Supporting U.S.C.

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TITLE 19—CUSTOMS DUTIES

3808, provided that: ‘‘The amendment made by this section [amending this section] shall apply with respect to
articles entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, after October 1, 1988.’’

§ 1508. Recordkeeping
(a) Requirements
Any—
(1) owner, importer, consignee, importer of
record, entry filer, or other party who—
(A) imports merchandise into the customs
territory of the United States, files a drawback claim, or transports or stores merchandise carried or held under bond, or
(B) knowingly causes the importation or
transportation or storage of merchandise
carried or held under bond into or from the
customs territory of the United States;
(2) agent of any party described in paragraph
(1); or
(3) person whose activities require the filing
of a declaration or entry, or both;
shall make, keep, and render for examination
and inspection records (which for purposes of
this section include, but are not limited to,
statements, declarations, documents and electronically generated or machine readable data)
which—
(A) pertain to any such activity, or to the
information contained in the records required
by this chapter in connection with any such
activity; and
(B) are normally kept in the ordinary course
of business.
(b) Exportations to NAFTA countries
(1) Definitions
As used in this subsection—
(A) The term ‘‘associated records’’ means,
in regard to an exported good under paragraph (2), records associated with—
(i) the purchase of, cost of, value of, and
payment for, the good;
(ii) the purchase of, cost of, value of, and
payment for, all material, including indirect materials, used in the production of
the good; and
(iii) the production of the good.
For purposes of this subparagraph, the terms
‘‘indirect material’’, ‘‘material’’, ‘‘preferential tariff treatment’’, ‘‘used’’, and
‘‘value’’ have the respective meanings given
them in articles 415 and 514 of the North
American Free Trade Agreement.
(B) The term ‘‘NAFTA Certificate of Origin’’ means the certification, established
under article 501 of the North American Free
Trade Agreement, that a good qualifies as an
originating good under such Agreement.
(2) Exports to NAFTA countries
(A) In general
Any person who completes and signs a
NAFTA Certificate of Origin for a good for
which preferential treatment under the
North American Free Trade Agreement is
claimed shall make, keep, and render for examination and inspection all records relating to the origin of the good (including the

§ 1508

Certificate or copies thereof) and the associated records.
(B) Claims for certain waivers, reductions, or
refunds of duties or for credit against
bonds
(i) In general
Any person that claims with respect to
an article—
(I) a waiver or reduction of duty under
the eleventh paragraph of section 1311 of
this title, section 1312(b)(1) or (4) of this
title, section 1562(2) of this title, or the
proviso preceding the last proviso to section 81c(a) of this title;
(II) a credit against a bond under section 1312(d) of this title; or
(III) a refund, waiver, or reduction of
duty under section 1313(n)(2) or (o)(1) of
this title;
must disclose to the Customs Service the
information described in clause (ii).
(ii) Information required
Within 30 days after making a claim described in clause (i) with respect to an article, the person making the claim must
disclose to the Customs Service whether
that person has prepared, or has knowledge that another person has prepared, a
NAFTA Certificate of Origin for the article. If after such 30-day period the person
making the claim either—
(I) prepares a NAFTA Certificate of Origin for the article; or
(II) learns of the existence of such a
Certificate for the article;
that person, within 30 days after the occurrence described in subclause (I) or (II),
must disclose the occurrence to the Customs Service.
(iii) Action on claim
If the Customs Service determines that a
NAFTA Certificate of Origin has been prepared with respect to an article for which
a claim described in clause (i) is made, the
Customs Service may make such adjustments regarding the previous customs
treatment of the article as may be warranted.
(3) Exports under the Canadian agreement
Any person who exports, or who knowingly
causes to be exported, any merchandise to
Canada during such time as the United StatesCanada Free-Trade Agreement is in force with
respect to, and the United States applies that
Agreement to, Canada shall make, keep, and
render for examination and inspection such
records (including certifications of origin or
copies thereof) which pertain to the exportations.
(c) Period of time
The records required by subsections (a) and (b)
of this section shall be kept for such periods of
time as the Secretary shall prescribe; except
that—
(1) no period of time for the retention of the
records required under subsection (a) or (b)(3)

