The committee met, pursuant to call, at 9:30 a. m., in room 1102, House Office Building, Hon. Thomas A. Jenkins presiding. Mr. JENKINS. The committee will be in order. The committee is ready to begin public hearings on the Customs Simplification Act of 1953, H. R. 5106. Without objection, I will have a copy of the bill inserted in the record at this point. SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the "Customs Simplification Act of 1953" and shall be effective, except as otherwise specially provided for, on and after the Sec. 5. Transportation of lead-bearing and zinc-bearing ores. Sec. 6. Repeal of certain obsolete reciprocal provisions. Sec. 7. American goods returned. Sec. 8. Free entry provision for travelers. Sec. 9. Free entry for noncommercial exhibitions. Sec. 10. Temporary free entry for samples and other articles under bond. Sec. 16. Signing and delivery of manifests. Sec. 17. Certified invoices and entry of merchandise. Sec. 18. Verification of documents. Sec. 19. Amendment of entries. Sec. 20. Commingled merchandise. Sec. 21. Correction of errors and mistakes. Sec. 22. Conversion of currency. REPEAL OF OBSOLETE ACCOUNTING PROVISIONS SEC. 2. (a) The following sections of the Revised Statutes (relating to obsolete functions of customs officers and functions of such officers now provided for by other laws) are hereby repealed: Revised Statutes 2621, as amended (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 33). Revised Statutes 2622, as amended (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 34). Revised Statutes 2623, as amended (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 35). 4 Revised Statutes 2626, as amended (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 39). Revised Statutes 2639, as amended (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 42). Revised Statutes 2640, as amended (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 43). Revised Statutes 2641, as amended (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 44). Revised Statutes 2643, as amended (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 45). (b) Section 439 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1439) is amended by deleting "the comptroller of customs for the district in which the port of entry is located" and substituting therefor "such employee as the Secretary of the Treasury shall designate", and by deleting "said comptroller of customs" and substituting therefor "said employee designated by the Secretary". (c) Section 440 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1440) is amended by deleting "the comptroller of customs for the district in which the port of entry is located" and substituting therefor "such employee as the Secretary of the Treasury shall designate". (d) Section 523 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1523) is amended to read as follows: "SEC. 523. EXAMINATION OF ACCOUNTS. "The Secretary of the Treasury or such officer or employee as he shall designate, shall, under regulations and instructions prescribed by the Secretary "(1) examine the collectors' accounts of receipts and disbursement of money and receipts and disposition of merchandise; and "(2) verify, to such extent as the Secretary of the Treasury shall direct, assessments of duties and taxes and allowances of drawback." EFFECTIVE DATES OF RATES OF DUTY SEC. 3. (a) Section 315 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1315), is further amended to read as follows: "SEC. 315. EFFECTIVE DATES OF RATES OF DUTY. "(a) Except as otherwise specially provided for, the rate or rates of duty imposed by or pursuant to this Act or any other law on any article entered for consumption or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption shall be the rate or rates in effect when the documents comprising the entry for consumption or withdrawal from warehouse for consumption and any estimated or liquidated duties then required to be paid have been deposited with the appropriate customs officer in the form and manner prescribed by regulations of the Secretary of the Treasury, except that (1) any article released under an informal mail entry shall be subject to duty at the rate or rates in effect when the preparation of the entry is completed; and "(2) any article which is not subject to a quantitative or tariff-rate quota and which is covered by an entry for immediate transportation made at the port of original importation under section 552 of this Âct, if entered for consumption at the port designated by the consignee, or his agent, in such transportation entry without having been taken into the custody of the collector under section 490 of this Act, as amended, shall be subject to the rate or rates in effect when the transportation entry was accepted at the port of original importation. "(b) Any article which has been entered for consumption but which, before release from customs custody, is removed from the port or other place of intended release because of inaccessibility, overcarriage, strike, act of God, or unforeseen contingency, shall be subject to duty at the rate or rates in effect when the entry for consumption and any required duties were deposited in accordance with subsection (a) of this section, provided the article is returned to such port or place within ninety days after the date of removal and the identity of the article as that covered by the entry is established to the satisfaction of the collector of customs. "(c) Insofar as duties are based upon the quantity of any merchandise, such duties shall, except as provided in paragraph 813 and section 562 of this Act (relating respectively to certain beverages and to manipulating warehouses), be levied and collected upon the quantity of such merchandise at the time of its importation. (d) No administrative ruling resulting in the imposition of a higher rate of duty or charge than the Secretary of the Treasury shall find to have been applicable to imported merchandise under an established and uniform practice shall be effective with respect to articles entered for consumption or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption prior to the expiration of thirty days after the date of publication in the weekly Treasury Decisions of notice of such ruling; but this provision shall not apply with respect to the imposition of antidumping duties." (b) Section 484 (f) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1484 (f)), is further amended by changing the period at the end to a comma and adding "and except that, in the case of articles not subject to a quantitative or tariff-rate quota, entry for the entire quantity covered by an entry for immediate transportation made under section 552 of this Act may be accepted at the port of entry designated by the consignee, or his agent, in such entry after the arrival of any part of such quantity at such designated port or at such other place of deposit as may be authorized by the collector of customs having jurisdiction over such designated port." MARKING SEC. 4. (a) Paragraphs 28, 354, 355, 357, 358, 359, 360, 361, and 1553 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1001, pars. 28, 354, 355, 357, 358, 359, 360, 361, and 1553) are amended as follows: Paragraph 28 is amended by deleting from subparagraph (f) "the immediate container and". Paragraph 354 is amended by deleting the second proviso. Paragraphs 355, 357, 