Supporting Law/Regulation

Sec. 146.4 Operator responsibility and supervision.

(a) Supervision. The operator shall supervise all admissions,

transfers, removals, recordkeeping, manipulations, manufacturing,

destruction, exhibition, physical and procedural security, and

conditions of storage in the

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zone as required by law and regulations. Supervision by the operator

shall be that which a prudent manager of a storage, manipulation, or

manufacturing facility would be expected to exercise, and may take into

account the degree of supervision exercised by the zone user having

physical possession of zone merchandise.

(b) Customs access. The operator shall permit any Customs officer

access to a zone.

(c) Safekeeping of merchandise and records. The operator is

responsible for safekeeping of merchandise and records concerning

merchandise admitted to a zone. The operator, at its liability, may

allow the zone importer or owner of the goods to store, safeguard, and

otherwise maintain or handle the goods and the inventory records

pertaining to them.

(d) Records maintenance. The operator shall (1) maintain the

inventory control and recordkeeping system in accordance with the

provisions of subpart B, (2) retain all records required in this part

and defined in Sec. 162.1(a) of this chapter, pertaining to zone

merchandise for 5 years after the merchandise is removed from the zone,

and (3) protect proprietary information in its custody from unauthorized

disclosure. Records shall be readily available for Customs review at the

zone.

(e) Merchandise security. The operator shall maintain the zone and

establish procedures adequate to ensure the security of merchandise

located in the zone in accordance with applicable Customs security

standards and specifications.

(f) Storage and handling. The operator shall store and handle

merchandise in a zone in a safe and sanitary manner to minimize damage

to the merchandise, avoid hazard to persons, and meet local, state, and

Federal requirements applicable to a specific kind of goods. All trash

and waste will be promptly removed from a zone. Aisles will be

established and maintained, and doors and entrances left unblocked for

access by Customs officers and other persons in the performance of their

official duties.

(g) Guard service. The operator is authorized to provide guards or

contract for guard service to safeguard the merchandise and ensure the

security of the zone. This authorization does not limit the authority of

the port director to assign Customs guards to protect the revenue under

section 4 of the Act (19 U.S.C. 81d).

(h) Miscellaneous responsibilities. The operator is responsible for

complying with requirements for admission, manipulation, manufacture,

exhibition, or destruction, shortage, or overage; inventory control and

recordkeeping systems, transfer to Customs territory, and other

requirements as specified in this part. If the operator elects to

transfer merchandise from within the port limits (see definition of

``district'' at Sec. 112.1) to his zone, he shall receipt for the

merchandise at the time he picks it up for transportation to his

facility. He becomes liable for the merchandise at that time.

[T.D. 86-16, 51 FR 5049, Feb. 11, 1986, as amended by T.D. 94-81, 59 FR

51496, Oct. 12, 1994; T.D. 95-77, 60 FR 50020, Sept. 27, 1995]