§1431. Manifests

(a) In general

Every vessel required to make entry under section 1434 of this title or obtain clearance under section 60105 of title 46 shall have a manifest that complies with the requirements prescribed under subsection (d).

(b) Production of manifest

Any manifest required by the Customs Service shall be signed, produced, delivered or electronically transmitted by the master or person in charge of the vessel, aircraft, or vehicle, or by any other authorized agent of the owner or operator of the vessel, aircraft, or vehicle in accordance with the requirements prescribed under subsection (d). A manifest may be supplemented by bill of lading data supplied by the issuer of such bill. If any irregularity of omission or commission occurs in any way in respect to any manifest or bill of lading data, the owner or operator of the vessel, aircraft or vehicle, or any party responsible for such irregularity, shall be liable for any fine or penalty prescribed by law with respect to such irregularity. The Customs Service may take appropriate action against any of the parties.

(c) Public disclosure of certain manifest information

(1) Except as provided in subparagraph (2), the following information, when contained in a vessel vessel ¹ or aircraft manifest, shall be available for public disclosure:

(A) The name and address of each importer or consignee and the name and address of the shipper to such importer or consignee, unless the importer or consignee has made a biennial certification, in accordance with procedures adopted by the Secretary of the Treasury, claiming confidential treatment of such information.

(B) The general character of the cargo.

(C) The number of packages and gross weight.

(D) The name of the vessel, aircraft, or carrier.

(E) The seaport or airport of loading.

(F) The seaport or airport of discharge.

(G) The country of origin of the shipment.

(H) The trademarks appearing on the goods or packages.

(2)(A) The information listed in paragraph (1) shall not be available for public disclosure if-

(i) the Secretary of the Treasury makes an affirmative finding on a shipment-by-shipment basis that disclosure is likely to pose a threat of personal injury or property damage; or

(ii) the information is exempt under the provisions of section 552(b)(1) of title 5.

(B) The Secretary shall ensure that any personally identifiable information, including Social Security numbers and passport numbers, is removed from any manifest signed, produced, delivered, or electronically transmitted under this section before access to the manifest is provided to the public.

(3) The Secretary of the Treasury, in order to allow for the timely dissemination and publication of the information listed in paragraph (1), shall establish procedures to provide access to manifests. Such procedures shall include provisions for adequate protection against the public disclosure of information not available for public disclosure from such manifests.

(d) Regulations

(1) In general

The Secretary shall by regulation-

(A) specify the form for, and the information and data that must be contained in, the manifest required by subsection (a);

(B) allow, at the option of the individual producing the manifest and subject to paragraph (2), letters and documents shipments to be accounted for by summary manifesting procedures;

(C) prescribe the manner of production for, and the delivery for electronic transmittal of, the manifest required by subsection (a); and

(D) prescribe the manner for supplementing manifests with bill of lading data under subsection (b).

(2) Letters and documents shipments

For purposes of paragraph (1)(B)-

(A) the Customs Service may require with respect to letters and documents shipments-

(i) that they be segregated by country of origin, and

(ii) additional examination procedures that are not necessary for individually manifested shipments;

(B) standard letter envelopes and standard document packs shall be segregated from larger document shipments for purposes of customs inspections; and

(C) the term "letters and documents" means-

(i) data described in General Headnote 4(c) of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States,

(ii) securities and similar evidences of value described in heading 4907 of such Schedule, but not monetary instruments defined pursuant to chapter 53 of title 31, and

(iii) personal correspondence, whether on paper, cards, photographs, tapes, or other media.

(June 17, 1930, ch. 497, title IV, §431, 46 Stat. 710 ; Aug. 8, 1953, ch. 397, §15, 67 Stat. 516 ; Pub. L. 98–573, title II, §203, Oct. 30, 1984, 98 Stat. 2974 ; Pub. L. 100–690, title VII, §7367(c)(1), Nov. 18, 1988, 102 Stat. 4479 ; Pub. L. 103–182, title VI, §635, Dec. 8, 1993, 107 Stat. 2199 ; Pub. L. 104–153, §11, July 2, 1996, 110 Stat. 1389 ; Pub. L. 104–295, §3(a)(3), Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3515 ; Pub. L. 118–39, §2(a), Feb. 9, 2024, 138 Stat. 16 .)

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, referred to in subsec. (d)(2)(C)(i), (ii), is not set out in the Code. See Publication of Harmonized Tariff Schedule note set out under section 1202 of this title.

Codification

In subsec. (a), "section 60105 of title 46" substituted for "section 4197 of the Revised Statutes of the United States (46 U.S.C. App. 91)" on authority of Pub. L. 109–304, §18(c), Oct. 6, 2006, 120 Stat. 1709 , which Act enacted section 60105 of Title 46, Shipping.

