§2071. Establishment of Service; Commissioner; appointment

There shall be in the Department of the Treasury a service to be known as the United States Customs Service, and a Commissioner of Customs. The Commissioner of Customs, who shall be appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall-

(1) be at the head of the United States Customs Service;

(2) carry out the duties and powers prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury; and

(3) report to the Secretary of the Treasury through such other officials as may be designated by the Secretary.

(Mar. 3, 1927, ch. 348, §1, 44 Stat. 1381 ; May 27, 1930, ch. 342, §8, 46 Stat. 430 ; Ex. Ord. No. 6639, §1a, Mar. 10, 1934; Pub. L. 101–207, §3(b)(1), Dec. 7, 1989, 103 Stat. 1833 .)

Codification

Provisions that fixed the compensation of the Commissioner have been omitted as the position is under the Executive Schedule, see section 5316 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.

Provisions that authorized appointment of the Commissioner "without regard to the civil service laws" were omitted as the appointment is subject to the civil service laws unless specifically excepted by such laws or by laws enacted subsequent to Executive Order No. 8743, Apr. 23, 1941, issued by the President pursuant to the act of Nov. 26, 1940, ch. 919, title I, §1, 54 Stat. 1211 , which covered most excepted positions into the classified (competitive) civil service. The Order is set out as a note under section 3301 of Title 5. The position is currently excepted from the civil service rules and regulations by Schedule C, see Part 213 of Title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

Section was formerly classified to section 281 of Title 5 prior to the general revision and codification of Title 5 by Pub. L. 89–554, §1, Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 378 .

References to the Bureau of Prohibition and to the Commissioner of Prohibition were omitted in view of the change of name of the Bureau of Prohibition to the Bureau of Industrial Alcohol by act May 27, 1930, and the abolition of the Bureau of Industrial Alcohol by Ex. Ord. No. 6639.

Amendments

1989-Pub. L. 101–207 amended second sentence generally. Prior to amendment, second sentence read as follows: "The Commissioner of Customs shall be at the head of the United States Customs Service, and the Commissioner of Customs shall be appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury."

Change of Name

"United States Customs Service" substituted in text for "Bureau of Customs" pursuant to Treasury Department Order 165–23, Apr. 4, 1973, eff. Aug. 1, 1973, 38 F.R. 13037. See, also, section 308 of Title 31, Money and Finance.

Effective Date

Section 7 of act Mar. 3, 1927, provided that: "This Act shall take effect April 1, 1927."

Transfer of Functions

Functions of all officers of Department of the Treasury and functions of all agencies and employees of such Department transferred, with certain exceptions, to Secretary of the Treasury, with power vested in him to authorize their performance or performance of any of his functions by any of such officers, agencies, and employees, by Reorg. Plan No. 26 of 1950, §§1, 2, eff. July 31, 1950, 15 F.R. 4935, 64 Stat. 1280, 1281, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.

Functions vested by law in Attorney General, Department of Justice, or any other officer or any agency of that Department, with respect to the inspection at regular inspection locations at ports of entry of persons, and documents of persons, entering or leaving the United States, were to have been transferred to Secretary of the Treasury by 1973 Reorg. Plan No. 2, §2, eff. July 1, 1973, 38 F.R. 15932, 87 Stat. 1091, set out in the Appendix to Title 5. The transfer was negated by section 1(a)(1), (b) of Pub. L. 93–253, Mar. 16, 1974, 88 Stat. 50 , which repealed section 2 of 1973 Reorg. Plan No. 2, eff. July 1, 1973.

Extension of Pre-Clearance Program in Aruba

Pub. L. 102–393, title VI, §637, Oct. 6, 1992, 106 Stat. 1779 , provided that: "Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the United States Customs Service pilot pre-clearance program authorized to be established in Aruba shall be extended through 1994."

Reports Regarding Expansion of Customs Preclearance Operations and Recovery for Damage Resulting From Customs Examinations

Pub. L. 101–382, title I, §124, Aug. 20, 1990, 104 Stat. 643 , provided that:

"(a) Customs Preclearance.-The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall assess the advisability of expanding the use of preclearance operations by the United States Customs Service at foreign airports. The Secretary of the Treasury shall submit a report on the assessment to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate (hereafter in this section referred to as the 'Committees') no later than February 1, 1991.

"(b) Recovery for Customs Damage.-

"(1) The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Attorney General, shall determine and evaluate various means by which persons whose merchandise is damaged during customs examinations may seek compensation from, or take other recourse against, the United States Customs Service regarding the damage.

"(2) No later than February 1, 1991, the Secretary of the Treasury shall submit to the Committees a report on the evaluation required under paragraph (1), together with any legislative recommendation that the Secretary considers appropriate.

"(c) Merchandise Damage Statistics.-The Commissioner of Customs shall keep accurate statistics on the incidence, nature, and extent of damage to merchandise resulting from customs examinations and shall provide an annual summary of these statistics to the Committees."

