Title 27, Commerce and Trade

The liability for duties attaching on importation constitutes a personal debt due from the importer to the government which can be discharged only by payment in full of duties legally accruing. It may be enforced notwithstanding that an erroneous construction of law or regulation…

In case of the insolvency or bankruptcy of an importer, all debts, including duties due the governments of the United States and American Samoa, shall be first satisfied, and any assignee or trustee who fails to recognize this priority shall be personally liable. History: 1963, P…

(a) If a person importing goods into American Samoa is of the opinion that an excessive valuation has been placed upon the goods imported and desires to protest the valuation as made, he shall so inform the chief customs officer and then submit, in writing, a request to the Gover…

(a) Customs duties or excise taxes paid under this chapter or 11.1001 et seq. on merchandise which is later sold to the United States Government or a private or governmental entity for export outside of American Samoa, shall be refunded on the basis of 100% for sales to the Unite…

When, in any prosecution or action on account of the seizure of any vessel, vehicle, merchandise or baggage by any collector or other officer, judgment is rendered for the claimant, and it appears to the court that there was reasonable cause for seizure, the court may enter an or…

Neither the government, the customs department, nor any official or employee of the government is liable or responsible for the loss, damage or destruction of any property, goods or merchandise caused by or resulting from an act of God, including but not limited to fire, flood, e…

No remission, abatement, or refund of duty may be allowed on account of the destruction of any merchandise after its release from customs. History: 1963, PL 8-1; 2008, PL 30-36. .

No customs officer or other authorized employee is in any way liable to any owner, importer, consignee, agent or any other person for or on account of any rulings or decisions concerning, or the duties charged on, any imported merchandise, or the collection of any dues or charges…

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to export, attempt to export, or attempt to cause another to export from the Territory, or conceal for the purpose of exportation, any of the following items: (1) Controlled substances as defined in A.S.C.A. Title 13, Chapter 10. (2) Curren…

Any person, who is being submitted to an authorized inspection by a customs officer, or any person accompanying such person, or any bystanders, shall not in any way interfere with such officer’s performance of his duties. History: 2008, PL 30-36.

All authorized customs officers shall be empowered to administer any oaths required or authorized by these regulations in respect to any matter coming before such officers in the performance of their official duties. No compensation or fee shall be demanded or accepted for admini…

No person employed in the customs office may be concerned directly or indirectly with the importation of articles into American Samoa, or shall own any interest in a vessel used for such purpose, or shall act as the agent, attorney or consignee in connection with imports. History…

The Treasurer may make rules and prescribe forms needed to carry out the provisions of this chapter. History: 1963, PL 8-1; amd 1987, PL 20-29 § 17; 2008, PL 30-36. Amendments: Replaces “regulations” with “rules” and “Port Director” with “Treasurer”.

In situations not covered by provisions of this chapter, those provisions of the United States Code, and the Code of Federal Regulations, which relate to customs, shall be used as a guide, insofar as practicable. History: 1963, PL 8-1; 2008, PL 30-36.

Except as elsewhere provided, any person convicted of violating or attempting to violate any provision in this chapter is guilty of a class A misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be sentenced accordingly; and all goods or vessels in any way connected with any breach or attempted…

(a) Customs officers shall be duly sworn and shall have the authority to: Seize any evidence related to any violation of any provisions of this chapter; Detain any person suspected of violating any section or subsection of this chapter until a properly authorized arresting office…

Contraband, undeclared goods, merchandise, and commodities or falsely declared goods, merchandise and commodities are subject to seizure and forfeiture in accordance with the following process: (a) Seizure notice: The importer or exporter is to be provided with a “Notice of Seizu…

When in the course of any lawful investigation by any governmental entity, it is revealed that goods have been received or sold by a business or individual without proper excise tax having been paid, said goods shall be subject to imposition of all due and proper tax. In addition…

(a) The Post Exchange (PX) is established solely for the use and benefit of its members. Any goods purchased from the PX are strictly for the personal use of the member making the purchase and shall not be resold or otherwise transferred unless proper excise taxes are paid. (b) A…

(a) If a consignee owes delinquent excise taxes or any fees or penalties, the chief customs officer may refuse to release any goods from the customs jurisdiction to the consignee until such delinquent account is settled. (b) If a consignee makes payment by check or other instrume…

