52 Stat. 1087 19 U.S.C.1554 47 Stat. 1428 19 U.S. C. 1555 84 Stat. 287 prohibited arriving in the United States destined to a foreign coun- With the consent of the proper authorities, imported merchandise, in bond or duty-paid, and products and manufactures of the United States may be transported from one port to another in the United States through contiguous countries, under such regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe, unless such transportation is in violation of [46 U.S.c. 883] or section 588 of this Act. SEC. 555. BONDED WAREHOUSES. Buildings or parts of buildings and other inclosures may be designated by the Secretary of the Treasury as bonded warehouses for the storage of imported merchandise entered for warehousing, or taken possession of by the appropriate customs officer, or under seizure, or for the manufacture of merchandise in bond, or for the repacking, sorting, or cleaning of imported merchandise. Such warehouses may be bonded for the storing of such merchandise only as shall belong or be consigned to the owners or proprietors thereof and be known as private bonded warehouses, or for the storage of imported merchandise generally and be known as public bonded warehouses. Before any imported merchandise not finally released from customs custody shall be stored in any such premises, the owner or lessee thereof shall give a bond in such sum and with such sureties as may be approved by the Secretary of the Treasury to secure the Government against any loss or expense connected with or arising from the deposit, storage, or manipulation of merchandise in such warehouse. Except as otherwise provided in this Act, bonded warehouses shall be used solely for the storage of imported merchandise and shall be placed in charge of a proper officer of the customs, who, together with the proprietor thereof, shall have joint custody of all merchandise stored in the warehouse; and all labor on the merchandise so stored shall be performed by the owner or proprietor of the warehouse, under supervision of the officer of the customs in charge of the same, at the expense of the owner or proprietor. The compensation of such officer of the customs and other customs employees appointed to supervise the receipt of merchandise into any such warehouse and deliveries therefrom shall be reimbursed to the Government by the proprietor of such warehouse. 19 U.S.C. 1556 19 U.S.C.1557 52 Stat. 1088 52 Stat. 1077 69 Stat. 242 52 Stat. 1087 52 Stat. 1077 69 Stat. 242 52 Stat. 1087 67 Stat. 519 SEC. 556. SAME--REGULATIONS FOR ESTABLISHING. The Secretary of the Treasury shall from time to time establish such rules and regulations as may be necessary for the establishment of bonded warehouses and to protect the interests of the Government in the conduct, management, and operation of such warehouses and in the withdrawal of and accounting for merchandise deposited therein. SEC. 557. ENTRY FOR WAREHOUSE--WAREHOUSE PERIOD--DRAWBACK. (a) Any merchandise subject to duty, with the exception of perishable articles and explosive substances other than firecrackers, may be entered for warehousing and be deposited in a bonded warehouse at the expense and risk of the owner, importer, or consignee. Such merchandise may be withdrawn, at any time within three years thdrawn, at any time within three years from the date of importation, for consumption upon payment of the duties and charges accruing thereon at the rate of duty imposed by law upon such merchandise at the date of withdrawal; or may be withdrawn for exportation or for transportation and exportation to a foreign country, or for shipment or for transportation and shipment to the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Wake Island, Midway Islands, Kingman Reef, Johnston Island, or the island of Guam, without the payment of duties thereon, or for transportation and rewarehousing at another port or elsewhere, or for transfer to another bonded warehouse at the same port: Provided, That the total period of time for which such merchandise may remain in bonded warehouse shall not exceed three years from the date of importation. Merchandise upon which the duties have been paid and which shall have remained continuously in bonded warehouse or otherwise in the custody and under the control of customs officers, may be entered or withdrawn at any time within three years after the date of importation for exportation or for transportation and exportation to a foreign country, or for shipment or for transportation and shipment to the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Wake Island, Midway Islands, Kingman Reef, Johnston Island, or the island of Guam, under such regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe, and upon such entry or withdrawal, and exportation or shipment, the duties thereon shall be refunded. (b) The right to withdraw any merchandise entered in accordance with subsection (a) of this section for the purposes specified in such subsection may be transferred upon compliance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury and upon the filing by the transferee of a bond in such amount and containing such conditions as the Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe. The bond 1/ The Secretary of the Treasury may, under certain conditions and for a limited time, extend the 3-year period for additional l-year periods. T.D. 52896. shall include an obligation to pay, with respect to the merchandise (c) Merchandise entered under bond, under any provision of law, may, upon payment of all charges other than duty on the merchandise, be destroyed, at the request and at the expense of the consignee, within the bonded period under customs supervision, in lieu of exportation, and upon such destruction the entry of such merchandise shall be liquidated without payment of duty and any duties collected shall be refunded. 19 U.S.C. 1558 52 Stat. 1088 19 U.S.C. 1559 52 Stat. 1088 SEC. 558. NO REMISSION OR REFUND AFTER RELEASE OF MERCHANDISE. (1) When articles are exported with respect to which a (2) When prohibited articles have been regularly entered in good faith and are subsequently exported or destroyed pursuant to a law of the United States and under such regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe; and (3) When articles entered under bond, under any provision of law, are destroyed within the bonded period as provided for in section 557 of this Act, or are destroyed within the bonded period by death, accidental fire, or other casualty, and proof of such destruction is furnished which shall be satisfactory to the Secretary of the Treasury, in which case any accrued duties shall be remitted or refunded and any condition in the bond that the articles shall be exported shall be deemed to have been satisfied. (b) When articles are exported or destroyed under customs supervision after once having been released from customs custody, as provided for in subsection (c) of section 304 of this Act, such exportation or destruction shall not exempt such articles from the payment of duties other than the marking duty provided for in such subsection (c). SEC. 559. WAREHOUSE GOODS DEEMED ABANDONED AFTER THREE YEARS. Merchandise upon which any duties or charges are unpaid, remaining in bonded warehouse beyond three years from the date of importation, shall be regarded as abandoned to the Government and shall be sold under such regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe, and the proceeds of sale paid into the Treasury, as in the case of unclaimed merchandise covered by section 493 of this Act, subject to the payment to the owner or consignee of such amount, if any, as shall remain after deduction of duties, charges, and expenses. Merchandise upon which all duties and charges have been paid, remaining in bonded warehouse beyond three years from the date of importation, shall be held to be no longer in the custody or control of the officers of the customs. 1 The Secretary of the Treasury may, under certain conditions |