Public Law 72–90

That the Governor

Canal Zone, customs service.

Establishment of, provided.

Authority of Governor.

of the Panama Canal shall have control for customs purposes over all articles, including passengers’ baggage, introduced into the Canal Zone, and he is authorized to establish rules and regulations governing the entry and importation of goods into said zone, the disposal of goods brought into the Canal Zone in violation of such regulations, and to alter and amend such rules and regulations from time to time.

Sec. 2.

That general powers of search, seizure, and arrest are

Powers conferred upon customs officers, etc.

hereby conferred upon customs officers in the Canal Zone, including deputy shipping commissioners and boarding officers when performing customs duties. In the exercise of these powers customs officers are authorized to enter any building, other than dwelling houses, to stop vessels and vehicles, and to search vessels, vehicles, and their contents; and to stop and search persons and any packages carried by them. Such right of entry, stopping, search, seizure, and arrest

Right of entry, etc., restricted.

shall be exercised only when there are reasonable grounds for suspecting violations of the customs rules and regulations authorized hereunder or of the United States applicable in the Canal Zone.

Sec. 3.

That it shall be unlawful to enter or import, or attempt

Unlawful entry of merchandise, etc.

to enter or import, any articles or merchandise into the Canal Zone until the entry or importation of such articles or merchandise has been approved by the proper officers of the Canal Zone, and that it shall further be unlawful to pass, or attempt to pass, any false, forged, or fraudulent invoice or bill or other paper, for the purpose

Fraudulent invoices, etc.

of securing the entry or importation into the Canal Zone of any articles or merchandise in violation of the rules and regulations to be promulgated in pursuance of the authority contained in the first section of this Act, and any article brought into or obtained in the Canal Zone in violation of such regulations may be seized and held,

Seizure.

and, unless within a period of thirty days from the date of seizure such articles are entered in conformity to the rules and regulations to be promulgated by the governor, they may be confiscated and disposed of as provided in such rules and regulations. Any person

Punishment.

violating the provisions of this section or any of the rules and regulations authorized hereunder, shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine not exceeding $100, or by imprisonment in jail not exceeding ninety days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

Sec. 4.

That if any vessel arriving at the Canal Zone from any

Foreign vessel with merchandise not manifested.

Penalty.

port, other than a port in the Canal Zone or the Republic of Panama, is found to have on board merchandise not manifested, the master of such vessel shall be liable to a penalty equal in amount to the value of the merchandise not manifested, and all such merchandise belonging to or consigned to or for the officers or crew of the vessel shall be forfeited: Provided, however, That such penalty shall not

Proviso.

Exemption.

be imposed if it is made to appear to the customs officers, or to the court in which the trial is held, that no part of the cargo has been unloaded, except as accounted for in the master’s report, and that the errors and omissions in the manifest were made without fraud or collusion; and in such case the master may be allowed to correct

Unloading permit restrictions.

his manifest by means of a post entry. A permit shall not be granted to unload any such merchandise so omitted from the manifest before post entry or addition to report of manifest has been made.

Sec. 5.

That if sea stores are found on board of a vessel from any port, other than a port in the Canal Zone or the Republic of Panama, which are not specified in the list furnished the boarding officer, or if a greater quantity of such articles is found than that specified in such list, or if any of such articles are landed without a permit being first obtained from the customs officer for that purpose, all of such articles omitted from the list or manifest, or so landed shall be seized and forfeited, and the master of the vessel shall be liable to a penalty treble the value of the articles so omitted or landed.