Supporting Law/Regulation

§ 163.3

19 CFR Ch. I (4–1–02 Edition)

merchandise carried or held under bond
into or from the customs territory of
the United States;
(2) An agent of any person described
in paragraph (a)(1) of this section; or
(3) A person whose activities require
the filing of a declaration or entry, or
both.
(b) Domestic transactions. For purposes of paragraph (a)(1)(ii) of this section, a person who orders merchandise
from an importer in a domestic transaction knowingly causes merchandise
to be imported only if:
(1) The terms and conditions of the
importation are controlled by the person placing the order with the importer
(for example, the importer is not an
independent contractor but rather is
the agent of the person placing the
order: Whereas a consumer who purchases an imported automobile from a
domestic dealer would not be required
to maintain records, a transit authority that prepared detailed specifications from which imported subway cars
or busses were manufactured would be
required to maintain records); or
(2) Technical data, molds, equipment,
other production assistance, material,
components, or parts are furnished by
the person placing the order with the
importer with knowledge that they
will be used in the manufacture or production of the imported merchandise.
(c) Recordkeeping required for certain
exporters. Any person who exports
goods to Canada or Mexico for which a
Certificate of Origin was completed
and signed pursuant to the North
American Free Trade Agreement must
also maintain records in accordance
with part 181 of this chapter.
(d) Recordkeeping required for customs
brokers. Each customs broker must also
make and maintain records and make
such records available in accordance
with part 111 of this chapter.
(e) Recordkeeping not required for certain travelers. After having physically
cleared the Customs facility, a traveler
who made a baggage or oral declaration upon arrival in the United States
will not be required to maintain supporting records regarding non-commercial merchandise acquired abroad
which falls within the traveler’s personal exemptions or which is covered
by a flat rate of duty.

§ 163.3 Entry records.
Any person described in § 163.2(a)
with reference to an import transaction shall be prepared to produce or
transmit to Customs, in accordance
with § 163.6(a), any entry records which
may be demanded by Customs. If entry
records submitted to Customs not pursuant to a demand are returned by Customs, or if production of entry records
at the time of entry is waived by Customs, such person shall continue to
maintain those entry records in accordance with this part. Entry records
which are normally kept in the ordinary course of business must be maintained by such person in accordance
with this part whether or not copies
thereof are retained by Customs.
§ 163.4 Record retention period.
(a) General. Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b) of this section,
any record required to be made, kept,
and rendered for examination and inspection by Customs under § 163.2 or
any other provision of this chapter
shall be kept for 5 years from the date
of entry, if the record relates to an
entry, or 5 years from the date of the
activity which required creation of the
record.
(b) Exceptions. (1) Any record relating
to a drawback claim shall be kept until
the third anniversary of the date of
payment of the claim.
(2) Packing lists shall be retained for
a period of 60 calendar days from the
end of the release or conditional release period, whichever is later, or, if a
demand for return to Customs custody
has been issued, for a period of 60 calendar days either from the date the
goods are redelivered or from the date
specified in the demand as the latest
redelivery date if redelivery has not
taken place.
(3) A consignee who is not the owner
or purchaser and who appoints a customs broker shall keep a record pertaining to merchandise covered by an
informal entry for 2 years from the
date of the informal entry.
(4) Records pertaining to articles
that are admitted free of duty and tax
pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1321(a)(2) and
§§ 10.151 through 10.153 of this chapter,
and carriers’ records pertaining to
manifested cargo that is exempt from

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United States Customs Service, Treasury
entry under the provisions of this chapter, shall be kept for 2 years from the
date of the entry or other activity
which required creation of the record.
(5) If another provision of this chapter sets forth a retention period for a
specific type of record that differs from
the period that would apply under this
section, that other provision controls.
§ 163.5 Methods for storage of records.
(a) Original records. All persons listed
in § 163.2 shall maintain all records required by law and regulation for the required retention periods and as original
records, whether paper or electronic,
unless alternative storage methods
have been adopted in accordance with
paragraph (b) of this section. The
records, whether in their original format or under an alternative storage
method, must be capable of being retrieved upon lawful request or demand
by Customs.
(b) Alternative method of storage—(1)
General. Any of the persons listed in
§ 163.2 may maintain any records, other
than records required to be maintained
as original records under laws and regulations administered by other Federal
government agencies, in an alternative
format, provided that the person gives
advance written notification of such alternative storage method to the Director, Regulatory Audit Division, U.S.
Customs Service, 909 S.E. First Avenue, Miami, Florida 33131, and provided
further that the Director of the Miami
regulatory audit field office does not
instruct the person in writing as provided herein that certain described
records may not be maintained in an
alternative format. The written notice
to the Director of the Miami regulatory audit field office must be provided at least 30 calendar days before
implementation of the alternative
storage method, must identify the type
of alternative storage method to be
used, and must state that the alternative storage method complies with
the standards set forth in paragraph
(b)(2) of this section. If an alternative
storage method covers records that
pertain to goods under Customs seizure
or detention or that relate to a matter
that is currently the subject of an inquiry or investigation or administrative or court proceeding, the appro-

§ 163.5
priate Customs office may instruct the
person in writing that those records
must be maintained as original records
and therefore may not be converted to
an alternative format until specific
written authorization is received from
that Customs office. A written instruction to a person under this paragraph
may be issued during the 30-day advance notice period prescribed in this
section or at any time thereafter, must
describe the records in question with
reasonable specificity but need not
identify the underlying basis for the instruction, and shall not preclude application of the planned alternative storage method to other records not described therein.
(2) Standards for alternative storage
methods. Methods commonly used in
standard business practice for storage
of records include, but are not limited
to, machine readable data, CD ROM,
and microfiche. Methods that are in
compliance with generally accepted
business standards will generally satisfy Customs requirements, provided
that the method used allows for retrieval of records requested within a
reasonable time after the request and
provided that adequate provisions exist
to prevent alteration, destruction, or
deterioration of the records. The following standards must be applied by
recordkeepers when using alternative
storage methods:
(i) Operational and written procedures are in place to ensure that the
imaging and/or other media storage
process preserves the integrity, readability, and security of the information
contained in the original records. The
procedures must include a standardized
retrieval process for such records. Vendor specifications/documentation and
benchmark data must be available for
Customs review;
(ii) There is an effective labeling,
naming, filing, and indexing system;
(iii) Except in the case of packing
lists (see § 163.4(b)(2)), entry records
must be maintained in their original
formats for a period of 120 calendar
days from the end of the release or conditional release period, whichever is
later, or, if a demand for return to Customs custody has been issued, for a period of 120 calendar days either from
the date the goods are redelivered or

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