REGULATIONS FOR THE GUIDANCE OF OFFICERS CONCERNED IN THE COLLECTION OF DUTIES ON IMPORTS, TAXES, AND OTHER CHARGES AND EXACTIONS TO BE LEVIED AND COLLECTED AS A MILITARY CONTRIBUTION AT PORTS AND PLACES IN PORTO RICO. CUSTOMS PORTS. 1. The port of San Juan has been duly designated as the chief customs port of Porto Rico, and the following have been declared to be subports, viz, Ponce, Mayaguez, Arecibo, Aguadilla, Humacao, Fajardo, Isabel Segundo, Naguabo, Arroyo, and Jobos, and the officer of the Army duly assigned to each of said ports as collector will have general jurisdiction of the collection of customs at such ports, respectively. Every collector stationed at a subport will make weekly reports to the collector at San Juan of all transactions at his subport, with copies of all entries of merchandise duly certified; and all moneys collected at subports must be deposited with the duly designated officer, whose receipt therefor must be taken in duplicate. Any questions arising at any subport will be referred to the collector at San Juan for his decision, from which there shall be no appeal, except in such cases as he may refer for decision to the Secretary of War. NAVIGATION BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND PORTO RICO CONFINED TO AMERICAN VESSELS. 2. Trade between ports of the United States and all ports or places in Porto Rico, and trade between ports or places in Porto Rico, shall be carried on in registered vessels of the United States and in no others. (a) Any merchandise transported in violation of this regulation shall be subject to forfeiture. (b) For every passenger transported and landed in violation of this regulation the transporting vessel shall be subject to a penalty of $200. (c) This regulation shall not be construed to forbid the sailing of other than registered vessels of the United States with cargo and passengers between the United States and ports or places in Porto Rico, or between ports or places in Porto Rico, provided that none are landed, but are destined for some foreign port or place. (d) This regulation shall not be construed to authorize any lower customs charges or tariff charges on the cargoes of American vessels entering from the United States than are paid on the cargoes of foreign vessels entering from foreign ports. ENTRANCE AND CLEARANCE OF VESSELS. 3. Every vessel shall, on arrival, be placed under customs control until duly discharged. Passengers with no dutiable property in their possession may be permitted to land without detention. If, upon the unlading of any cargo, there shall be found goods, wares, or merchandise not duly declared on the manifest, such articles in excess shall be required to pay additional duties of 25 per cent on the regular duties. Should any packages or articles named on the manifest be missing on the arrival of the vessel, the latter shall pay a penalty of $1 per ton measurement, unless such deficiency shall be satisfactorily explained or accounted for. 4. Within twenty-four hours after the arrival of any vessel the master must, under a penalty for failure of $1 per ton registry measurement, produce to the proper officer a manifest of her cargo, with the marks, numbers, and description of the packages and the names of the respective consignees, which manifests, if the vessel be from a port in the United States, shall be certified by the collector of the port of sailing. If the vessel be from any other than a United States port, her manifest must be certified by the United States consul or commercial agent at such port; if there be no United States consul or commercial agent at such port, then by the consul of any nation at peace with the United States; and the register of the vessel shall, upon her arrival in Porto Rico, be deposited with the consul of the nation to which she may belong, if any there be; otherwise with the collector of the port, until the master shall have paid such tonnage taxes and other port charges as may be due under these regulations. 5. No vessel shall be allowed to clear for another port until all her cargo shall be landed or accounted for. All goods not duly entered for payment of duty within ten days after their arrival in port shall be landed and stored, the expense thereof to be charged against the goods. 6. Prior to the departure of any vessel from any of the ports herein designated the master shall deposit with the proper officer a manifest of the outward cargo of such vessel, specifying the marks and numbers of packages, a description of their contents, with names of shippers and consignees, with a statement of the value of each separate lot; also names of passengers and their destination. A clearance will then be granted to the vessel. No prohibited or contraband goods shall be exported. TONNAGE DUTIES. 