ENTRY AND CLEARANCE
Clearance.
The master or person having the charge or command of any vessel bound to
a foreign port, shall deliver to the collector of the district from
which such vessel is about to depart, a manifest of all the cargo on
board the same, and the value thereof, by him subscribed, and shall
swear to the truth thereof; whereupon the collector shall grant a
clearance for such vessel and her cargo, but without specifying the
particulars thereof in the clearance, unless required by the master or
other person having the charge or command of such vessel so to do. If
any vessel bound to a foreign port departs on her voyage to such foreign
port without delivering such manifest and obtaining a clearance, as
hereby required, the master or other person having the charge or command
of such vessel shall be liable to a penalty of five hundred dollars for
every such offense. (R. S., 4197; Apr. 29, 1902.)
Master's oath.
The oath to be taken by the master or commander of the vessel shall be
as follows:
District of
I, (insert the name), master or commander of the (insert the
denomination and name of the vessel), bound from the port of (insert
the name of the port or place sailing from) to (insert the name of the
port or place bound to), do solemnly, sincerely, and truly swear (or
affirm, as the case may be) that the manifest of the cargo on board the
said (insert denomination and name of the vessel) now delivered by me
to the collector of this district, and subscribed with my name
contains, according to the best of my knowledge and belief, a full,
just, and true account of all the goods, wares, and merchandise now
actually laden on board the said vessel, and of the value thereof; and
if any other goods, wares, or merchandise shall be laden or put on
board the said (insert denomination and name of vessel) previous to her
sailing from this port, I will immediately report the same to the said
collector. I do also swear (or affirm) that I verily believe the duties
on all the foreign merchandise therein specified have been paid or
secured, according to law, and that no part thereof is intended to be
relanded within the United States, and that if by distress or other
unavoidable accident it shall become necessary to reland the same, I
will forthwith make a just and true report thereof to the collector of
the customs of the district wherein such distress or accident may
happen. So help me God. (R. S., 4198; Apr. 29, 1902.)
Form of outward manifest.
The form of the report and manifest to be delivered to the collector
shall be as follows: (R. S., 4199; Apr. 29, 1902.)
Report and manifest of the cargo laden at the port of , on
board the , master, bound for port .
--------+----------+-------------+-------------+--------------
Marks. | Numbers. | Packages or | Contents or | Value at the
| | articles | quantities. | port of
| | in bulk. | | exportation.
--------+----------+-------------+-------------+--------------
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
--------+----------+-------------+-------------+--------------
Before a clearance shall be granted for any vessel bound to a foreign
port, the owners, shippers, or consignors of the cargo of such vessel
shall deliver to the collector manifests of the cargo, or the parts
thereof shipped by them respectively, and shall verify the same by oath.
Such manifests shall specify the kinds and quantities of the articles
shipped respectively, and the value of the total quantity of each kind
of articles; and the oath to each manifest shall state that it contains
a full, just, and true account of all articles laden on board of such
vessel by the owners, shippers, or consignors respectively, and that the
values of such articles are truly stated, according to their actual
cost, or the values which they truly bear at the port and time of
exportation. And before a clearance shall be granted for any such
vessel, the master of that vessel, and the owners, shippers, and
consignors of the cargo, shall state, upon oath, to the collector, the
foreign port or country in which such cargo is truly intended to be
landed. The oaths shall be taken and subscribed in writing. (R. S.,
4200; Apr. 29, 1902.)
Form of clearance.
The form of a clearance, to be granted to a ship or vessel on her
departure to a foreign port or place, shall be as follows:
District of ,
Port of .
These are to certify all whom it doth concern, that , master
or commander of the , burden tons, or thereabouts,
mounted with guns, navigated with men, built, and bound
for , having on board , hath here entered and cleared his
said vessel according to law. Given under our hands and seals, at the
custom-house of , this day of , one thousand ,
and in the year of the Independence of the United States of
America. (R. S., 4201; Apr. 29, 1902.)
State inspection laws.
The collectors and other officers of the customs shall pay due regard to
the inspection laws of the States in which they may respectively act, in
such manner that no vessel having on board goods liable to inspection
shall be cleared until the master, or other proper person, shall have
produced such certificate that all such goods have been duly inspected,
as the laws of the respective States may require to be produced to
collectors or other officers of the customs. (R. S., 4202; Apr. 29,
1902.)
Manifests in Alaskan and insular trades.
The provisions of sections four thousand one hundred and ninety-seven to
four thousand two hundred, inclusive, of the Revised Statutes of the
United States, requiring statements of quantity and value of goods
carried by vessels clearing from the United States to foreign ports,
shall be extended to and govern, under such regulations as the Secretary
of Commerce shall prescribe, in the trade between the United States and
Hawaii, Porto Rico, Alaska, the Philippine Islands, Guam, and its other
noncontiguous territory, and shall also govern in the trade conducted
between said islands and territory, and in shipments from said islands
or territory to other parts of the United States: _Provided_, That this
law shall not apply in the Philippine Islands during such time as the
collectors of customs of those islands are under the jurisdiction of the
War Department. (Apr. 29, 1902; Feb. 14, 1903; secs. 7, 10.)
