                        TITLE 19--CUSTOMS DUTIES
 
                      CHAPTER 4--TARIFF ACT OF 1930
 
                 SUBTITLE III--ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS
 
     Part IV--Transportation in Bond and Warehousing of Merchandise
 
Sec. 1563. Allowance for loss, abandonment of warehouse goods


(a) Abatement or allowance for deterioration, loss or damage to 
        merchandise in customs custody; exception

    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 
appropriate customs officers 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 customs officer. The decision 
of the customs officer in any such case shall be final and conclusive 
upon all persons.

(b) Abandonment of merchandise to Government; remittal or refund of 
        duties paid

    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 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).

(June 17, 1930, ch. 497, title IV, Sec. 563, 46 Stat. 746; June 25, 
1938, ch. 679, Sec. 23(a), 52 Stat. 1088; Pub. L. 91-271, title III, 
Sec. 301(v), June 2, 1970, 84 Stat. 290.)

                          Codification

    Provisions of this section authorizing transfer of cases before the 
United States Customs Court on June 18, 1930, to the Secretary of the 
Treasury, or to the collector, for consideration and determination, were 
omitted.


                            Prior Provisions

    Prior provisions somewhat similar to those in this section, were 
contained in R.S. Sec. 2983, and section 2984 as amended by act Feb. 27, 
1877, ch. 69, Sec. 1, 19 Stat. 247, which contained a further provision 
for cancellation or satisfaction of warehouse bonds. Both of these 
sections were superseded by act Sept. 21, 1922, ch. 356, title IV, 
Sec. 563, 42 Stat. 978, and repealed by section 642 thereof. Section 563 
of the 1922 act was superseded and enlarged by section 563 of act June 
17, 1930, comprising this section, and repealed by section 651(a)(1) of 
the 1930 act.


                               Amendments

    1970--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 91-271 substituted ``appropriate customs 
officers'' for ``collectors of customs'', and ``customs officer'' for 
``collector'' wherever appearing.
    1938--Act June 25, 1938, struck out ``(or ten months in the case of 
grain)'' wherever appearing.


                    Effective Date of 1970 Amendment

    For effective date of amendment by Pub. L. 91-271, see section 203 
of Pub. L. 91-271, set out as a note under section 1500 of this title.


                    Effective Date of 1938 Amendment

    Section 23(b) of act June 25, 1938, provided as follows: ``The 
amendments made by subsection (a) of this section [amending this 
section] shall apply in the case of grain imported prior to the 
effective date of this act [see note set out under section 1401 of this 
title] which, on such date, has not become abandoned to the Government 
under section 491 or 559 of the Tariff Act of 1930 [section 1491 or 1559 
of this title], and which has remained in the custody of customs 
officers.''


                             Appropriations

    Section 2 of act June 26, 1934, ch. 756, 48 Stat. 1225, which was 
classified to section 725a of former Title 31, Money and Finance, 
repealed the permanent appropriation under the title ``Refunding duties 
on goods destroyed (Customs) (2x330)'' effective July 1, 1935, and 
provided that such portions of any Acts as make permanent appropriations 
to be expended under such account are amended so as to authorize, in 
lieu thereof, annual appropriations from the general fund of the 
Treasury in identical terms and in such amounts as now provided by the 
laws providing such permanent appropriations.
