(a) Upon expiration of the time provided in §§946.2 and 946.4(a)(3) for the filing of claims or any extension thereof, and without the receipt of a timely claim, the property described in the notice is considered abandoned and becomes the property of the United States Postal Service. However, if the owner satisfies the requirements of §946.6(b), except for property described in §946.3, such abandoned property must be returned to the owner if a valid claim is filed within 3 years from the date the property became abandoned, with the following qualifications:

(1) Where property has been placed in official use by the Postal Inspection Service, a person submitting a valid claim under this section must be reimbursed the fair market value of the property at the time title vested in the United States Postal Service, less costs incurred by the Postal Service in returning or attempting to return such property to the owner and;

(2) Where property has been sold, a person submitting a valid claim under this section must be reimbursed the same amount as the last appraised value of the property prior to the sale of such property.

(b) In order to present a valid claim under §946.6(a), the claimant must establish that he or she had no actual or constructive notice prior to the date the property became abandoned that he or she was entitled to file a claim pursuant to §946.2 or §946.4. Publication of notice pursuant to §946.4 provides constructive notice unless a claimant can demonstrate circumstances which reasonably precluded his access to the published notice.

[53 FR 6986, Mar. 4, 1988, as amended at 63 FR 8126, Feb. 18, 1998]