§320. Remission or mitigation of fines

The fines imposed by sections 5 ¹ and 6 ¹ of this act and sections 289 and 319 of this Appendix shall be subject to remission or mitigation by the Commissioner of Customs when the offense was not willfully committed, under such regulations and methods of ascertaining the facts as may seem to him advisable.

(June 19, 1886, ch. 421, §9, 24 Stat. 81 ; Feb. 14, 1903, ch. 552, §10, 32 Stat. 829 ; Mar. 4, 1913, ch. 141, §1, 37 Stat. 736 ; 1946 Reorg. Plan No. 3, §§101–104, eff. July 16, 1946, 11 F.R. 7875, 60 Stat. 1097.)

References in Text

Section 5 of this act, referred to in text, is section 5 of act June 19, 1886, which was classified to section 77 of former Title 46, Shipping, and was repealed by Pub. L. 99–509, title V, §5104(b), Oct. 21, 1986, 100 Stat. 1928 , and reenacted by section 5101(3) thereof as sections 14502 and 14512 of Title 46, Shipping.

Section 6 of this act, referred to in text, is section 6 of act June 19, 1886, which was classified to section 45 of former Title 46 and was repealed by Pub. L. 96–594, title I, §127, Dec. 24, 1980, 94 Stat. 3459 .

Transfer of Functions

For transfer of functions of other officers, employees, and agencies of Department of the Treasury, with certain exceptions, to Secretary of the Treasury with power to delegate, see 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. Commissioner of Customs, referred to in text, is an officer of Department of the Treasury.

"Commissioner of Customs" substituted in text for "Secretary of Commerce" on authority of Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1946, §§101–104, set out as a note preceding section 3 of this Appendix.

Upon incorporation into the Code, "Secretary of Commerce" substituted for "Secretary of the Treasury" to conform to acts Feb. 14, 1903, and Mar. 4, 1913.

Administrative Delegation of Functions by Secretary of the Treasury

Administrative delegation of functions by Secretary of the Treasury, see note set out preceding section 3 of this Appendix.

Cross References

Forfeitures, see sections 5601 et seq. and 7301 et seq. of Title 26, Internal Revenue Code.

Jurisdiction, fine, penalty or forfeiture, see section 1355 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.

Mitigation, refunding and remission of penalties under laws relating to vessels, seamen, and customs, see sections 2107(b) and 2108 of Title 46, Shipping, and section 1618 of Title 19, Customs Duties.

¹ See References in Text note below.