Bullion and coin.
All vessels belonging to citizens of the United States, and bound from
any port in the United States to any other port therein, or to any
foreign port, or from any foreign port to any port in the United States,
shall, before clearance, receive on board all such bullion, coin, United
States notes and bonds and other securities, as the Government of the
United States or any department thereof, or any minister, consul,
vice-consul, or commercial or other agent of the United States abroad,
shall offer, and shall securely convey and promptly deliver the same to
the proper authorities or consignees, on arriving at the port of
destination; and shall receive for such service such reasonable
compensation as may be allowed to other carriers in the ordinary
transactions of business. (R. S., 4204.)
Fees.
Previous to a clearance being granted to any vessel, outward bound, the
legal fees which shall have accrued on such vessel shall be paid at the
offices where such fees are respectively payable; and receipts for the
same shall be produced to the collector or other officer whose duty it
may be to grant clearances, before a clearance is granted. (R. S., 4206;
June 19, 1886.)
Whenever any clearance is granted to any vessel of the United States,
duly registered as such, and bound on any foreign voyage, the collector
of the district shall annex thereto, in every case, a copy of the rates
or tariffs of fees which diplomatic and consular officers are entitled,
by the regulations prescribed by the President, to receive for their
service. (R. S., 4207.)
Deposit of papers.
The register, or other document in lieu thereof, together with the
clearance and other papers granted by the officers of the customs to a
vessel at her departure from the port from whence she may have arrived,
Mediterranean passports excepted, shall previous to entry be produced to
the collector with whom such entry is to be made, and shall remain in
his office; and on the clearance of such vessel the register and other
documents shall be returned to the master or owner of such vessel. (R.
S., 2790.)
The register, or other document in lieu thereof, together with the
clearance and other papers granted by the officers of the customs to any
foreign vessel, at her departure from the port from which she may have
arrived, shall, previous to entry in any port of the United States, be
produced to the collector with whom such entry is to be made. It shall
be the duty of the master, within forty-eight hours after such entry, to
deposit the papers with the consul or vice-consul of the nation to which
the vessel belongs, and to deliver to the collector the certificate of
such consul or vice-consul that the papers have been so deposited. Every
master who fails to comply with this regulation shall be punishable by a
fine of not less than five hundred dollars, nor more than two thousand
dollars. (R. S., 4209.)
It shall be the duty of all masters of vessels for whom any official
services shall be performed by any consular officer, without the payment
of a fee, to require a written statement of such services from such
consular officer, and, after certifying as to whether such statement is
correct, to furnish it to the collector of the district in which such
vessels shall first arrive on their return to the United States; and if
any such master of a vessel shall fail to furnish such statement, he
shall be liable to a fine of not exceeding fifty dollars, unless such
master shall state under oath that no such statement was furnished him
by said consular officer. And it shall be the duty of every collector to
forward to the Secretary of the Treasury all such statements as shall
have been furnished to him, and also a statement of all certified
invoices which shall have come to his office, giving the dates of the
certificates, and the names of the persons for whom and of the consular
officer by whom the same were certified. (R. S., 4213; June 26, 1884;
sec. 13.)
War documents; passports; sea letters.
Every vessel of the United States, going to any foreign country, shall,
before she departs from the United States, at the request of the master,
be furnished by the collector for the district where such vessel may be,
with a passport, the form for which shall be prescribed by the Secretary
of State. In order to be entitled to such passport, the master of every
such vessel shall be bound, with sufficient sureties, to the Treasurer
of the United States, in the penalty of two thousand dollars,
conditioned that the passport shall not be applied to the use or
protection of any other vessel than the one described in it; and that,
in case of the loss or sale of any vessel having such passport, the same
shall, within three months, be delivered up to the collector from whom
it was received, if the loss or sale take place within the United
States; or within six months, if the same shall happen at any place
nearer than the Cape of Good Hope; and within eighteen months, if at a
more distant place. (R. S., 4306.)
If any vessel of the United States shall depart therefrom, and shall be
bound to any foreign country, other than to some port in America,
without such passport, the master of such vessel shall be liable to a
penalty of two hundred dollars for every such offense. (R. S., 4307.)
Every unregistered vessel owned by a citizen of the United States, and
sailing with a sea-letter, going to any foreign country, shall, before
she departs from the United States, at the request of the master, be
furnished by the collector of the district where such vessel may be with
a passport, for which the master shall be subject to the rules and
conditions prescribed for vessels of the United States. (R. S., 4308.)
