[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 19, Volume 1]
[Revised as of April 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 19CFR103.8]

[Page 438]
 
                        TITLE 19--CUSTOMS DUTIES
 
  CHAPTER I--UNITED STATES CUSTOMS SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
 
PART 103--AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION--Table of Contents
 
 Subpart A--Production of Documents/Disclosure of Information Under the 
                                  FOIA
 
Sec. 103.8  Time extensions.

    (a) Ten-day extension. In unusual circumstances, the Customs officer 
who is responsible for deciding an initial request or an appeal may 
extend the time limitations set in Secs. 103.6 and 103.7 after written 
notice to the requester or appellant. This notice must state the reason 
for the extension and the date on which the determination is expected to 
be dispatched. Any extension or extensions of time are limited to a 
cumulative total of not more than 10 additional working days. (For 
example, if an extension pursuant to this paragraph is invoked in 
connection with an initial determination, any unused days of the 
extension period may be invoked in connection with the determination on 
administrative appeal by written notice from the FOIA Appeals Officer, 
who is to make the appellate determination. If no extension is sought 
for the initial determination, an extension of 10 days may be added to 
the ordinary 20-day period for appellant review.) Generally, extensions 
will be invoked only to the extent reasonably necessary to properly 
respond to a request. As used in this paragraph, ``unusual 
circumstances'' means at least one of the following:
    (1) The need to search for and collect the requested records from 
field facilities or other establishments in buildings other than the 
building in which the office of the Customs officer to whom the request 
is made is located.
    (2) The need to search for, collect, and appropriately examine a 
voluminous amount of separate and distinct records which are demanded in 
a single request.
    (3) The need for consultation, which shall be conducted with all 
practicable speed, with another Department or agency having a 
substantial interest in the determination of the request, among two or 
more constituent units within the Department of the Treasury, or within 
offices of the United States Customs Service (other than the legal staff 
or Office of Congressional & Public Affairs) having substantial subject-
matter interest therein. Consultations with personnel of the Department 
of Justice concerned with requests for records under the Freedom of 
Information Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. 552), do not constitute a basis 
for an extension under this paragraph.
    (b) Extension by judicial review. If the United States Customs 
Service fails to comply with the time limitations specified in 
Secs. 103.6 and 103.7 and the requester commences an action under 
Sec. 103.9, the court in which the suit was initiated may retain 
jurisdiction and allow the United States Customs Service additional time 
to review its records, if the Customs Service shows the existence of 
exceptional circumstances and the exercise of due diligence in 
responding to the request.

[T.D. 81-168, 46 FR 32565, June 24, 1981; 46 FR 35084, July 7, 1981, as 
amended by T.D. 91-77, 56 FR 46114, Sept. 10, 1991]