PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

The Secretary of the Treasury can move seized vessels, vehicles, aircraft, goods, or baggage to another customs district to sell them if the state where they were seized bans the sale there or if another district would get a better price. A court can order that forfeited items be turned over to the Secretary for that purpose. If selling won’t cover the costs, the Secretary can have customs officers destroy the items. Goods that federal or state law forbids to sell or use may be destroyed or remade into a lawful item, and any profit from that goes to the United States.

Title 19, §1611

Customs Duties, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

If the sale of any vessel, vehicle, aircraft, merchandise, or baggage forfeited under the customs laws in the district in which seizure thereof was made be prohibited by the laws of the State in which such district is located, or if a sale may be made more advantageously in any other district, the Secretary of the Treasury may order such vessel, vehicle, aircraft, merchandise, or baggage to be transferred for sale in any customs district in which the sale thereof may be permitted. Upon the request of the Secretary of the Treasury, any court may, in proceedings for the forfeiture of any vessel, vehicle, aircraft, merchandise, or baggage under the customs laws, provide in its decree of forfeiture that the vessel, vehicle, aircraft, merchandise, or baggage, so forfeited, shall be delivered to the Secretary of the Treasury for disposition in accordance with the provisions of this section. If the Secretary of the Treasury is satisfied that the proceeds of any sale will not be sufficient to pay the costs thereof, he may order a destruction by the customs officers: Provided, That any merchandise forfeited under the customs laws, the sale or use of which is prohibited under any law of the United States or of any State, may, in the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury, be destroyed, or remanufactured into an article that is not prohibited, the resulting article to be disposed of to the profit of the United States only.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

Provisions similar to those in this section were contained in act Sept. 21, 1922, ch. 356, title IV, § 611, 42 Stat. 985. That section was superseded by section 611 of act June 17, 1930, comprising this section, and repealed by section 651(a)(1) of the 1930 act.

Amendments

1984—Pub. L. 98–573 and Pub. L. 98–473 inserted reference to aircraft in four places.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1984 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 98–573 effective Oct. 15, 1984, see section 214(e) of Pub. L. 98–573, set out as a note under section 1304 of this title.

§1611 Seizure; Sale Unlawful