§ 2. CERTIFIED STATEMENTS. ART. 1476. Refunds of duties, erroneously exacted, in cases where suit has been commenced under section 2931, R. S., or section 15 of the act of June 10th, 1890, will be made by means of certified statements (form Cat. No. 178). Such statements are to be prepared only upon special instructions of the Department. 12171. ART. 1477. In the adjustment of duties to be refunded by certified statement, under sections 2931, 3012, and 30124, R. S., the bills of particulars and protests relating to such suits will be carefully examined by the collector, D. 11616, and naval officer, and no allowance will be made in excess of the original claim of the importer, as set forth in the bill of particulars, nor upon any item not fully covered by protest, appeal, and suit. Payment of costs and interest in custom cases upon refunds under act of June 10, 1890, is not allowed. ART. 1478. To the certified statement there must be T. D. 7505. attached the affidavit of the claimant showing that the claim has not been alienated or assigned by operation of law or otherwise, that no portion of the amount claimed has heretofore been refunded, and that the claimant is not indebted to the United States. ART. 1479. To the certified statement, in suit cases, there must be attached the certificate of the collector, countersigned by the naval officer, when there is one, showing that the duties have been accounted for to the Treasury, that no part thereof has been paid back, and that the claimant is not indebted to the United States on the books of his office and also the certificate of the clerk of the court to the effect that the suit has been discontinued of record, or, if in judgment, that the judgment has been duly entered and docketed. When it is found, upon decision of a judge of the circuit court or of the Supreme Court, under section 15 of the act of June 10, 1890, that excessive duties have been exacted, certified statements shall be prepared, under instructions of the Department, for refund of the excess paid in the judgment case and in all other parallel cases in which the appeals to the court are still pending and to which the same questions of law and fact apply as are covered by the decision in the judgment case. But the pending applications for review must, respectively, be withdrawn before the preparation of any certified statement. T.D.7505, 11608, 21535, 21576. ART. 1480. Refunds of excessive duties will be made by means of certified statements except at ports where naval officers are stationed, where refunds by means of certified statements will be confined to cases where suits have been commenced. Certified statements must in all cases contain the address of the payee. ART. 1481. Section 8 of the act of October 1, 1890, provides for the refund of duties paid upon certain articles withdrawn from bonded warehouse for the construction and equipment of certain specified vessels. Refunds made in pursuance of this act shall be made upon certified statements prepared by authority of the collector. CHAPTER XXI. FINES, PENALTIES, AND FORFEITURES. § 1. PROCEEDINGS TO ENFORCE FINES AND PENALTIES. ART. 1482. The revenue laws imposing forfeiture for T.D. 11942. fraud are not technically penal, so as to call for a harsh construction; they are to be so construed as to effectually accomplish the intention of Congress and secure the observance of the law. ART. 1483. Fines imposed by the customs-revenue laws may, in some cases, be demanded and received by a collector without legal proceedings; but, if payment be objected to, resort must be had to due legal process. In all cases of payment without prosecution, a written acknowledgment of liability should be exacted in the form of an application for compromise. ART. 1484. Where the alternative of fine or imprison- T.D.11622. ment, or both, is provided by statute, the collector has no authority to demand or receive any satisfaction for the offense, but must report the case to the district attorney for prosecution. The same rule is applicable to cases in which the fine is to any extent indeterminate in amount, resting by law in the discretion of the court, unless a maximum limit is fixed by the law, and the person liable shall voluntarily pay the extreme penalty. Collectors have no authority to remit fines or to release property under seizure, except by consent of the Secretary of the Treasury or in cases where the amount of duty does not exceed $25. ART. 1485. In cases where the duty does not exceed $25, T. D. 8014, 11622. and where there has not been, in the opinion of the collector, any willful violation of law, and where the person accused has not been previously guilty of a similar offense, the goods may be released by order of the collector. Ꭲ . D. 7205. 1874. ART. 1486. No release of property appraised at over R.S., 3081. $1,000 can be made by the Department on payment of ap- Secs. 17 and 18, praised value, but the property must be held subject to act of June 22, the order of the court. Collectors, under the order of the Secretary of the Treasury, may release seized property of no greater value than $1,000. R. S., 3088. 