chaser, except restrictions as to such disposition or use which (A) are imposed or required by law, or (B) limit the price at which or the territory in which the merchandise may be resold, or (C) do not substantially affect the value of the merchandise to usual purchasers at wholesale.

"(2) 'Ordinary course of trade'-the conditions and practices which, for a reasonable time prior to the exportation of the merchandise undergoing appraisement, have been normal in the trade under consideration with respect to merchandise of the same class or kind as the merchandise undergoing appraisement.

"(3) Purchasers at wholesale'-purchasers who buy in the usual wholesale quantities for industrial use or for resale otherwise than at retail; or, if there are no such purchasers, then all other purchasers for resale who buy in the usual wholesale quantities; or, if there are no purchasers in either of the foregoing categories, then all other purchasers who buy in the usual wholesale quantities.

"(4) 'Such or similar merchandise'-the merchandise undergoing appraisement shall be considered 'such' merchandise, and other merchandise shall be considered 'such' merchandise if

"(A) it is identical in physical characteristics and was produced in the same country by the same person; or

"(B) when no value meeting the requirements of the definition of value under consideration can be ascertained or estimated under (A), the merchandise is identical in physical characteristics and was produced by another person in the same country.

Merchandise shall be considered 'similar' to the merchandise undergoing appraisement if it is not within the foregoing definition of 'such' merchandise but

"(C) it was produced in the same country as the merchandise undergoing appraisement, by the same person, of like materials, is used for the same purpose, and is of approximately equal commercial value; or "(D) when no value meeting the requirements of the definition of value under consideration can be ascertained or estimated under (C), the merchandise is correspondingly similar and was produced by another person in the same country.

"(5) "Usual wholesale quantities'-the quantities usually sold in the class of transactions in which the greater aggregate quantity of the 'such or similar merchandise', in respect of which value is being ascertained or estimated, is sold in the market under consideration."

(b) Paragraph 27 (c) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1001, par. 27 (c)), is amended by changing "subdivision (g)" to "subdivision (f)" and by changing "subdivision (e)" to "subdivision (c)".

(c) Paragraph 28 (c) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1001, par. 28 (c)), is amended by changing "subdivision (g)" to "subdivision (f)" and by changing "subdivision (e)" to "subdivision (c)".

(d) Section 336 (b) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1336 (b)), is amended by changing "section 402 (g)" to "section 402 (f)”.

SIGNING AND DELIVERY OF MANIFESTS

SEC. 16. Section 431 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1431), is amended by designating the matter now therein as subsection (a) and by adding a new subsection to read as follows:

"(b) Whenever a manifest of articles or persons on board an aircraft is required for customs purposes to be signed, or produced or delivered to a customs officer, the manifest may be signed, produced, or delivered by the pilot or person in charge of the aircraft, or by any other authorized agent of the owner or operator of the aircraft, subject to such regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe. If any irregularity of omission or commission occurs in any way in respect of any such manifest, the owner or operator of the aircraft shall be liable for any fine or penalty prescribed by law in respect of such irregularity."

CERTIFIED INVOICES AND ENTRY OF MERCHANDISE

SEC. 17. (a) Section 482 (a) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1482 (a)), is amended by substituting “required pursuant to section

484 (b) of this Act to be certified" for "covering merchandise exceeding $100 in value" in the first clause.

(b) Section 484 (a) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1484 (a)), is amended by deleting "forty-eight hours" and substituting therefor "five days".

(c) Section 484 (b) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1484 (b)), is amended to read as follows:

"(b) The Secretary of the Treasury shall provide by regulation for the production of a certified invoice with respect to such merchandise as he deems advisable and for the terms and conditions under which such merchandise may be permitted entry under the provisions of this section without the production of a certified invoice."

(d) Section 498 (a) (1) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1498 (a) (1)) is amended to read as follows:

"(1) merchandise, imported in the mails or otherwise, when the aggregate value of the shipment does not exceed such amount, not greater than $250, as the Secretary of the Treasury shall specify in the regulations, and the specified amount may vary for different classes or kinds of merchandise or different classes of transactions;".

(e) Section 498 (a) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1498 (a)), is further amended by deleting subdivision (11) and substituting therefor a new subdivision to read as follows:

"(11) merchandise within the provisions of paragraph 1631 of this Act." (f) The Act of June 8, 1896 (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, secs. 472-475), is hereby repealed.

VERIFICATION OF DOCUMENTS

SEC. 18. Section 486 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1486), is amended by changing the caption to read "ADMINISTRATION OF OATHS-VERIFICATION OF DOCUMENTS" and by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection:

"(d) The Secretary of the Treasury may by regulation prescribe that any document required by any law administered by the Customs Service to be under oath may be verified by a written declaration in such form as he shall prescribe, such declaration to be in lieu of the oath otherwise required."

AMENDMENT OF ENTRIES

SEC. 19. (a) Section 487 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1487), is amended by deleting therefrom or at any time before the invoice or the merchandise has come under the observation of the appraiser for the purpose of appraisement,".

(b) Section 489 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1489) is amended by deleting the first two paragraphs.

