The Secretary of the Treasury may cause to be set aside any available space in a building used as a customhouse for the storage of bonded merchandise or may lease premises for the storage of unclaimed merchandise or other imported merchandise required to be stored by the Government, and set aside a portion of such leased premises for the storage of bonded merchandise: Provided, That no part of any premises owned or leased by the Government may be used for the storage of bonded merchandise at any port at which a public bonded warehouse has been established and is in operation. All the premises so leased shall be leased on public account and the storage and other charges shall be deposited and accounted for as customs receipts, and the rates therefor shall not be less than the charges for storage and similar services made at such port of entry by commercial concerns for the storage and handling of merchandise. No officer of the customs shall own, in whole or in part, any bonded warehouse or enter into any contract or agreement for the lease or use of any building to be thereafter erected as a public store or warehouse. No lease of any building to be so used shall be taken for a longer period than three years, nor shall rent for any such premises be paid, in whole or in part, in advance.
Prior Provisions
Provisions similar to those in this section were contained in act Sept. 21, 1922, ch. 356, title IV, §560, 42 Stat. 977. That section was superseded by section 560 of act June 17, 1930, comprising this section, and repealed by section 651(a)(1) of the 1930 act.
Prior provisions on the subject matter of this section were contained in R.S. § 2953, providing that nothing therein contained should be construed to prevent the leasing or hiring of buildings for use of appraisers, or for short periods, of stores required for customhouse purposes at the smaller ports; section 2954, authorizing the leasing of warehouses for storage of unclaimed goods or goods required to be stored; section 2955, prohibiting the leasing of warehouses at ports at which there was any private bonded warehouse, but excepting buildings for use of appraisers, etc.; section 2956, providing that warehouses hired should be on public account, and be appropriated exclusively to receipt of foreign merchandise, subject, as to rates of storage, to regulation by the Secretary of the Treasury; and section 2957, prohibiting leases for more than three years, or the payment of rent in advance. All of these sections were repealed by act Sept. 21, 1922, ch. 356, title IV, §642, 42 Stat. 989.
A prior provision that no officer of the customs should have any personal ownership of, or interest in, any bonded warehouse or general order store, was contained in act June 22, 1874, ch. 391, § 24, 18 Stat. 191; and a provision prohibiting agreements for the use of any building to be erected was contained in R.S. §2957. Both of these sections were repealed by act Sept. 21, 1922, ch. 356, title IV, §§642, 643, 42 Stat. 989.
Amendments
1970—Pub. L. 91–271 substituted "officer of the customs" for "collector or other officer of the customs".
Effective Date of 1970 Amendment
For effective date of amendment by Pub. L. 91–271, see section 203 of Pub. L. 91–271, set out as a note under section 1500 of this title.
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