358, 359, 360, and 361 are amended by deleting the provisos. Paragraph 1553 is amended by deleting both provisos. (b) The following sections of the Revised Statutes are repealed: (c) Section 304 (a) (3) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1304 (a) (3)), is further amended by deleting "or" at the end of subdivision (I); by changing the period at the end of subdivision (J) to a semicolon and by adding "or"; and by adding a new subdivision (K) as follows: "(K) such article cannot be marked after importation except at an expense which is economically prohibitive, and the failure to mark the article before importation was not due to any purpose of the importer, producer, seller, or shipper to avoid compliance with this section." TRANSPORTATION OF LEAD-BEARING AND ZINC-BEARING ORES SEC. 5. (a) Paragraph 391 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1001, par. 391), is further amended by changing the colon at the end of the first proviso to a period; and by amending the rest of the paragraph to read as follows: "The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to make all necessary regulations to enforce the provisions of this paragraph.' (b) Paragraph 393 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1001, par. 393), is further amended by changing the colon at the end of the first proviso to a period; and by amending the rest of the paragraph to read as follows: "The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to make all necessary regulations to enforce the provisions of this paragraph.” REPEAL OF CERTAIN OBSOLETE RECIPROCAL PROVISIONS SEC. 6. (a) Paragraph 812 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1001, par. 812) is amended by deleting the proviso relating to the importation of spirits in certain containers. (b) Section 320 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1320), relating to reciprocal agreements covering advertising matter, is repealed. AMERICAN GOODS RETURNED SEC. 7. Paragraph 1615 (f) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1201, par. 1615 (f)), is further amended by adding at the end thereof the following new sentences: "When because of the destruction of customs records or for other cause it is impracticable to establish whether drawback was allowed, or to determine the amount of drawback allowed, on a reimported article excepted under subparagraph (e), there shall be assessed thereon an amount of duty equal to the estimated drawback and internal-revenue tax which would be allowable or refundable if the imported merchandise used in the manufacture or production of the reimported article were dutiable or taxable at the rate applicable to such merchandise on the date of importation, but in no case more than the duty and tax that would apply if the article were orig inally imported. In order to facilitate the ascertainment and collection of the duty provided for in this subparagraph, the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to ascertain and specify the amounts of duty equal to drawback or internalrevenue tax which shall be applied to articles or classes or kinds of articles, and to exempt from the assessment of duty articles or classes or kinds of articles excepted under subparagraph (e) with respect to which the collection of such duty involves expense and inconvenience to the Government which is dispropor-, tionate to the probable amount of such duty." FREE ENTRY PROVISIONS FOR TRAVELERS SEC. 8. Paragraph 1798 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (U. S. C., 1946edition, title 19, sec. 1201, par. 1798), is further amended to read as follows: "Par. 1798. (a) Professional books, implements and tools of trade, occupation, or employment, when imported by or for the account of any person arriving in the United States by whom or for whose account they were taken abroad. "(b) In the case of any person arriving in the United States who is not a returning resident thereof― "(1) wearing apparel, articles of personal adornment, toilet articles, and similar personal effects; all the foregoing, if actually owned by and in the possession of such person abroad at the time of or prior to his departure for the United States, and if appropriate for his own personal use and intended only for such use and not for any other person nor for sale; "(2) automobiles, trailers, aircraft, motorcycles, bicycles, baby carriages, boats, horse-drawn conveyances, horses, and similar means of transportation, and the usual equipment accompanying the foregoing; any of the foregoing imported in connection with the arrival of such person and to be used in the United States only for the transportation of such person, his family and guests, and such incidental carriage of articles as may be appropriate to his personaĺ use of the conveyance; and "(3) not exceeding $200 in value of articles accompanying such a person who is in transit to a place outside United States customs territory and who will take the articles with him to such place. "(c) In the case of any person arriving in the United States who is a returning resident thereof "(1) all personal and household effects taken abroad by him or for his account and brought back by him or for his account; and "(2) articles (including not more than one wine gallon of alcoholic beverages and not more than one hundred cigars) acquired abroad as an incident of the journey from which he is returning, for his personal or household use, but not imported for the account of any other person nor intended for sale, if declared in accordance with regulations of the Secretary of the Treasury, up to but not exceeding in aggregate value "(A) $200, if such person arrives from a contiguous country which maintains a free zone or free port (see subparagraph (d)), or arrives from any other country after having remained beyond the territorial limits of the United States for a period of not less than forty-eight hours, andin either case has not claimed an exemption under this subdivision (A) within the thirty days immediately preceding bis arrival; and "(B) $300 in addition, if such person has remained beyond the territorial limits of the United States for a period of not less than twelve day and has not claimed an exemption under this subdivision (B) within the six months immediately preceding his arrival. "(d) In the case of persons arriving from a contiguous country which maintains a free zone or free port, if the Secretary of the Treasury deems it necessary in the public interest and to facilitate enforcement of the requirement that the exemption shall apply only to articles acquired as an incident of the foreign journey, he shall prescribe by special regulation or instruction, the application of which may be restricted to one or more ports of entry, that the exemption authorized by subdivision (2) (A) of subparagraph (c) shall be allowed only to residents who have remained beyond the territorial limits of the United States for not less than a specified period, not to exceed twenty-four hours, and after the expiration of ninety days after the date of such regulation or instruction allowance of the said exemption shall be subject to the limitations so prescribed. "(e) Any article imported to replace a like article of comparable value previously exempted from duty under subdivision (c) of this paragraph shall be allowed free entry if the article previously exempted shall have been exported |