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of this section may exceed 5 years from the
date of entry, filing of a reconciliation, or exportation, as appropriate;
(2) the period of time for the retention of the
records required under subsection (b)(2) of this
section shall be at least 5 years from the date
of signature of the NAFTA Certificate of Origin; and
(3) records for any drawback claim shall be
kept until the 3rd anniversary of the date of
payment of the claim.
(d) Limitation
For the purposes of this section and section
1509 of this title, a person ordering merchandise
from an importer in a domestic transaction does
not knowingly cause merchandise to be imported unless—
(1) the terms and conditions of the importation are controlled by the person placing the
order; or
(2) technical data, molds, equipment, other
production assistance, material, components,
or parts are furnished by the person placing
the order with knowledge that they will be
used in the manufacture or production of the
imported merchandise.
(e) Subsection (b) penalties
(1) Relating to NAFTA exports
Any person who fails to retain records required by paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of
this section or the regulations issued to implement that paragraph shall be liable for—
(A) a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000; or
(B) the general recordkeeping penalty that
applies under the customs laws;
whichever penalty is higher.
(2) Relating to Canadian agreement exports
Any person who fails to retain the records
required by paragraph (3) of subsection (b) of
this section or the regulations issued to implement that paragraph shall be liable for a civil
penalty not to exceed $10,000.
(f) Certificates of Origin for goods exported
under the United States-Chile Free Trade
Agreement
(1) Definitions
In this subsection:
(A) Records and supporting documents
The term ‘‘records and supporting documents’’ means, with respect to an exported
good under paragraph (2), records and documents related to the origin of the good, including—
(i) the purchase, cost, and value of, and
payment for, the good;
(ii) if applicable, the purchase, cost, and
value of, and payment for, all materials,
including recovered goods, used in the production of the good; and
(iii) if applicable, the production of the
good in the form in which it was exported.
(B) Chile FTA Certificate of Origin
The term ‘‘Chile FTA Certificate of Origin’’ means the certification, established
under article 4.13 of the United States-Chile
Free Trade Agreement, that a good qualifies

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as an originating good under such Agreement.
(2) Exports to Chile
Any person who completes and issues a Chile
FTA Certificate of Origin for a good exported
from the United States shall make, keep, and,
pursuant to rules and regulations promulgated
by the Secretary of the Treasury, render for
examination and inspection all records and
supporting documents related to the origin of
the good (including the Certificate or copies
thereof).
(3) Retention period
Records and supporting documents shall be
kept by the person who issued a Chile FTA
Certificate of Origin for at least 5 years after
the date on which the certificate was issued.
(g) Certifications of origin for goods exported
under the Dominican Republic-Central
America-United States Free Trade Agreement
(1) Definitions
In this subsection:
(A) Records and supporting documents
The term ‘‘records and supporting documents’’ means, with respect to an exported
good under paragraph (2), records and documents related to the origin of the good, including—
(i) the purchase, cost, and value of, and
payment for, the good;
(ii) the purchase, cost, and value of, and
payment for, all materials, including indirect materials, used in the production of
the good; and
(iii) the production of the good in the
form in which it was exported.
(B) CAFTA–DR certification of origin
The term ‘‘CAFTA–DR certification of origin’’ means the certification established
under article 4.16 of the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free
Trade Agreement that a good qualifies as an
originating good under such Agreement.
(2) Exports to CAFTA–DR countries
Any person who completes and issues a
CAFTA–DR certification of origin for a good
exported from the United States shall make,
keep, and, pursuant to rules and regulations
promulgated by the Secretary of the Treasury,
render for examination and inspection all
records and supporting documents related to
the origin of the good (including the certification or copies thereof).
(3) Retention period
Records and supporting documents shall be
kept by the person who issued a CAFTA–DR
certification of origin for at least 5 years after
the date on which the certification was issued.
(h) Certifications of origin for goods exported
under the United States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement
(1) Definitions
In this subsection:
(A) Records and supporting documents
The term ‘‘records and supporting documents’’ means, with respect to an exported