Pilot Preclearance Program

Pub. L. 101–382, title II, §233, Aug. 20, 1990, 104 Stat. 663 , provided that:

"(a) Establishment of Program.-Subject to subsection (b), the Commissioner of Customs shall carry out, during fiscal years 1991 and 1992, preclearance operations at a facility of the United States Customs Service in a country within the Caribbean Basin which the Commissioner of Customs considers appropriate for testing the extent to which the availability of preclearance operations can assist in the development of tourism.

"(b) Restrictions Regarding Program.-

"(1) The Commissioner of Customs may not consider a country within the Caribbean Basin to be appropriate for the testing referred to in subsection (a) if preclearance operations are currently carried out by the United States Customs Service in that country.

"(2) Preclearance operations may not be commenced in the country selected for testing under subsection (a) unless the Commissioner of Customs and the Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization jointly certify that-

"(A) there exists a bilateral agreement between the United States Government and the government of such country which protects the interests of the United States and affords diplomatic protection to United States employees working at the preclearance location;

"(B) the facilities at the preclearance location conform to Federal Inspection Services standards and are suitable for the duties to be performed therein;

"(C) there is adequate security around the structure used for the reception of international arrivals;

"(D) the government of such country grants the United States Customs Service and the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service appropriate search, seizure, and arrest authority; and

"(E) United States employees and their families will not be subject to fear of reprisal, acts of terrorism, and threats of intimidation.

"(3) In determining the country in which to establish the operation described in paragraph (1), the Commissioner of Customs and the Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization shall first determine the viability of establishing such operations in either Aruba or Jamaica. If the Commissioners determine, after full consultation with the governments of such countries, that it is not viable to establish pre-clearance operations in either Aruba or Jamaica, they shall so report to the Committee on Finance of the Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives, including an explanation of how this determination was reached. Such report shall be submitted to those Committees within six months after the date of the enactment of this Act [Aug. 20, 1990]. Following the submission of such a report, the Commissioners shall take all necessary steps, consistent with the requirements of this section, to establish such operations in another country.

"(c) Report.-As soon as practicable after September 30, 1992, the Commissioner of Customs shall submit to the Congress a report regarding the preclearance operations program carried out under subsection (a). The report shall include-

"(1) a summary of the preclearance operations, including the number of individuals processed, any administrative problems encountered, and cost of the operations;

"(2) an evaluation of the extent to which the preclearance operations contributed to-

"(A) the stimulation of the tourism industry of the country concerned, and

"(B) expedited customs processing at United States ports of entry;

"(3) the opinion of the Commissioner of Customs regarding the efficacy of extending preclearance operations to other countries within the Caribbean Basin that are developing tourism industries, and if the opinion is affirmative, the identity of those countries to which such operations should be extended and the estimated costs and results of such extensions; and

"(4) such other matters that the Commissioner of Customs considers relevant."

Incumbent Commissioner on December 6, 1989

Section 3(b)(2) of Pub. L. 101–207 provided that: "The individual who is serving as the Commissioner of Customs on the day before the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 7, 1989] may continue to serve in such capacity until a Commissioner of Customs, appointed as provided in the amendment made by paragraph (1) [amending this section], takes office."

Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of United States Customs Service

Pub. L. 100–203, title IX, §9503(c), Dec. 22, 1987, 101 Stat. 1330–381 , provided that:

"(1) The Secretary of the Treasury shall establish an advisory committee which shall be known as the 'Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of the United States Customs Service' (hereafter in this subsection referred to as the 'Advisory Committee').

"(2)(A) The Advisory Committee shall consist of 20 members appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury.

"(B) In making appointments under subparagraph (A), the Secretary of the Treasury shall ensure that-

"(i) the membership of the Advisory Committee is representative of the individuals and firms affected by the commercial operations of the United States Customs Service; and

"(ii) a majority of the members of the Advisory Committee do not belong to the same political party.

"(3) The Advisory Committee shall-

"(A) provide advice to the Secretary of the Treasury on all matters involving the commercial operations of the United States Customs Service; and

"(B) submit an annual report to the Committee on Finance of the Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives that shall-

"(i) describe the operations of the Advisory Committee during the preceding year, and

"(ii) set forth any recommendations of the Advisory Committee regarding the commercial operations of the United States Customs Service.

"(4) The Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Enforcement shall preside over meetings of the Advisory Committee."

Pub. L. 99–272, title XIII, §13033, Apr. 7, 1986, 100 Stat. 311 , which provided for the establishment of an advisory committee, whose members were to consist of representatives from the airline, shipping, and other transportation industries, the general public, and others, to advise the Secretary of the Treasury on issues related to the performance of the customs services, was repealed by Pub. L. 100–203, title IX, §9503(d), Dec. 22, 1987, 101 Stat. 1330–382 .

Section Referred to in Other Sections

This section is referred to in section 2072 of this title; title 31 section 308.