                        TITLE 19--CUSTOMS DUTIES
 
                      CHAPTER 4--TARIFF ACT OF 1930
 
                 SUBTITLE III--ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS
 
                     Part V--Enforcement Provisions
 
Sec. 1594. Seizure of conveyances


(a) In general

    Whenever--
        (1) any vessel, vehicle, or aircraft; or
        (2) the owner or operator, or the master, pilot, conductor, 
    driver, or other person in charge of a vessel, vehicle, or aircraft;

is subject to a penalty for violation of the customs laws, the 
conveyance involved shall be held for the payment of such penalty and 
may be seized and forfeited and sold in accordance with the customs 
laws. The proceeds of sale, if any, in excess of the assessed penalty 
and expenses of seizing, maintaining, and selling the property shall be 
held for the account of any interested party.

(b) Exceptions

    (1) No conveyance used by any person as a common carrier in the 
transaction of business as a common carrier is subject to seizure and 
forfeiture under the customs laws for violations relating to merchandise 
contained--
        (A) on the person;
        (B) in baggage belonging to and accompanying a passenger being 
    lawfully transported on such conveyance; or
        (C) in the cargo of the conveyance if the cargo is listed on the 
    manifest and marks, numbers, weights and quantities of the outer 
    packages or containers agree with the manifest;

unless the owner or operator, or the master, pilot, conductor, driver or 
other person in charge participated in, or had knowledge of, the 
violation, or was grossly negligent in preventing or discovering the 
violation.
    (2) Except as provided in paragraph (1) or subsection (c) of this 
section, no vessel, vehicle, or aircraft is subject to forfeiture to the 
extent of an interest of an owner for a drug-related offense established 
by that owner to have been committed or omitted without the knowledge, 
consent, or willful blindness of the owner.

(c) Prohibited merchandise on conveyance

    If any merchandise the importation of which is prohibited is found 
to be, or to have been--
        (1) on board a conveyance used as a common carrier in the 
    transaction of business as a common carrier in one or more packages 
    or containers--
            (A) that are not manifested (or not shown on bills of lading 
        or airway bills); or
            (B) whose marks, numbers, weight or quantities disagree with 
        the manifest (or with the bills of lading or airway bills); or

        (2) concealed in or on such a conveyance, but not in the cargo;

the conveyance may be seized, and after investigation, forfeited unless 
it is established that neither the owner or operator, master, pilot, nor 
any other employee responsible for maintaining and insuring the accuracy 
of the cargo manifest knew, or by the exercise of the highest degree of 
care and diligence could have known, that such merchandise was on board.

(d) Definitions

    For purposes of this section--
        (1) The term ``owner or operator'' includes--
            (A) a lessee or person operating a conveyance under a rental 
        agreement or charter party; and
            (B) the officers and directors of a corporation;
            (C) station managers and similar supervisory ground 
        personnel employed by airlines;
            (D) one or more partners of a partnership;
            (E) representatives of the owner or operator in charge of 
        the passenger or cargo operations at a particular location; and
            (F) and other persons with similar responsibilities.

        (2) The term ``master'' and similar terms relating to the person 
    in charge of a conveyance includes the purser or other person on the 
    conveyance who is responsible for maintaining records relating to 
    the cargo transported in the conveyance.

(e) Costs and expenses of seizure

    When a common carrier has been seized in accordance with the 
provisions of subsection (c) of this section and it is subsequently 
determined that a violation of such subsection occurred but that the 
vessel will be released, the conveyance is liable for the costs and 
expenses of the seizure and detention.

(June 17, 1930, ch. 497, title IV, Sec. 594, 46 Stat. 751; Pub. L. 99-
570, title III, Sec. 3121, Oct. 27, 1986, 100 Stat. 3207-86; Pub. L. 
100-690, title VI, Sec. 6076(b), Nov. 18, 1988, 102 Stat. 4324.)

                       References in Text

    The customs laws, referred to in subsecs. (a) and (b), are 
classified generally to this title.


                            Prior Provisions

    Provisions substantially similar to subsec. (a) of this section, so 
far as it relates to vessels, except that they referred to the ``revenue 
laws,'' instead of the ``customs laws,'' were contained in R.S. 
Sec. 3088. Provisions substantially similar to subsec. (b), so far as it 
relates to vessels, were contained in act Feb. 8, 1881, ch. 34, 21 Stat. 
322. Provisions similar to subsec. (b), except that they applied to 
railway cars, engines, other vehicles, and teams, and referred to the 
owner, superintendent, or agent of the owner in charge, instead of the 
``conductor, driver,'' etc., were contained in R.S. Sec. 3063. All of 
these sections were superseded and more closely assimilated to this 
section by act Sept. 21, 1922, ch. 356, title IV, Sec. 594, 42 Stat. 
982, and repealed by sections 642 and 643 thereof. Section 594 of the 
1922 act was superseded by section 594 of act June 17, 1930, comprising 
this section, and repealed by section 651(a)(1) of the 1930 act.


                               Amendments

    1988--Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 100-690 designated existing provisions as 
par. (1), redesignated former pars. (1), (2), and (3) as subpars. (A), 
(B), and (C), respectively, and added par. (2).
    1986--Pub. L. 99-570 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, 
section catchline read ``Libel of vessels and vehicles'' and text read 
as follows: ``Whenever a vessel or vehicle, or the owner or master, 
conductor, driver, or other person in charge thereof, has become subject 
to a penalty for violation of the customs-revenue laws of the United 
States, such vessel or vehicle shall be held for the payment of such 
penalty and may be seized and proceeded against summarily by libel to 
recover the same: Provided, That no vessel or vehicle used by any person 
as a common carrier in the transaction of business as such common 
carrier shall be so held or subject to seizure or forfeiture under the 
customs laws, unless it shall appear that the owner or master of such 
vessel or the conductor, driver, or other person in charge of such 
vehicle was at the time of the alleged illegal act a consenting party or 
privy thereto.''

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in section 1595a of this title.
