Title 19 — Customs DutiesRelease 119-73
§1462 Forfeiture 11 See Codification note below.
Title 19 › Chapter CHAPTER 4— - TARIFF ACT OF 1930 › Subtitle SUBTITLE III— - ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS › Part Part II— - Report, Entry, and Unlading of Vessels and Vehicles › § 1462
Summary
The officer must take and open the closed container or vehicle when the owner or agent refuses an officer's demand, and if any dutiable or prohibited item is found, the contents and container must be forfeited.
Full Legal Text
Title 19, §1462
Customs Duties — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
If such 1 owner, agent, or other person shall fail to comply with his demand, the officer 1 shall retain such trunk, traveling bag, sack, valise, or other container or closed vehicle, and open the same, and, as soon thereafter as may be practicable, examine the contents, and if any article subject to duty or any article the importation of which is prohibited is found therein, the whole contents and the container or vehicle shall be subject to forfeiture.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Codification As enacted by act June 17, 1930, the catchline for this section was “Same—forfeiture”, as this section was intended to be read as a continuation of the provisions introduced in section 1459 of this title. When first enacted, section 1459 of this title related to arrival in the United States from a contiguous country but has since been amended by Pub. L. 99–570 to relate to arrival more generally. The uses of “such” and “the officer” in text are meant to refer back to section 1461 of this title.
Prior Provisions
Provisions similar to those in this section were contained in R.S. § 3101, which was superseded by act Sept. 21, 1922, ch. 356, title IV, § 462, 42 Stat. 956, and was repealed by section 642 thereof. section 462 of the 1922 act was superseded by section 462 of act June 17, 1930, comprising this section, and repealed by section 651(a)(1) of the 1930 act.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
19 U.S.C. § 1462
Title 19 — Customs Duties
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73