                        TITLE 19--CUSTOMS DUTIES
 
                      CHAPTER 4--TARIFF ACT OF 1930
 
                 SUBTITLE III--ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS
 
     Part IV--Transportation in Bond and Warehousing of Merchandise
 
Sec. 1551. Designation as carrier of bonded merchandise

    Under such regulations and subject to such terms and conditions as 
the Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe--
        (1) any common carrier of merchandise owning or operating a 
    railroad, steamship, or other transportation line or route for the 
    transportation of merchandise in the United States,
        (2) any contract carrier authorized to operate as such by any 
    agency of the United States, and
        (3) any freight forwarder authorized to operate as such by any 
    agency of the United States,

upon application, may, in the discretion of the Secretary, be designated 
as a carrier of bonded merchandise for the final release of which from 
customs custody a permit has not been issued. A private carrier, upon 
application, may, in the discretion of the Secretary, be designated 
under the preceding sentence as a carrier of bonded merchandise, subject 
to such regulations and, in the case of each applicant, to such special 
terms and conditions as the Secretary may prescribe to safeguard the 
revenues of the United States with respect to the transportation of 
bonded merchandise by such applicant.

(June 17, 1930, ch. 497, title IV, Sec. 551, 46 Stat. 742; Dec. 28, 
1945, ch. 605, 59 Stat. 667; Pub. L. 87-598, Aug. 24, 1962, 76 Stat. 
400; Pub. L. 87-854, Oct. 23, 1962, 76 Stat. 1130; Pub. L. 90-240, 
Sec. 3, Jan. 2, 1968, 81 Stat. 776.)


                            Prior Provisions

    Provisions similar to those in this section were contained in act 
Sept. 21, 1922, ch. 356, title IV, Sec. 551, 42 Stat. 975. That section 
was superseded by section 551 of act June 17, 1930, comprising this 
section, and repealed by section 651(a)(1) of the 1930 act.
    Prior provisions concerning transportation of merchandise in bond 
without appraisement to another port of entry were contained in the 
Immediate Transportation Act of June 10, 1880, ch. 190, 21 Stat. 173, as 
amended, section 3 of which required the merchandise to be transported 
by carriers designated by the Secretary of the Treasury, and required 
them to give bonds as the Secretary should require. That act was 
repealed by act Sept. 21, 1922, ch. 356, title IV, Sec. 643, 42 Stat. 
989.


                               Amendments

    1968--Pub. L. 90-240 provided that a private carrier, upon 
application, could, in the discretion of the Secretary, be designated as 
a carrier of bonded merchandise, subject to regulations, terms, and 
conditions prescribed by the Secretary, safeguard the revenues of the 
United States with respect to the transportation of bonded merchandise 
by such applicant.
    1962--Pub. L. 87-854 included any contract carrier authorized to 
operate as such by any agency of the United States.
    Pub. L. 87-598 substituted ``authorized to operate as such by any 
agency of the United States,'' for ``, as defined in section 1002(5) of 
title 49.''
    1945--Act Dec. 28, 1945, substituted ``Under such regulations and 
subject to such terms and conditions as the Secretary of the Treasury 
shall prescribe, any common carrier of merchandise owning or operating a 
railroad, steamship, or other transportation line or route for the 
transportation of merchandise in the United States, or any freight 
forwarder, as defined in section 1002(5) of title 49, upon application, 
may, in the discretion of the Secretary'' for ``Any common carrier of 
merchandise owning or operating railroad, steamship, or other 
transportation lines or routes for the transportation of merchandise in 
the United States, upon application and the filing of a bond in a form 
and penalty and with such sureties as may be approved by the Secretary 
of the Treasury, may''.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in section 1565 of this title.