No merchant, trader, storekeeper or other person may sell goods to a Samoan on credit for more than the current cash selling price of like goods at the place where the credit transaction took place, but this section shall not prohibit a Samoan from agreeing in writing to pay inte…

No mortgage, agreement that creates or provides for a security interest, bill of sale, conditional sales contract, deed of trust or conveyance of personal property which is not accompanied by a permanent delivery thereof to the vendee is valid as to persons who do not have actual…

When the obligation secured by any of the instruments mentioned in 27.1510 has been satisfied, the owner or holder of the instrument shall satisfy the same in the records of the Terri-torial Registrar by filing an instrument of satisfaction or by endorsing upon the margin of the …

Except as otherwise provided in this section and 27.1531 and 27.1532, a contract for the sale of goods for the price of $500 or more is not enforceable by way of action or defense unless there is some writing sufficient to indicate that a contract for sale has been made between t…

Between merchants if within a reasonable time a writing in confirmation of the contract and sufficient against the sender is received and the party receiving it has reason to know its contents, it satisfies the requirements of 27.1530 against that party unless written notice of o…

A contract which does not satisfy the requirements of 27.1530 but which is valid in other respects is enforceable: (1) if the goods are to be specially manufactured for the buyer and are not suitable for sale to others in the ordinary course of the seller’s business and the selle…

The currency of the United States of America, at its face value, shall be the only legal tender in American Samoa for the payment of public and private debts and obligations. History: 1962, PL 7-23.

(a) All checks drawn upon the Treasurer by the government are negotiable at par. (b) Any person within the limits of American Samoa who charges a fee for cashing a check of the government shall be fined not more than $100. History: 1962, PL 7-23.

The Uniform Negotiable Instruments Law as proposed by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws and as construed by a majority of the courts in the United States, rather than the common law of England, shall govern those commercial transactions to which it is…

(a) The Legislature finds that: (1) There is interest among foreign persons to make large investments on a long-term basis in American Samoa. (2) The Territory desires such investment but needs to regulate foreign investment to attract appropriate investment and to protect native…

As used in this title, unless the context requires otherwise, the following meanings apply: (a) “Certificate of foreign investment” means the certificate issued by the Director of Development Planning which includes information required by section 27.2609. (b) “Enterprise” means …

(a) No person may make any foreign investment in American Samoa directly or indirectly unless the provisions of this chapter have been complied with. History: 1988, PL 20-80; amd 1991, PL 22-11.

(a) The Director shall be provided with appropriations in an annual budget sufficient to handle effectively all of his duties. (b) The Director is authorized to hire staff necessary to effectively execute all of his duties. Such staff shall be career service and must have appropr…

(a) Any foreign investor, indigenous resident, or United States organizer may apply for a certificate of foreign investment by submitting an application to the Director. The application must include the following information: (1) the applicant’s: (A) name, age, place of residence…

(a) In reviewing an application for a certificate of foreign investment, the Director must review and make written findings of the criteria in subsection (b), and specifically whether the proposed enterprise will have a positive, negative or neutral impact on the Territory. A fin…

(a) Upon determining, after review of the criteria in section 27.2606, that a proposed enterprise is one which the Director approves of, he shall issue to an applicant a letter of approval. The letter of approval must be issued or denied within 120 days of receiving the applicati…

(a) Upon receipt of documentation required by section 27.2607 the Director must either issue or deny a certificate of foreign investment, within 30 days of receiving such documentation. (b) If the Director denies issuance of the certificate of foreign investment to an applicant h…

(a) Every certificate of foreign investment shall contain the following data: (1) a description of the enterprise and the form of business which will operate it and the location; (2) name, nationality, age, and current residence of the applicant; (3) description of additional fin…

(a) At all times during the life of a certificate of foreign investment, its holder and the enterprise must be in compliance with the provisions of this chapter and all other applicable laws and regulations. Failure to comply may lead the Director, after giving the certificate ho…

(a) The fees for applying for a certificate of foreign investment is two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) and is non-refundable. This fee covers all costs of the Director in accepting, reviewing and processing the applications. (b) Additional fees for other costs may be imp…

(a) To the extent necessary to obtain compliance with any provision of this act of any rule promulgated hereunder, the Attorney General shall assist the Director in enforcing the same. History: 1988, PL 20-80; amd 1991, PL 22-11.