he may deem important, to be published either in full, or if full publication shall not be requested by the Secretary or by the board, then by an abstract containing a general description of the merchandise in question, a statement of the facts upon which the decision is based, and of the value and rate of duty fixed in each case, with reference, whenever practicable, by number or other designation, to samples deposited in the place of samples at New York, and such abstracts shall be issued from time to time, at least once in each week, for the information of customs officers and the public."

Instructions to Customs Officers

SEC. 2. As has been heretofore stated, the Secretary of the Treasury is charged under Section 249 of the Revised Statutes with the superintendence of the collection of duties on imports. Under Section 251 of the Revised Statutes he has author

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