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good under paragraph (2), records and documents related to the origin of the good, including—
(i) the purchase, cost, and value of, and
payment for, the good;
(ii) the purchase, cost, and value of, and
payment for, all materials, including indirect materials, used in the production of
the good; and
(iii) the production of the good in the
form in which it was exported.
(B) PTPA certification of origin
The term ‘‘PTPA certification of origin’’
means the certification established under article 4.15 of the United States-Peru Trade
Promotion Agreement that a good qualifies
as an originating good under such Agreement.
(2) Exports to Peru
Any person who completes and issues a
PTPA certification of origin for a good exported from the United States shall make,
keep, and, pursuant to rules and regulations
promulgated by the Secretary of the Treasury,
render for examination and inspection all
records and supporting documents related to
the origin of the good (including the certification or copies thereof).
(3) Retention period
The person who issues a PTPA certification
of origin shall keep the records and supporting
documents relating to that certification of origin for a period of at least 5 years after the
date on which the certification is issued.
(i) Penalties
Any person who fails to retain records and
supporting documents required by subsection (f),
(g), or (h) of this section or the regulations issued to implement any such subsection shall be
liable for the greater of—
(1) a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000; or
(2) the general record keeping penalty that
applies under the customs laws of the United
States.
(June 17, 1930, ch. 497, title IV, § 508, as added
Pub. L. 95–410, title I, § 104, Oct. 3, 1978, 92 Stat.
889; amended Pub. L. 100–449, title II, § 205(b),
Sept. 28, 1988, 102 Stat. 1864; Pub. L. 103–182, title
II, § 205(a), title VI, § 614, Dec. 8, 1993, 107 Stat.
2093, 2174; Pub. L. 104–295, § 3(a)(6)(B), Oct. 11,
1996, 110 Stat. 3515; Pub. L. 108–77, title II, §§ 207,
209, Sept. 3, 2003, 117 Stat. 931, 933; Pub. L. 109–53,
title II, § 208, Aug. 2, 2005, 119 Stat. 485; Pub. L.
110–138, title II, § 207, Dec. 14, 2007, 121 Stat. 1476.)
AMENDMENT OF SECTION
For termination of amendment by section
107(c) of Pub. L. 110–138, see Effective and Termination Dates of 2007 Amendment note below.
For termination of amendment by section
107(d) of Pub. L. 109–53, see Effective and Termination Dates of 2005 Amendment note below.
For termination of amendment by section
107(c) of Pub. L. 108–77, see Effective and Termination Dates of 2003 Amendment note below.
PRIOR PROVISIONS
A prior section 1508, acts June 17, 1930, ch. 497, title
IV, § 508, 46 Stat. 732; Aug. 8, 1953, ch. 397, § 19, 67 Stat.

