supporting CFR

§ 145.5

19 CFR Ch. I (4–1–99 Edition)
tached to at least one mail article of
each shipment, including shipments of
special classes of merchandise treated
in subpart D of this part. Although a
Customs declaration is required to be
attached to only one mail article of
each shipment, examination and release of the merchandise will be expedited if such a declaration is attached
to each individual mail article.
(b) Invoice or statement of commercial
value. Each shipment of merchandise
shall have an invoice or bill of sale (or,
in the case of merchandise not purchased or consigned for sale, a statement of the fair retail value in the
country of shipment), giving an accurate description and the purchase price
of the merchandise, securely attached
to the outside of the mail article or enclosed therein. If the shipment consists
of more than one mail article, a copy of
the invoice should accompany each
mail article, or else the invoice shall
accompany the mail article bearing the
declaration, and that mail article shall
be marked ‘‘Invoice enclosed.’’
(c) [Reserved]
(d) Shipments without declaration and
invoice. Shipment of merchandise
which are not accompanied by a Customs declaration and invoice in accordance with paragraphs (a) through (b) of
this section may be subject to seizure
and forfeiture in accordance with
§ 145.4.

mail fine entry has been issued in accordance with this paragraph is undeliverable, it will be returned to the
director of the port where the entry
was issued, for disposition in accordance with § 145.59 relating to articles
subject to seizure.
(d) Petition for relief. The addressee or
sender may file a petition with the
Fines, Penalties, and Forfeitures Officer having jurisdiction over the port
where the mail fine entry was issued in
accordance with part 171 of this chapter for relief from the forfeiture incurred and for release of the seized
merchandise, or for additional relief
from a mitigated forfeiture.
[T.D. 73–135, 38 FR 13369, May 21, 1973, as
amended by T.D. 78–102, 43 FR 14454, Apr. 6,
1978; T.D. 86–118, 51 FR 22516, June 20, 1986;
T.D. 87–75, 52 FR 26142, July 13, 1987; T.D. 91–
73, 56 FR 42527, Aug. 28, 1991; T.D. 92–56, 57 FR
24944, June 12, 1992; T.D. 98–28, 63 FR 16417,
Apr. 3, 1998; T.D. 99–27, 64 FR 13675, Mar. 22,
1999]

§ 145.5 Undeliverable packages.
Mail articles which are refused or undeliverable, except mail articles for
which a mail fine entry has been issued
in accordance with § 145.4(c), will be
marked by the postmaster to show why
delivery was not made, and will be forwarded to the proper exchange post office for return to the country of origin.
Mail entries will be removed from the
mail articles and returned to Customs
for cancellation. If, for any reason, an
undeliverable mail article known or
supposed to be dutiable is not returned
to the country of origin or forwarded
to another country in accordance with
the Postal regulations, it will be delivered to Customs for disposition under
the Customs laws and regulations governing seized or unclaimed merchandise.

[T.D. 73–135, 38 FR 13369, May 21, 1973, as
amended by T.D. 76–103, 41 FR 14731, Apr. 7,
1976; T.D. 78–102, 43 FR 14454, Apr. 6, 1978;
T.D. 85–39, 50 FR 9612, Mar. 11, 1985]

§ 145.12 Entry of merchandise.
(a) Formal entries—(1) Discretionary.
The port director may require formal
entry of any mail shipment regardless
of value if in his opinion it is necessary
to protect the revenue.
(2) Required. Formal entry at the customhouse shall be required for every
importation in the mails which exceeds
$2,000 in value, except for special classes of merchandise which can be released without entry (see subpart D of
this part), and except as provided in
subparts B and C of part 143 and § 10.1 of
this chapter.
(3) Separate shipments. Separate shipments not exceeding $2,000 in value, if
mailed abroad at different times (as

Subpart B—Requirements and
Procedures
§ 145.11 Declarations of value and invoices.
(a) Customs declaration. A clear and
complete Customs declaration on the
form provided by the foreign post office, giving a full and accurate description of the contents and value of the
merchandise, shall be securely at-

