Shipping - 46 USC Appendix Section 91

01/19/04

Sec. 91. Clearance; vessels

(a) When required; vessels of United States
Except as otherwise provided by law, any vessel of the United
States shall obtain clearance from the Customs Service before
proceeding from a port or place in the United States -
(1) for a foreign port or place;
(2) for another port or place in the United States if the
vessel has on board foreign merchandise for which entry has not
been made; or
(3) outside the territorial sea to visit a hovering vessel or
to receive merchandise while outside the territorial sea.
(b) When required; other vessels
Except as otherwise provided by law, any vessel that is not a
vessel of the United States shall obtain clearance from the Customs
Service before proceeding from a port or place in the United States
-
(1) for a foreign port or place;
(2) for another port or place in the United States; or
(3) outside the territorial sea to visit a hovering vessel or
to receive or deliver merchandise while outside the territorial
sea.
(c) Regulations
The Secretary of the Treasury may by regulation -
(1) prescribe the manner in which clearance under this section
is to be obtained, including the documents, data or information
which shall be submitted or transmitted, pursuant to an
authorized data interchange system, to obtain the clearance;
(2) permit the Customs Service to grant clearance for a vessel
under this section before all requirements for clearance are
complied with, but only if the owner or operator of the vessel
files a bond in an amount set by the Secretary of the Treasury
conditioned upon the compliance by the owner or operator with all
specified requirements for clearance within a time period (not
exceeding 4 business days) established by the Secretary of the
Treasury; and
(3) authorize the Customs Service to permit clearance of any
vessel to be obtained at a place other than a designated port of
entry, under such conditions as he may prescribe.

AMENDMENTS
2000 - Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 106-476 struck out "bonded
merchandise or" before "foreign merchandise".
1993 - Pub. L. 103-182 amended section generally, substituting
present provisions for provisions which directed master of any
vessel bound to a foreign port to deliver to district collector a
manifest of all cargo on board, subject to financial penalties for
delivery of false manifest and detainment of vessel until penalty
is paid, but authorizing Secretary of Commerce, in interest of
expediting commerce, to make regulations permitting master to file
incomplete manifest and grant vessel clearance upon filing a bond
and making assurance that a completed manifest will be filed not
later than the fourth business day after clearance of the vessel,
with financial penalties and possible suit resulting from failure
to file completed manifest when due.
1954 - Act Sept. 1, 1954, exempted undocumented pleasure vessels
of the United States from clearance requirements.
1938 - Act June 16, 1938, inserted proviso and all that follows.
1935 - Act Aug. 5, 1935, substituted second sentence for "If any
vessel bound to a foreign port departs on her voyage to such
foreign port without delivering such manifest and obtaining a
clearance, as required, the master or other person having the
charge or command of such vessel shall be liable to a penalty of
$500 for every such offense."
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2000 AMENDMENT
Amendment by Pub. L. 106-476, except as otherwise provided,
applicable with respect to goods entered or withdrawn from
warehouse for consumption on or after the 15th day after Nov. 9,
2000, see section 1471 of Pub. L. 106-476, set out as a note under
section 58c of Title 19, Customs Duties.
CONSTRUCTION WITH OTHER LAWS
Section 3 of act June 16, 1938, provided that the amendments to
this section by section 1 of the act, should not affect any other
existing law.

Last modified: April 20, 2006