518, related to commingling of goods, prior to repeal by
Pub. L. 87–456, title III, § 301(a), May 24, 1962, 76 Stat. 75,
effective, pursuant to section 501(a) of Pub. L. 87–456,
with respect to articles entered, or withdrawn from
warehouse, for consumption on or after Aug. 31, 1963.
AMENDMENTS
2007—Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 110–138, §§ 107(c), 207(2), temporarily added subsec. (h). Former subsec. (h) redesignated (i). See Effective and Termination Dates of 2007
Amendment note below.
Subsec. (i). Pub. L. 110–138, §§ 107(c), 207(1), (3), temporarily redesignated subsec. (h) as (i) and, in introductory provisions, substituted ‘‘(f), (g), or (h)’’ for ‘‘(f) or
(g)’’ and ‘‘any such subsection’’ for ‘‘either such subsection’’. See Effective and Termination Dates of 2007
Amendment note below.
2005—Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 109–53, §§ 107(d), 208(2), temporarily added subsec. (g). Former subsec. (g) redesignated (h). See Effective and Termination Dates of 2005
Amendment note below.
Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 109–53, §§ 107(d), 208(1), (3), temporarily redesignated subsec. (g) as (h) and, in introductory provisions, inserted ‘‘or (g)’’ after ‘‘(f)’’ and substituted ‘‘either such subsection’’ for ‘‘that subsection’’. See Effective and Termination Dates of 2005
Amendment note below.
2003—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 108–77, §§ 107(c), 207(1), temporarily substituted ‘‘Exportations to NAFTA countries’’ for ‘‘Exportations to free trade countries’’ in
heading. See Effective and Termination Dates of 2003
Amendment note below.
Subsec. (b)(2)(B)(i)(I). Pub. L. 108–77, §§ 107(c), 209,
temporarily substituted ‘‘the eleventh paragraph of
section 1311 of this title’’ for ‘‘the last paragraph of section 1311 of this title’’ and ‘‘the proviso preceding the
last proviso to section 81c(a) of this title’’ for ‘‘the last
proviso to section 81c(a) of this title’’. See Effective
and Termination Dates of 2003 Amendment note below.
Subsecs. (f), (g). Pub. L. 108–77, §§ 107(c), 207(2), temporarily added subsecs. (f) and (g). See Effective and Termination Dates of 2003 Amendment note below.
1996—Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 104–295 inserted ‘‘, filing
of a reconciliation,’’ after ‘‘entry’’.
1993—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103–182, § 614(1), amended
subsec. (a) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (a)
read as follows: ‘‘Any owner, importer, consignee, or
agent thereof who imports, or who knowingly causes to
be imported, any merchandise into the customs territory of the United States shall make, keep, and render
for examination and inspection such records (including
statements, declarations, and other documents)
which—
‘‘(1) pertain to any such importation, or to the information contained in the documents required by
this chapter in connection with the entry of merchandise; and
‘‘(2) are normally kept in the ordinary course of
business.’’
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 103–182, § 205(a)(1), amended subsec. (b) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (b) read
as follows: ‘‘Any person who exports, or who knowingly
causes to be exported, any merchandise to Canada shall
make, keep, and render for examination and inspection
such records (including certifications of origin or copies thereof) which pertain to such exportations.’’
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 103–182, § 205(a)(2), amended generally subsec. (c), as amended by Pub. L. 103–182, § 614(2)
(see below). Prior to amendment, subsec. (c) read as follows: ‘‘The records required by subsections (a) and (b)
of this section shall be kept for such period of time, not
to exceed 5 years from the date of entry or exportation,
as appropriate, as the Secretary shall prescribe; except
that records for any drawback claim shall be kept until
the 3rd anniversary of the date of payment of the
claim.’’ See Construction of 1993 Amendment note
below.
Pub. L. 103–182, § 614(2), amended subsec. (c) generally.
Prior to amendment, subsec. (c) read as follows: ‘‘The
records required by subsection (a) and (b) of this sec-