(c) Section 501 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1501), is further amended by changing the period at the end of the first sentence to a comma and by inserting thereafter "or (3) in any case, if the consignee, his agent, or his attorney requests such notice in writing before appraisement, setting forth a substantial reason or reasons for requesting the notice.", and by deleting the third sentence of the section.

(d) Section 503 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1503), is amended by deleting "the entered value or" and ", whichever is higher" from subsection (a), by deleting subsection (b), and by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (b).

(e) The Act of July 12, 1932 (ch. 473, 47 Stat. 657; U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1503a), is repealed.

(f) Section 562 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1562), is further amended by changing the third sentence to read as follows: "The basis for the assessment of duties on such merchandise so withdrawn for consumption shall be the adjusted final appraised value, and if the rate of duty is based upon or regulated in any manner by the value of the merchandise, such rate shall be based upon or regulated by such adjusted final appraised value."

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COMMINGLED MERCHANDISE

SEC. 20. Section 508 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1508) is amended to read as follows:

'SEC. 508. COMMINGLING OF GOODS.

"(a) Whenever dutiable merchandise and merchandise which is free of duty or merchandise subject to different rates of duty are so packed together or mingled that the quantity or value of each class of such merchandise cannot be readily ascertained by the customs officers (without physical segregation of the shipment or the contents of any entire package thereof), by one or more of the following means: (1) Examination of a representative sample, (2) occasional verification of packing lists or other documents filed at the time of entry, or (3) evidence showing performance of commercial settlement tests generally accepted in the trade and filed in such time and manner as may be prescribed by regulations of the Secretary of the Treasury, and if the consignee or his agent shall not segregate the merchandise pursuant to subsection (b), then the whole of such merchandise shall be subject to the highest rate of duty applicable to any part thereof.

"(b) Every segregation of merchandise made pursuant to this section shall be accomplished by the consignee or his agent at the risk and expense of the consignee within thirty days after the date of personal delivery or mailing by the collector of written notice to the consignee that the merchandise is commingled, unless the Secretary authorizes in writing a longer time. Every such segregation shall be accomplished under customs supervision, and the compensation and expenses of the supervising customs officers shall be reimbursed to the Government by the consignee under such regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe. "(c) The foregoing provisions of this section shall not apply with respect to any part of a shipment if the consignee or his agent shall furnish to the collector, in such time and manner as may be prescribed by regulations of the Secretary of the Treasury, satisfactory proof (1) that such part (A) is commercially negligible, (B) is not capable of segregation without excessive cost, and (C) will not be segregated prior to its use in a manufacturing process or otherwise, and (2) that the commingling was not intended to avoid the payment of lawful duties or any part thereof. Any merchandise with respect to which such proof is furnished shall be considered for all customs purposes as a part of the merchandise, subject to the next lower rate of duty (including a free rate), with which it is commingled."

CORRECTION OF ERRORS AND MISTAKES

SEC. 21. (a) Section 520 (c) (1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1520 (c) (1)), is further amended to read as follows:

.“(1) a clerical error, mistake of fact, or other inadvertence not amounting to an error in the construction of a law, adverse to the importer and manifest from the record or established by documentary evidence, in any entry, liquidation, appraisement, or other customs transaction, when the error, mistake, or inadvertence is brought to the attention of the customs service within one year after the date of entry, appraisement, or transaction, or within sixty days after liquidation or exaction when the liquidation or exaction is made more than ten months after the date of the entry, appraisement, or transaction; or".

(b) Section 520 (c) (2) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1520 (c) (2)), is further amended to read as follows:

"(2) any assessment of duty on household or personal effects in respect of which an application for refund has been filed with the collector within one year after the date of entry."

CONVERSION OF CURRENCY

SEC. 22. (a) Section 25 of the Act of August 27, 1894, as amended and reenacted (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 31, sec. 372 (a)), is repealed, and section 522 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 31, sec. 372) is amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 522. CONVERSION OF CURRENCY.

"(a) The Secretary of the Treasury shall keep current a published list, expressed in United States dollars, of the par values which he finds are maintained by foreign countries for their respective currencies. For the purposes of all provisions of the customs laws, whenever it is necessary to convert into an amount expressed

in currency of the United States any amount expressed in a foreign currency for which such a par value was maintained for the date as of which the value or cost requiring conversion is to be determined, such conversion, except as specified in subsection (d), shall be made at such par value.

"(b) If no such par value was so maintained for such date, the conversion shall be made at the buying rate for the foreign currency in the New York market at noon on the date as of which the value or cost requiring conversion is to be determined, or, if banks are generally closed on such date in New York City, then the buying rate at noon on the last preceding business day. For the purposes of this subsection, such buying rate shall be the buying rate for cable transfers payable in the foreign currency in which the amount to be converted is expressed, and shall be determined by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and certified to the Secretary of the Treasury, who shall make it public at such times and to such extent as he shall deem necessary. In ascertaining such buying rate, such Federal Reserve bank may in its discretion (1) take into consideration the last ascertainable transactions and quotations, whether direct or through exchange of other currencies, and (2) if there is no market buying rate for such cable transfers, calculate such rate from actual transactions and quotations in demand or time bills of exchange or from the last ascertainable transactions and quotations outside the United States in or for exchange payable in United States currency or other currency.

