Pub. L. 95-410, tit. I, sec. 109

Sec. 109. Section 584 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1584) is amended— (1) by striking out the first word of each paragraph and inserting in lieu thereof— (A) “(a) General Rule.—(1) Any” in the first paragraph, (B) “(2) If” in the second paragraph, and (C) “(3) If” in the last paragraph; (2) by inserting “lesser of $10,000 or the domestic” immediately after “penalty equal to the” in the first sentence of the first paragraph; (3) by inserting “or any person directly or indirectly responsible for any discrepancy between the merchandise and said manifest” immediately after “or the owner of such vessel or vehicle”, each place it appears in the first sentence of the first paragraph; 92 STAT. 893 (4) by adding at the end of the first paragraph the following new sentence: “For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘clerical error’ means a nonnegligent, inadvertent, or typographical mistake in the preparation, assembly, or submission of the manifest.”; (5) by inserting “or any person directly or indirectly responsible for heroin, morphine, cocaine, isonipecaine, or opiate being in such merchandise” immediately after “or the owner of such vessel or vehicle” in the first sentence of the second paragraph; (6) by inserting “or any person directly or indirectly responsible for smoking opium, opium prepared for smoking, or marihuana being in such merchandise” immediately after “or the owner of such vessel or vehicle” in the second sentence of the second paragraph; (7) by inserting “or any person directly or indirectly responsible for crude opium being in such merchandise” immediately after “or the owner of such vessel or vehicle” in the third sentence of the second paragraph; and (8) by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection: “(b) Procedures.— (1) if the appropriate customs officer has reasonable cause to believe that there has been a violation of subsection (a)(1) and determines that further proceedings are warranted, he shall issue to the person concerned a written notice of his intention to issue a claim for a monetary penalty. Such notice shall— “(A) describe the merchandise; “(B) set forth the details of the error in the manifest; “(C) specify all laws and regulations allegedly violated; “(D) disclose all the material facts which establish the alleged violation; “(E) state the estimated loss of lawful duties, if any, and, taking into account all of the circumstances, the amount of the proposed monetary penalty; and “(F) inform such person that he will have a reasonable opportunity to make representations, both oral and written, as to why such penalty claim should not be issued. No notice is required under this subsection for any violation of subsection (a)(1) for which the proposed penalty is $500 or less. “(2) After considering representations, if any, made by the person concerned pursuant to the notice issued under paragraph (1), the appropriate customs officer shall determine whether any violation of subsection (a)(1), as alleged in the notice, has occurred. If such officer determines that there was no violation, he shall promptly issue a written statement of the determination to the person to whom the notice was sent. If such officer determines that there was a violation, he shall issue a written penalty claim to such person. The written penalty claim shall specify all changes in the information provided under subparagraphs (A) through (E) of paragraph (1).”.