§1596. Penalties

(a) Any person who knowingly, or as a result either of gross negligence or of a failure to make a reasonable effort to inform himself of the pertinent facts, violates any provision of this chapter or the rules and regulations made and promulgated thereunder shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall pay a fine of not more than $1,000, for the first offense, and upon conviction for each subsequent offense not more than $2,000.

(b) Any person who violates any provision of this chapter or the rules and regulations made and promulgated thereunder shall forfeit to the United States a sum, not less than $25 or more than $500, for each such violation, which forfeiture shall be recoverable in a civil suit brought in the name of the United States.

(Aug. 9, 1939, ch. 615, title IV, §406, 53 Stat. 1286 ; July 9, 1956, ch. 520, §1, 70 Stat. 508 .)

Amendments

1956-Act July 9, 1956, designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), inserted "knowingly or as a result either of gross negligence or of a failure to make a reasonable effort to inform himself of the pertinent facts," and added subsec. (b).

Effective Date of 1956 Amendment

Section 4 of act July 9, 1956, provided that: "The amendments made by this Act [amending sections 1574, 1596, and 1602 of this title] shall be applicable only with respect to violations occurring after the enactment of this Act [July 9, 1956]."

Effective Date

See section 1610 of this title.

Cross References

Fines, penalties and forfeitures, see section 2461 et seq. of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.

United States as party generally, see section 2401 et seq. of Title 28.

United States as plaintiff, jurisdiction of district courts, see section 1345 of Title 28.

Section Referred to in Other Sections

This section is referred to in section 1602 of this title.