19 CFR 127.12 – Abandoned merchandise
(a) Involuntarily abandoned merchandise. The following shall be considered to be involuntarily abandoned merchandise:
Terms Used In 19 CFR 127.12
- Duties: means Customs duties and any internal revenue taxes which attach upon importation. See 19 CFR 101.1
- Importer: means the person primarily liable for the payment of any duties on the merchandise, or an authorized agent acting on his behalf. See 19 CFR 101.1
- port director: means the person who has jurisdiction within the geographical boundaries of their port of entry unless the regulations provide that particular trade functions or determinations are exclusively within the purview of a Center Director or other CBP personnel. See 19 CFR 101.1
- United States: includes all territories and possessions of the United States, except the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Wake Island, Midway Islands, Kingman Reef, Johnston Island, and the island of Guam. See 19 CFR 134.1
(1) Articles entered for a trade fair under the provisions of section 3 of the Trade Fair Act of 1959 (19 U.S.C. § 1752), which are still in Customs custody at the expiration of 3 months after the closing date of the fair for which they were entered. (See § 147.47 of this chapter.)
(2) Any imported merchandise upon which any duties or charges are unpaid, remaining in a bonded warehouse beyond the 5-year warehouse period.
(b) Voluntarily abandoned merchandise. The following merchandise shall be considered to be voluntarily abandoned merchandise and the property of the United States Government:
(1) Merchandise which is taken possession of by the port director at the request of the consignee, or owner or master of the vessel or person in charge of the vehicle in which the merchandise was imported.
(2) Merchandise abandoned by the importer to the United States within 30 days after entry in the case of merchandise not sent to the public stores for examination, or within 30 days after the release of the examination packages or merchandise in the case of merchandise sent to the public stores for examination.
(3) Articles entered for a trade fair under the provisions of section 3 of the Trade Fair Act of 1959 (19 U.S.C. § 1752), which have been abandoned to the United States within 3 months of the closing of the fair.
(4) Merchandise in a bonded warehouse abandoned by the consignee within 3 years from the date of original importation. (See subpart D of part 158 of this chapter.)