2 Stat., 321. R. S., 3059 to 3072. R. Ş., 3071. R. S. 3065. R. S.,5447, 5451. ART. 1487. Whenever a vessel, or the owner, master, or manager thereof, shall be subject to a penalty for a violation of the revenue laws, such vessel shall be holden for the payment of such penalty, and may be seized and proceeded against summarily, by libel, to recover the same. But vessels used as common carriers are not subject to seizure or forfeiture by force of the provisions of Title 34, R. S., unless it shall appear that the owner or master of such vessel was at the time of the violation of law a consenting party, or privy thereto. ART. 1488. The powers of arrest, search, and seizure under the revenue laws, as well without as within their respective districts, are conferred by statute upon all officers of customs, including inspectors, permanent or occasional, officers of revenue cutters, special agents appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury, and persons specially appointed for the purpose by a collector, naval officer, or surveyor: Provided, Such special appointment be in writing and filed in the custom-house where it is made. ART. 1489. Every such officer, agent, or person is authorized to require any person within three miles to assist him, if necessary, in making an arrest, search, or seizure, under the revenue laws, and any person so summoned and neglecting to comply, without reasonable excuse, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and liable to fine for such neglect. Officers and their assistants are authorized, for such purposes, to enter and pass through lands, inclosures, and buildings, not dwellings, in the day or night. ART. 1490. Any person interfering with such officers. and assistants in the discharge of their duty, or offering them presents or bribes to influence or reward their acts, is liable to severe penalties. But every officer exercising any of these powers is required to make known his character if questioned. Personating an officer of the revenue subjects the offender to severe punishment. ART. 1491. Seizures may be made by any private person, but at the peril of responsibility in damages in case the seizure is not maintained by the Government. Officers of the customs are protected by law in all cases where reasonable cause of seizure shall appear, but a mere intention to violate the law will not justify a seizure. In all cases of doubt collectors will consult the United States attorney or the Secretary of the Treasury before proceeding for the enforcement of forfeiture. ART. 1492. To constitute a valid seizure there must be open, visible possession claimed, and authority exercised. under the seizure. A seizure once voluntarily abandoned loses its validity, and a new seizure must be made before a prosecution can be instituted. ART. 1493. Merchandise fraudulently invoiced, and any merchandise in which the taint of forfeiture from any cause exists, may be seized and forfeited wherever found. ART. 1494. Collectors will be prompt to take the proper steps to enforce forfeitures and penalties, but will avoid involving the Government in litigation upon slight cause or mere suspicion. ART. 1495. Collectors shall report, within ten days, to the district attorney of the district in which any fine, penalty, or forfeiture may occur for the violation of any revenue or navigation law, and in all such cases, a statement of the facts and circumstances of the case, with the names of the witnesses, stating the provisions of the law violated, and whatever information regarding the matter they may thereafter receive. ART. 1496. To avoid the institution of unnecessary legal proceedings, and the expenses incidental thereto, in all cases of penalties settled by voluntary payment thereof, or in cases of seizure of property not exceeding $500 in value, or in cases of release on payment of the appraised value, the collector, in his report to the district attorney, will state the action which has been taken by him in the settlement of said cases. R. S., 3084 D. 7794, ART. 1497. All property seized under the revenue and R. S., 3086. collection laws shall remain in the custody of the collector of the customs in the district where the seizure is made, until the proper proceedings are instituted to ascertain whether a forfeiture has accrued, and, unless in any particular case otherwise provided by law, will be held until adjudication by the proper tribunal or other disposition according to law. Collectors will postpone sale of small seizures until proceeds of consolidated sale will pay all T expenses. Lottery matter seized in the mails must be withheld from sale, and customs officers will turn the same D646. over to the postmaster for disposition under the postal laws. When spirituous liquors are seized in States having laws against their sale they shall be held for special disposition by the Department. ART. 1498. It is competent for the court, after the insti-R. S., 938. Sec. tution of proceedings against property under seizure, to 1874. order delivery thereof to the claimant upon such security as it shall require, or, in case of perishable goods, to di 11624. T. D. 12047. T. D. 11666. 13 act June 22, |