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Title 18 — Crimes and Criminal Procedure

Part I · Chapter 27 — Customs

§ 548. Removing or repacking goods in warehouses

Statutory text

Whoever fraudulently conceals, removes, or repacks merchandise in any bonded warehouse or fraudulently alters, defaces or obliterates any marks or numbers placed upon packages deposited in such warehouse, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.

Merchandise so concealed, removed, or repacked, or packages upon which any marks or numbers have been so altered, defaced, or obliterated, shall be forfeited to the United States.

Legislative history

Reconstructed from this section’s Code source credit and amendment notes, resolved against the local Statutes at Large. Editorial notes are evidence, not the law that made the change.

  1. Pub. L. 80–645 · 62 Stat. 683

    Enacted · 18 U.S.C. § 548

    June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 717

    Source evidence

    Code source credit
    June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 717

  2. Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994

    Pub. L. 103–322 title XXXIII § 330016(1)(K) · 108 Stat. 1796

    Substituted · 18 U.S.C. § 548

    Pub. L. 103–322 substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $5,000”

    Source evidence

    Code amendment note
    Pub. L. 103–322 substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $5,000”.

    Enacted provision · exact public law section
    (K) in sections 35, 81, 112, 152, 153, 155, 212, 213, 214, 285, 334, 351, 435, 436, 438, 471, 472, 473, 476, 477, 478, 481, 485, 487, 488, 497, 498, 505, 506, 508, 509, 541, 542, 543, 544, 546, 547, 548, 549, 550, 551, 552, 592, 593, 602, 603, 606, 607, 642, 655, 658, 659, 660, 661, 663, 751, 799, 844, 872, 874, 875, 876, 877, 878, 914, 915, 924, 953, 954, 956, 1004, 1010, 1011, 1015, 1017, 1025, 1028, 1071, 1073, 1074, 1163, 1169, 1231, 1265, 1363, 1421, 1422, 1423, 1424, 1425, 1426, 1427, 1428, 1429, 1461, 1462, 1463, 1465, 1503, 1505, 1506, 1507, 1510, 1581, 1582, 1583, 1584, 1585, 1588, 1658, 1659, 1717, 1732, 1735, 1737, 1751, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1915, 1991, 2072, 2073, 2113, 2217, 2152, 2197, 2231, 2244, 2314, 2316, 2317, 2344, and 2701 by striking “not more than $5,000” each place it appears and inserting “under this title”;

1 of 2 references resolved to an enrolled provision · 1 partial

Notes

Historical and Revision Notes

Based on section 1597 of title 19, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Customs Duties (June 17, 1930, ch. 497, title IV, § 597, 46 Stat. 752).

This section was rewritten to place the criminal provisions ahead of the forfeiture provisions. This did not require any substantive changes except omission of reference to persons aiding. Such persons are made principals by section 2 of this title.

The punishment prescribed by section 545 of this title was inserted to make this section complete without reference to another section. In doing so it was necessary to rephrase the punishment provision of section 545 of this title, as originally enacted, without change of substance.

Forfeiture provision was rephrased to make it clear that forfeiture was not dependent upon conviction.

Changes were made in phraseology.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1994—Pub. L. 103–322 substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $5,000”.

Credits

1948–1994 · 2 acts
  1. 1948June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 717
  2. 1994Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, § 330016(1)(K), , 108 Stat. 2147.
Show as published

(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 717; Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, § 330016(1)(K), , 108 Stat. 2147.)

Parsed from the official OLRC USLM XML in data/usc_all/usc18.xml · release point 119-108 · OLRC build 2026-05-04

USLM identifier /us/usc/t18/s548