"(c) If, pursuant to subsection (b), the Federal Reserve Bank of New York certifies more than one rate of exchange for a particular foreign currency for any date the conversions for customs purposes of amounts expressed in that currency for that date shall be made by applying the applicable rate or rates so certified which reflect effectively the value of that foreign currency in commercial transactions.

(d) When there are one or more rates of exchange which vary by more than 5 per centum from the par value for any foreign currency listed pursuant to subsection (a), the list shall so indicate. In that event such additional rates of exchange may be certified in the manner set forth in subsection (b) and the par value and any certified rates shall be applied in the manner prescribed in subsection (c)."

(b) Section 481 (a) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1481 (a)), is amended by deleting subparagraph (7) and by renumbering subparagraphs (8), (9), and (10) as (7), (8), and (9).

(c) Section 481 (b) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1481 (b)) is amended by deleting the comma after the second word "purchase" substituting a period therefor, and deleting the remaining words of the subsection.

TRANSFERS OF GOODS IN BONDED WAREHOUSE

SEC. 23. (a) Section 557 (b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1557 (b)), is further amended to read as follows:

"(b) The right to withdraw any merchandise entered in accordance with subsection (a) of this section for the purposes specified in such subsection may be transferred upon compliance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury and upon the filing by the transferee of a bond in such amount and containing such conditions as the Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe. The bond shall include an obligation to pay, with respect to the merchandise the subject of the transfer, all unpaid regular, increased, and additional duties, all unpaid taxes imposed upon or by reason of importation, and all unpaid charges and exactions. Such transfers shall be irrevocable, shall relieve the transferor from all customs liability with respect to obligations assumed by the transferee under the bond herein provided for, and shall confer upon the transferee all rights to the privileges provided for in this section and in sections 562 and 563 of this Act which were vested in the transferor prior to the transfer. The transferee shall also have the right to receive all lawful refunds of moneys paid by him to the United States with respect to the merchandise the subject of the transfer, but shall have no right to file any protest under section 514 of this Act except as to decisions with respect to his rights under subsection (c) of this section or under section 562 or 563 of this Act or against a decision as to the rate or amount of duty, tax, charge, or exaction when such rate or amount has been changed by statute or proclamation on or after the date of the transfer. The transferee shall have no right to file an appeal for reappraisement under section 510 of this Act, except when subsequent to the transfer and before a withdrawal for consumption has been deposited for the merchandise, it has been changed in condition pursuant

to the provisions of section 562 or 311 of this Act in a manner which neces that it be appraised in its changed condition in order that the correct amo duties may be assessed. No new or separate liquidation, reliquidation, or mination shall be made in the name of, or on behalf of, a transferee, excep regard to any matter which may arise under subsection (c) of this sect section 562 or 563 of this Act when the transferee has invoked either of sections, and in the case of a statutory or proclaimed change in the rate of tax, charge, or exaction applicable to the merchandise the subject of the tr and effective on or after the date of the transfer. A transferee may f transfer the right to withdraw merchandise, subject to the provisions subsection relating to original transfers."

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the foregoing subs (a) shall be effective with respect to merchandise entered after the date enactment of this Act and to merchandise which has been entered befor date and is the subject of a transfer within the purview of section 557 (b) Tariff Act, as amended by this Act, and made after the date of the enactm this Act.

SEC. 24. The Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, is further amended by a following section 645 (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1645) a new se 646, reading as follows:

"Wherever in this Act any action or thing is required to be done or maint under the supervision of customs officers, such supervision may be direct continuous or by occasional verification as may be required by regulatio the Secretary of the Treasury, or, in the absence of such regulations for a parti case, as the principal customs officer concerned shall direct."

SEC. 25. Except as may be otherwise provided for in this Act, the repe existing law or modifications thereof embraced in this Act shall not affect act done, or any right accruing or accrued, or any suit or proceeding ha commenced in any civil or criminal case prior to such repeal or modification all liabilities under such laws shall continue, except as otherwise specifi provided in this Act, and may be enforced in the same manner as if such re or modification had not been made.

Mr. JENKINS. We have as our first witness this morning a distinguished gentleman. We are proud to have him with us. H. Chapman Rose, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury.

Mr. Rose comes from Ohio from a community near my dist His wonderful father and mother are there. He visits there as o as he can.

Mr. Rose, we appreciate the importance of your position and the importance of the task before you. We are starting a hearing very important measure in which the country is greatly interes We shall be very glad to hear from you.

STATEMENT OF HON. H. CHAPMAN ROSE, ASSISTANT SECRETA OF THE TREASURY, ACCOMPANIED BY CHARLES R. McNEI ASSISTANT GENERAL COUNSEL; DAVID B. STRUBINGER, ACTI COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS; W. R. JOHNSON, ASSISTANT THE COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS

Mr. ROSE. Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, I am v grateful for the opportunity to appear befor the committee to test on H. R. 5106, introduced by you, Mr. Jenkins, as a member of t committee.