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United States Customs Service, Treasury
shown by the declaration or other
mailing indicia), shall not be combined
for the purpose of requiring formal
entry, even though they reach Customs
at the same time and are covered by a
single order or contract in excess of
$2,000, unless there was a splitting of
shipments in order to avoid the payment of Customs duty.
(4) Notice of formal entry requirement.
When a formal entry is required, the
addressee shall be notified of the arrival of the shipment and of the place
at which entry is to be made. If the
shipment is addressed to a point which
is not a Customs port or station, the
port of entry specified in the notice
shall be the port nearest the destination of the shipment. When a formal
entry is filed, it shall contain all the
statistical information as provided in
§ 141.61(e) of this chapter.
(b) Mail and informal entries—(1) Preparation of entry form. Except as provided in paragraphs (c) and (e) of this
section, Customs officers shall prepare
and attach a mail entry (Customs
Form 3419 or 3419A) for each shipment
not exceeding $2,000 in value which is
to be delivered by the Postal Service,
and return the shipment to the Postal
Service for delivery and collection of
duty. If the addressee has arranged to
pick up such a shipment at the Customs office where it is being processed,
the Customs officer shall prepare an informal entry (Customs Form 368 or
368A (serially numbered), or an entry
summary, Customs Form 7501, and collect the duty in accordance with subpart C of part 143 of this chapter.
(2) Rates of duty. Merchandise released under a mail or informal entry
shall be dutiable at the rates of duty in
effect when the preparation of the
entry is completed by a Customs employee, ready for transmittal with the
merchandise to the addressee.
(c) Dutiable shipments not over $2,000
for Government agencies. When a dutiable shipment not exceeding $2,000 in
value is addressed to a U.S. Government department or agency, the port
director may release the merchandise
prior to the payment of duties under an
entry on Customs Form 368 or 368A (serially numbered) or Customs Form

§ 145.12
7501, upon the receipt of a stipulation
in the form set forth in § 141.102(d) of
this chapter. If the stipulation does not
accompany the shipment, the port director shall notify the Government department or agency of the arrival of
the shipment and request the stipulation. Upon receipt of the completed
stipulation and preparation of the
entry form, the port director shall
stamp all mail articles in the shipment
to show that they have received Customs treatment and shall return the
shipment to the Postal Service for delivery, unless the addressee has arranged to pick up the shipment at the
Customs office where it is being processed. The proper Government department or agency shall be billed later for
any duties and taxes due.
(d) Release without entry. Certain
types of merchandise may be passed
free of duty without issuing an entry
(see subpart D of this part).
(e) Unaccompanied shipments—(1) Mail
entry to be attached. If the requirements
of § 148.115(a) of this chapter are met,
Customs officers shall prepare and attach a mail entry, Customs Form 3419
or 3419A, for each shipment for which
entry is claimed under subheading
9816.00.40, Harmonized Tariff Schedule
of the United States (19 U.S.C. 1202),
which is to be delivered by the Postal
Service, and return the shipment to
the Postal Service for delivery and collection of duty. If the addressee has arranged to pick up the shipment at the
Customs office where it is being processed, the Customs officer shall prepare
an informal entry, Customs Form 368
or 368A (serially numbered), or entry
summary, Customs Form 7501, and collect the duty in accordance with subpart C of part 143 of this chapter if the
requirements of § 148.115(a) of this chapter are met.
(2) Disposition of Customs Form 255.
The Declaration of Unaccompanied Articles, Customs Form 255, affixed to the
shipment shall be removed by the Customs officer and retained for Customs
purposes. If a mail entry, Customs
Form 3419 or 3419A, has been prepared,

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§ 145.13

19 CFR Ch. I (4–1–99 Edition)

the mail entry number shall be noted
on the Customs Form 255.

