[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 19, Volume 1]

[Revised as of April 1, 2005]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 19CFR103.11]



[Page 494-495]

 

                        TITLE 19--CUSTOMS DUTIES

 

   CHAPTER I--BUREAU OF CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF 

              HOMELAND SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

 

PART 103_AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION--Table of Contents

 

 Subpart A_Production of Documents/Disclosure of Information Under the 

                                  FOIA

 

Sec.  103.11  Specific Customs Service records subject to disclosure.



    (a) Administrative staff manuals and instructions. Except as 

exempted by Sec.  103.12, all administrative staff manuals and 

instructions to staff that affect any member of the public, and indexes 

thereto, are available for public inspection and copying in the Customs 

Service public reference facilities (see Sec.  103.1), including the 

following:



Forms Catalog. Customs and other agency forms currently available from 

the Customs Service.

Legal Precedent Retrieval System. The directory is a listing by selected 

keywords of all classification rulings issued since early 1974 that 

affect a substantial volume of imports or transactions or are of general 

interest or importance, and of all published classification rulings 

issued since August 31, 1963, including classification decisions, and 

classification rulings circulated within the Customs Service by the 

Customs Information Exchange and the Office of Regulations and Rulings. 

The directory also contains limited information on decisions and rulings 

pertaining to entry, value, drawback, marking, country of origin, and 

vessel repairs. The directory is maintained on microfiche and is 

continually updated. Duplicate microfiche are available for 15[cent] 

each, through subscription or in individual sets. The costs of a set 

will depend upon the number of microfiche it contains.

Fines, Penalties, and Forfeitures Handbook. Collects in one document 

information relating to the total management of the fines, penalties, 

and forfeitures program.

Inspector Rate Book. A ready reference guide for inspection personnel. 

Contains an abbreviated Tariff Schedules of the United States and other 

reference material.

Customs Issuance System (CIS) Index. The index provides a brief 

description of circulars, manuals, legal rulings, decisions, and other 

Customs documents.

Operational Handbook of Other Agency Requirements Enforced by the U.S. 

Customs Service.

Customs Valuation under the Trade Agreements Act of 1979.

Fundamentals of Customs Tariff and Trade Operations Handbook. Material 

relating to the duties and responsibilities of import specialists: entry 

of merchandise, restrictions, prohibitions and other agency 

requirements, special trade programs, invoicing and related 

documentation, examination of merchandise, Customs valuation, tariff 

classification, liquidation, protests, and miscellaneous import 

specialist concerns.



    (b) Other Customs records. In general, all other documents issued by 

the Secretary of the Treasury, the Commissioner of Customs, or other 

officers of the Department of the Treasury or of the United States 

Customs Service in matters administered by the United States Customs 

Service, if reasonably described, and unless exempted from disclosure 

under Sec.  103.12, are available. The classes of records of the United 

States Customs Service which may be made available under this paragraph 

upon written request submitted in accordance with Sec.  103.5 include, 

but are not limited to the following:

    (1) Records relating to:

    (i) Comments submitted by private parties (which are not considered 

to include foreign governments) in response to a published notice of 

proposed rulemaking and of proposed changes in tariff classification, 

unless the submitter states that the information is privileged or 

confidential, giving reasons therefor, and the Commissioner of Customs 

agrees that the information contained therein is exempt from disclosure 

under Sec.  103.12;

    (ii) Advisory committees on Customs matters;

    (iii) Rosters of licensed customhouse brokers;

    (iv) Names of individual licensed customhouse brokers;

    (v) Names and titles of all Customs personnel;

    (vi) Performance awards;

    (vii) Suggestion awards;

    (viii) The administration of and decisions concerning import quotas; 

and

    (ix) Customs laboratory methods.

    (2) Decisions concerning--(i) Matters arising under the Tariff 

Schedules of the United States and the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 

United States (19 U.S.C. 1202);

    (ii) Whether or not specific items, articles, or merchandise qualify 

for entry under the Trade Fair Act of 1959 (19 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.), and 

the disposition of articles previously entered under the Trade Fair Act; 

Customs participation and assistance at Trade Fairs;



[[Page 495]]



    (iii) The dutiable status of gifts pursuant to section 321, Tariff 

Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1321);

    (iv) The eligibility of vehicles used in international traffic 

pursuant to section 332(a), Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1322(a)), and 

other instruments of international traffic generally for duty-free 

entry;

    (v) Prohibition from entry of merchandise produced by convict, 

forced, or indentured labor (19 U.S.C. 1307);

    (vi) The entry or valuation of merchandise;

    (vii) Liens in cases arising under section 564, Tariff Act of 1930, 

as amended (19 U.S.C. 1564);

    (viii) Bills of lading, carriers' certificates, or rights in respect 

of merchandise, cases arising under section 483 or 484(c), (h), or (i), 

Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1483, 1484(c), (h), (i));

    (ix) Trademarks, trade names, copyrights, patents, and related 

matters;

    (x) Country of origin marking requirements of section 304, Tariff 

Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304);

    (xi) Psittacine or other birds, bird feathers, bird skins, monkeys, 

dogs, cats, and other animals and pets prohibited entry or subject to 

restrictions and controls on entry;

    (xii) Entry of articles admitted temporarily free of duty under bond 

as provided in Schedule 8, Part 5C, Tariff Schedules of the United 

States and Chapter 98, Subchapter XIII, HTSUS (19 U.S.C. 1202), and 

entry of articles admitted temporarily free of duty under A.T.A. 

Carnets, as provided in Sec.  114.22(a) of this chapter;

    (xiii) Tonnage taxes (regular, special, and discriminatory) and 

light money;

    (xiv) The entry, clearance and use of vessels and permits for them 

to proceed coastwise;

    (xv) The regulation of vessels in the foreign, coastal, fishing, and 

other trades of the United States;

    (xvi) The limitation of the use of foreign vessels in waters under 

the jurisdiction of the United States;

    (xvii) Salvage operations by vessels within the territorial waters 

of the United States (46 U.S.C. 316);

    (xviii) The assessment and collection of duties on equipment or 

repairs of vessels or aircraft under section 466, Tariff Act of 1930, as 

amended (19 U.S.C. 1466), and the remission or refund of such duties;

    (xix) Requirements for entry, clearance, and use of aircraft;

    (xx) The arrival or departure and the use of motor vehicles, railway 

trains, or other vehicles;

    (xxi) Adequacy of premises at Customs bonded warehouses and control 

of the merchandise stored therein;

    (xxii) Use of protective Customs seals and labels; and

    (xxiii) The itineraries of foreign vessels which had been submitted 

for an advisory ruling to determine whether the primary object of a 

contemplated voyage would be considered to unlawful coastwise trade (see 

Sec.  4.80a(d) of this chapter).



[T.D. 81-168, 46 FR 32565, June 24, 1981, as amended by T.D. 85-123, 50 

FR 29954, July 23, 1985; T.D. 89-1, 53 FR 51255, Dec. 21, 1988; T.D. 97-

82, 62 FR 51770, Oct. 3, 1997]