Prior Provisions

R.S. §§2806, 2807 (as amended by act June 3, 1902, ch. 86, §1, 27 Stat. 41 ), and 2808, requiring manifests, and prescribing their contents, were superseded by act Sept. 21, 1922, ch. 356, title IV, §431, 42 Stat. 950 , and repealed by section 642 thereof. Section 431 of the 1922 act was superseded by section 431 of act June 17, 1930, comprising this section, and repealed by section 651(a)(1) of the 1930 act.

R.S. §2805, relative to the administration of oaths required by that chapter, was superseded to a great extent by the Customs Administrative Act of June 10, 1890, ch. 407, §22, 26 Stat. 140 , amended by the Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act of Aug. 5, 1909, ch. 6, §28, 36 Stat. 102 , and by the Underwood Tariff Act of Oct. 3, 1913, ch. 16, §IV, S., 38 Stat. 201 , which abolished all oaths administered by officers of the customs, except as provided in those acts and repealed by act Sept. 21, 1922, ch. 356, title IV, §642, 42 Stat. 989 .

Amendments

2024-Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 118–39 amended par. (2) generally. Prior to amendment, par. (2) read as follows: "The information listed in paragraph (1) shall not be available for public disclosure if-

"(A) the Secretary of the Treasury makes an affirmative finding on a shipment-by-shipment basis that disclosure is likely to pose a threat of personal injury or property damage; or

"(B) the information is exempt under the provisions of section 552(b)(1) of title 5."

1996-Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 104–295 substituted "a vessel manifest" for "such manifest" in introductory provisions.

Pub. L. 104–153 inserted "vessel or aircraft" before "manifest" in introductory provisions, amended subpars. (D) to (F) generally, substituting "vessel, aircraft, or carrier" for "vessel or carrier" in subpar. (D) and "seaport or airport" for "port" in subpars. (E) and (F), and added subpar. (H).

1993-Subsecs. (a) and (b). Pub. L. 103–182, §635(1), amended subsecs. (a) and (b) generally, substituting present provisions for provisions relating to, in subsec. (a), the requirement, form, and contents of manifests and, in subsec. (b), the signing and delivery of manifests.

Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 103–182, §635(2), added subsec. (d).

1988-Subsec. (c)(1)(G). Pub. L. 100–690 substituted "country of origin" for "country or origin".

1984-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 98–573, §203(1), inserted "; and the names of the shippers of such merchandise" in par. Third.

Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 98–573, §203(2), added subsec. (c).

1953-Act Aug. 8, 1953, designated existing provisions as subsec. (a) and added subsec. (b).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 2024 Amendment

Pub. L. 118–39, §2(b), Feb. 9, 2024, 138 Stat. 16 , provided that: "The amendment made by subsection (a) [amending this section] shall take effect on the date that is 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Feb. 9, 2024]."

Effective Date of 1996 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 104–295 applicable as of Dec. 8, 1993, see section 3(b) of Pub. L. 104–295, set out as a note under section 1321 of this title.

Effective Date of 1984 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 98–573 effective on 15th day after Oct. 30, 1984, see section 214(a), (b) of Pub. L. 98–573, set out as a note under section 1304 of this title.

Effective Date of 1953 Amendment; Savings Provision

Amendment to this section effective on and after thirtieth day following Aug. 8, 1953, and savings provision, see notes set out under section 1304 of this title.

Regulations

Pub. L. 104–153, §14, July 2, 1996, 110 Stat. 1390 , provided that: "Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act [July 2, 1996], the Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe such regulations or amendments to existing regulations that may be necessary to carry out the amendments made by sections 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 of this Act [amending this section, sections 1484 and 1526 of this title, and section 80302 of Title 49, Transportation]."

Transfer of Functions

For transfer of functions, personnel, assets, and liabilities of the United States Customs Service of the Department of the Treasury, including functions of the Secretary of the Treasury relating thereto, to the Secretary of Homeland Security, and for treatment of related references, see sections 203(1), 551(d), 552(d), and 557 of Title 6, Domestic Security, and the Department of Homeland Security Reorganization Plan of November 25, 2002, as modified, set out as a note under section 542 of Title 6. For establishment of U.S. Customs and Border Protection in the Department of Homeland Security, treated as if included in Pub. L. 107–296 as of Nov. 25, 2002, see section 211 of Title 6, as amended generally by Pub. L. 114–125, and section 802(b) of Pub. L. 114–125, set out as a note under section 211 of Title 6.

¹ So in original.