(a) Supremacy of delegated authority. Action taken by any person pursuant to authority delegated to him by the Secretary of the Treasury, whether directly or by subdelegation, shall be valid despite the existence of any statute or regulation, including any provision of this chapter, which provides that such action shall be taken by some other person. Any person acting under such delegated authority shall be deemed to have complied with any statute or regulation which provides or indicates that it shall be the duty of some other person to perform such action.

(b) Consolidation of functions. Any reorganization of the Customs Service or consolidation of the functions of two or more persons into one office which results in the failure of a designated Customs officer to perform an action required by statute or regulation, shall not invalidate the performance of that action by any other Customs officer.

(c) Customs supervision. Whenever anything is required by the regulations in this chapter or by any provision of the customs or navigation laws to be done or maintained under the supervision of Customs officers, such supervision shall be carried out as prescribed in the regulations of this chapter or by instructions from the Secretary of the Treasury or the Commissioner of Customs in particular cases. In the absence of a governing regulation or instruction, supervision shall be direct and continuous or by such occasional verification as the principal Customs field officer shall direct if such officer shall determine that less intensive supervision will ensure proper enforcement of the law and protection of the revenue. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to warrant any failure to direct and furnish required supervision or to excuse any failure of a party in interest to comply with prescribed procedures for obtaining any required supervision.

[T.D. 77-241, 42 FR 54937, Oct. 12, 1977, as amended by T.D. 98-22, 63 FR 11825, Mar. 11, 1998]