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TITLE 19—CUSTOMS DUTIES

tion shall be kept for such periods of time, not to exceed 5 years from the date of entry, as the Secretary
shall prescribe.’’ See Construction of 1993 Amendment
note below.
Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 103–182, § 205(a)(3), amended subsec. (e) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (e) read
as follows: ‘‘Any person who fails to retain records required by subsection (b) of this section or the regulations issued to implement that subsection shall be liable to a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000.’’
1988—Subsecs. (b) to (e). Pub. L. 100–449 added subsec.
(b), redesignated former subsec. (b) as (c) and inserted
‘‘and (b)’’ after ‘‘subsection (a)’’, redesignated former
subsec. (c) as (d), and added subsec. (e).
EFFECTIVE AND TERMINATION DATES OF 2007
AMENDMENT
Amendment by Pub. L. 110–138 effective on the date
the United States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement
enters into force (Feb. 1, 2009) and to cease to be effective on the date the Agreement ceases to be in force,
see section 107(a), (c) of Pub. L. 110–138, set out in a
note under section 3805 of this title.
EFFECTIVE AND TERMINATION DATES OF 2005
AMENDMENT
Amendment by Pub. L. 109–53 effective on the date
the
Dominican
Republic-Central
America-United
States Free Trade Agreement enters into force (Mar. 1,
2006) and to cease to have effect on date Agreement
ceases to be in force with respect to the United States,
and, during any period in which a country ceases to be
a CAFTA–DR country, to cease to have effect with respect to such country, see section 107 of Pub. L. 109–53,
set out as an Effective and Termination Dates note
under section 4001 of this title.
EFFECTIVE AND TERMINATION DATES OF 2003
AMENDMENT
Amendment by Pub. L. 108–77 effective on the date
the United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement enters
into force (Jan. 1, 2004), and to cease to be effective on
the date the Agreement ceases to be in force, see section 107(a), (c) of Pub. L. 108–77, set out in a note under
section 3805 of this title.
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1996 AMENDMENT
Amendment by Pub. L. 104–295 applicable as of Dec. 8,
1993, see section 3(b) of Pub. L. 104–295, set out as a note
under section 1321 of this title.
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1993 AMENDMENT
Amendment by section 205(a) of Pub. L. 103–182 effective on the date the North American Free Trade Agreement enters into force with respect to the United
States [Jan. 1, 1994], see section 213(b) of Pub. L.
103–182, set out as an Effective Date note under section
3331 of this title.
EFFECTIVE AND TERMINATION DATES OF 1988
AMENDMENT
Amendment by Pub. L. 100–449 effective on date
United States-Canada Free-Trade Agreement enters
into force (Jan. 1, 1989), and to cease to have effect on
date Agreement ceases to be in force, see section 501(a),
(c) of Pub. L. 100–449, set out in a note under section
2112 of this title.
CONSTRUCTION OF 1993 AMENDMENT
Amendment by section 205(a) of Pub. L. 103–182 to be
made after amendment by section 614 of Pub. L. 103–182
is executed, see section 212 of Pub. L. 103–182, set out as
a note under section 58c of this title.
TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS
For transfer of functions, personnel, assets, and liabilities of the United States Customs Service of the
Department of the Treasury, including functions of the

Page 186

Secretary of the Treasury relating thereto, to the Secretary of Homeland Security, and for treatment of related references, see sections 203(1), 551(d), 552(d), and
557 of Title 6, Domestic Security, and the Department
of Homeland Security Reorganization Plan of November 25, 2002, as modified, set out as a note under section
542 of Title 6.

§ 1509. Examination of books and witnesses
(a) Authority
In any investigation or inquiry conducted for
the purpose of ascertaining the correctness of
any entry, for determining the liability of any
person for duty, fees and taxes due or duties,
fees and taxes which may be due the United
States, for determining liability for fines and
penalties, or for insuring compliance with the
laws of the United States administered by the
United States Customs Service, the Secretary
(but no delegate of the Secretary below the rank
of district director or special agent in charge)
may—
(1) examine, or cause to be examined, upon
reasonable notice, any record (which for purposes of this section, includes, but is not limited to, any statement, declaration, document,
or electronically generated or machine readable data) described in the notice with reasonable specificity, which may be relevant to
such investigation or inquiry, except that—
(A) if such record is required by law or regulation for the entry of the merchandise
(whether or not the Customs Service required its presentation at the time of entry)
it shall be provided to the Customs Service
within a reasonable time after demand for
its production is made, taking into consideration the number, type, and age of the item
demanded; and
(B) if a person of whom demand is made
under subparagraph (A) fails to comply with
the demand, the person may be subject to
penalty under subsection (g) of this section;
(2) summon, upon reasonable notice—
(A) the person who—
(i) imported, or knowingly caused to be
imported, merchandise into the customs
territory of the United States,
(ii) exported merchandise, or knowingly
caused merchandise to be exported, to a
NAFTA country (as defined in section
3301(4) of this title) or to Canada during
such time as the United States-Canada
Free-Trade Agreement is in force with respect to, and the United States applies
that Agreement to, Canada,
(iii) transported or stored merchandise
that was or is carried or held under customs bond, or knowingly caused such
transportation or storage, or
(iv) filed a declaration, entry, or drawback claim with the Customs Service;
(B) any officer, employee, or agent of any
person described in subparagraph (A);
(C) any person having possession, custody
or care of records relating to the importation or other activity described in subparagraph (A); or
(D) any other person he may deem proper;
to appear before the appropriate customs officer at the time and place within the customs