Every master of a vessel, belonging to citizens of the United States,
who shall sail from any port of the United States, shall, on his arrival
at a foreign port, deposit his register, sea-letter, and Mediterranean
passport with the consul, vice-consul, commercial agent, or
vice-commercial agent, if any there be at such port; and it shall be the
duty of such consul, vice-consul, commercial agent, or vice-commercial
agent, on such master or commander producing to him a clearance from the
proper officer of the port where his vessel may be, to deliver to the
master all of his papers, if such master or commander has complied with
the provisions of law relating to the discharge of seamen in a foreign
country, and to the payment of the fees of consular officers. (R. S.,
4309.)
Every master of any such vessel who refuses or neglects to deposit the
papers as required by the preceding section, shall be liable to a
penalty of five hundred dollars, to be recovered by such consul, vice
consul, commercial agent, or vice-commercial agent, in his own name, for
the benefit of the United States, in any court of competent
jurisdiction. (R. S., 4310.)
Illegal boarding of vessel.
Every person who, not being in the United States service, and not being
duly authorized by law for the purpose, goes on board any vessel about
to arrive at the place of her destination, before her actual arrival,
and before she has been completely moored, without permission of the
master, shall, for every such offense, be punishable by a fine of not
more than two hundred dollars, and by imprisonment for not more than six
months; and the master of such vessel may take any such person so going
on board into custody, and deliver him up forthwith to any constable or
police officer, to be by him taken before any justice of the peace, to
be dealt with according to the provisions of this Title (R. S.,
4501-4613). (R. S., 4606.)
The Secretary of Commerce is hereby authorized and directed to prescribe
from time to time and enforce regulations governing the boarding of
vessels arriving at the seaports of the United States, before such
vessels have been properly inspected and placed in security, and for
that purpose to employ any of the officers of that [or Treasury]
Department. (Mar. 31, 1900; Feb. 14, 1903; sec. 10.)
Each person violating such regulations shall be subject to a penalty of
not more than one hundred dollars or imprisonment not to exceed six
months, or both, in the discretion of the court. (Mar. 31, 1900; sec. 2.)
This Act shall be construed as supplementary to section nine of chapter
three hundred and seventy-four of the Statutes of eighteen hundred and
eighty two, and section forty-six hundred and six of the Revised
Statutes. (Sec. 3.)
Boarding and search of vessel.
It shall be lawful for any officer of the customs, including inspectors
and occasional inspectors, or of a revenue-cutter, or authorized agent
of the Treasury Department, or other person specially appointed for the
purpose in writing by a collector, naval officer, or surveyor, to go on
board of any vessel, as well without as within his district, and to
inspect, search, and examine the same, and any person, trunk, or
envelope on board, and to this end to hail and stop such vessel if under
way, and to use all necessary force to compel compliance; and if it
shall appear that any breach or violation of the laws of the United
States has been committed, whereby or in consequence of which such
vessel, or the merchandise, or any part thereof, on board of or imported
by such vessel, is liable to forfeiture, to make seizure of the same, or
either or any part thereof, and to arrest, or in case of escape, or any
attempt to escape, to pursue and arrest any person engaged in such
breach or violation. (R. S., 3059.)
The original appointment in writing of any person specially appointed
under the provisions of the previous section shall be filed in the
custom-house where such appointment is made. (R. S., 3060.)
It shall be lawful for all collectors, naval officers, surveyors,
inspectors, and the officers of the revenue-cutters, to go on board of
vessels in any port of the United States, or within four leagues of the
coast thereof, if bound to the United States, whether in or out of their
respective districts, for the purpose of demanding the manifests, and of
examining and searching the vessels; and those officers respectively
shall have free access to the cabin and every part of a vessel. (R. S.,
3067.)
If any master of a vessel coming into or having arrived at any port
within the United States, shall obstruct or hinder or shall
intentionally cause any obstructions or hindrance to any officer in
lawfully going on board such vessel for the purpose of carrying into
effect any of the revenue laws of the United States, he shall for every
such offense be liable to a penalty of not more than five hundred
dollars nor less than fifty dollars. (R. S., 3068.)
If any box, trunk, chest, cask, or other package shall be found in the
cabin, steerage, or forecastle of a vessel, or in any other place
separate from the residue of the cargo, the officer of the customs shall
take a particular account of such package, and of the marks and numbers
thereof, if any, and a description thereof, and, if he judges proper,
shall seal every such package; and such account and description shall be
by him forwarded without delay to the collector of the district to which
such vessel is bound. If upon her arrival at the port of her entry, the
packages so described, or any of them, are missing, or if any seal put
thereon has been broken, the master shall be liable to a penalty for
every package missing, or on which any seal shall be broken, of two
hundred dollars. (R. S., 3069.)