Chapter III: 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.)