7. At all ports or places in Porto Rico there shall be levied the following navigation and port charges: On entry of a vessel from a port or place not in Porto Rico or not in the United States, 20 cents per net ton. On the entry of a vessel from a port or place not in Porto Rico or not in the United States, lading or discharging cargo which is less than the net tonnage of the vessel, dues of $1 per thousand kilograms may be imposed, at the option of the master or consignor or consignee of the cargo, in lieu of the tonnage tax above prescribed. On entry of a vessel only to discharge or take on board passengers and their baggage the tonnage tax above prescribed shall not be imposed. The following shall be exempt from tonnage dues: A vessel belonging to or employed in the service of the Government of the United States. A vessel of a foreign government not engaged in trade. A vessel in distress. A yacht belonging to an organized yacht club of the United States or of a foreign nation which imposes no tonnage or equivalent taxes on American yachts. A vessel engaged in trade between the United States and Porto Rico. The tonnage of a vessel shall be the net or register tonnage expressed in her national certificate of registry. ENTRY OF MERCHANDISE. 8. All imported merchandise must be entered at the custom-house of the port of arrival, either for immediate consumption or in bond, by the person holding a bill of lading which names him as the consignee or a bill of lading indorsed to his order by the consignee named therein. A banker holding a bill of lading as security for advances of money may transfer the same, by indorsement, to the actual importer. Underwriters will be recognized as consignees of merchandise abandoned to them and salvors as consignees of merchandise found by them derelict at sea. A consignee holding a bill of lading drawn to his order or assigns may transfer the same to any person who can lawfully make the required declarations on entry, and the holder of a bill of lading drawn, in blank, "to order," and indorsed by the shipper or consignor, may make entry of the merchandise specified therein. 9. Whenever, from evidence furnished by the invoice or bill of lading, or, as in the case of custom-house brokers and forwarders, by the known business of the parties making entry, the collector has reason to believe that the consignees named in the bill of lading are, in fact, intermediary agents for the delivery of the merchandise to the ultimate consignees or real owners, there shall be required upon the entry a statement of the names of such ultimate consignees, and bonds must be taken for the production of the declaration of the owner or real importer. And collectors will, whenever they consider it expedient, require such ultimate consignees or owners to produce any invoices or bills of sale pertaining to the importation which they may have in their possession. 10. Merchandise of which entry is not perfected at the expiration of the period allowed by these regulations for the discharge of cargo of the importing vessel will be taken possession of by the collector as unclaimed and placed in store, to be disposed of as hereinafter provided. Unless otherwise specially provided by regulation, duties accrue upon imported merchandise on arrival of the importing vessel within a customs port with intent to unlade. 11. Entries for bonding may be made either for placing the merchandise in warehouse or for its constructive warehousing and immediate transportation to other ports without appraisement; and merchandise in warehouse may be withdrawn either for consumption, for exportation, for transportation to another port, and rewarehousing. Two of these objects may in some cases be combined in one withdrawal. Whenever goods are so transported in bond without appraisement, they must be consigned to the care of the collector or acting collector at the port of destination, who will allow entry to be made at his port by the actual consignee. 12. Entries shall be in duplicate in writing, according to prescribed form, and shall be signed by the importer or his duly authorized agent, and shall declare the names of the importing vessel and her master, her port of departure and date of arrival, the number and marks of packages, or the quantity, if in bulk, and the nature of the merchandise contained therein; also the value thereof as set forth in an invoice to be presented with the entry, with all costs incident to placing the same, packed, ready for shipment to the United States. 13. Every invoice must represent a distinct shipment to one consignee or firm of consignees by one vessel. If by reason of accident or short shipment a portion thereof should fail to arrive, an extract from the original invoice, certified by the collector and naval officer, may be used for entering the remaining packages, but the consolidation of separate shipments on one invoice shall not be permitted. Invoices must be made out on firm and durable paper and legibly written in ink, and must contain the quantities of the merchandise in the weights and measures of the country of exportation. Press copies shall not be accepted for customs purposes. 14. The description on the entry of the merchandise shall be in terms of the tariff and in the currency of the invoice, and the values of the several classes of merchandise shall be separately placed under their respective rates of duty, as claimed by the importer, and the totals of each class duly shown. The rates of duty thus stated on the entry shall be advisory only, and shall not govern the collector's classification for the assessment of duty. Packages and contents. (For Entered at port of - day of 18-. [Importer's signature.] 15. For the assessment of duty, the currency of the invoice must be reduced to the money of account of the United States upon the basis of the values of foreign coins, as proclaimed by the Secretary of the Treasury on the first days of January, April, July, and October of |