Products Identification Act, the Wool
Products Labeling Act, and the Trademark Act. Since there is no provision
for post office supervision of these
types of marking, the port director
shall require compliance with the law
and regulations (see parts 11 and 133 of
this chapter).
(c) Failure to mark. If the addressee
fails to comply with the marking requirements, the mail article will be
treated as undeliverable in accordance
with § 145.5.

[T.D. 73–135, 38 FR 13369, May 21, 1973, as
amended by T.D. 73–175, 38 FR 17469, July 2,
1973; T.D. 73–312, 38 FR 30884, Nov. 8, 1973;
T.D. 78–102, 43 FR 14454, Apr. 6, 1978; T.D. 78–
394, 43 FR 49788, Oct. 25, 1978; T.D. 85–123, 50
FR 29955, July 23, 1985; T.D. 87–75, 52 FR
26142, July 13, 1987; T.D. 89–1, 53 FR 51263,
Dec. 21, 1988; T.D. 89–82, 54 FR 36026, Aug. 31,
1989; T.D. 91–73, 56 FR 42527, Aug. 28, 1991;
T.D. 92–56, 57 FR 24944, June 12, 1992; T.D. 98–
28, 63 FR 16417, Apr. 3, 1998]

§ 145.13 Internal revenue tax on mail
entries.
(a) Method of collection. Any internal
revenue tax assessed on a mail entry
shall be shown as a separate item on
the entry, and collected in the same
manner as Customs duties.
(b) Release without payment of tax. A
mail entry may not be used to release
a shipment of cigars, cigarettes, or cigarette papers or tubes for a manufacturer without payment of tax as provided for in 27 CFR part 275 and § 11.2a
of this chapter. If a claim for release
without payment of tax is made by the
addressee at the time of delivery, the
shipment will be returned by the Postal Service to the port of entry or sent
to the nearest Customs office at which
appropriate release as claimed may be
arranged by the addressee.

[T.D. 73–135, 38 FR 13369, May 21, 1973, as
amended by T.D. 78–102, 43 FR 14454, Apr. 6,
1978]

Subpart C—Administrative Review
of Mail Entries
§ 145.21 Administrative review.
Requests for adjustment of the
amount of duty assessed under mail entries shall be handled as requests for
administrative review in accordance
with this subpart.
§ 145.22 Procedures for obtaining administrative review.
If an addressee is dissatisfied with
the amount of duty assessed under a
mail entry, he may obtain administrative review in the following ways:
(a) He may pay the assessed duty,
take delivery of the merchandise, and
send a copy of the mail entry to the
issuing Customs office indicated on the
mail entry, together with a statement
of the reason it is believed the duty assessed is incorrect. Any invoices, bills
of sale, or other evidence should be
submitted with the statement. The addressee may show the mail entry number and date on his statement instead
of sending a copy of the mail entry, but
this may result in delay.
(b) He may postpone acceptance of
the shipment, and within the time allowed by the Postal regulations provide the postmaster with a written
statement of his objections. The postmaster will forward the mail entry together with the addressee’s statement
and any invoices, bills of sale, or other
evidence submitted by the addressee to
the port director who issued the entry,
and retain custody of the shipment
until advice is received from the port
director as to the disposition to be

[T.D. 73–135, 38 FR 13369, May 21, 1973, as
amended by T.D. 78–329, 43 FR 43455, Sept. 26,
1978]

§ 145.14 Marking requirements.
(a) Country of origin. Merchandise imported by mail shall be marked with
the country of origin in accordance
with part 134 of this chapter. If merchandise without the required marking
is to be delivered from the post office
where it has been given Customs examination, the Customs officer shall require compliance with the marking law
and regulations. If it is to be delivered
from another post office, the Customs
officer shall place in the envelope containing the mail entry a copy of Customs Form 3475, containing instructions to the postmaster concerning the
marking to be required before delivery.
(b) Other marking requirements. Certain types of merchandise are subject
to special marking requirements, such
as those contained in the Textile Fiber

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