§1513. Customs officer's immunity

No customs officer shall be liable in any way to any person for or on account of-

(1) any ruling or decision regarding the appraisement or the classification of any imported merchandise or regarding the duties, fees, and taxes charged thereon,

(2) the collection of any dues, charges, duties, fees, and taxes on or on account of any imported merchandise, or

(3) any other matter or thing as to which any person might under this chapter be entitled to protest or appeal from the decision of such officer.

(June 17, 1930, ch. 497, title IV, §513, 46 Stat. 734 ; Pub. L. 91–271, title III, §301(r), June 2, 1970, 84 Stat. 290 ; Pub. L. 103–182, title VI, §644, Dec. 8, 1993, 107 Stat. 2206 .)

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

Provisions substantially the same as those in this section, except that they did not specifically refer to rulings or decisions as to appraisement, were contained in act Oct. 3, 1913, ch. 16, §III, Z, 38 Stat. 191 , which reenacted without change the provisions of the Customs Administrative Act of June 10, 1890, ch. 407, §25, 26 Stat. 141 , as reenacted by the Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act of Aug. 5, 1909, ch. 6, §28, 36 Stat. 103 . Section III, Z, of the 1913 act was superseded and more closely assimilated to this section by act Sept. 21, 1922, ch. 356, title IV, §513, 42 Stat. 969 , and repealed by section 643 thereof. Section 513 of the 1922 act was superseded by section 513 of act June 17, 1930, comprising this section, and repealed by section 651(a)(1) of the 1930 act.

Amendments

1993-Pub. L. 103–182 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section read as follows: "No customs officer shall be in any way liable to any owner, importer, consignee, or agent or any other person for or on account of any rulings or decisions as to the appraisement or the classification of any imported merchandise or the duties charged thereon, or the collection of any dues, charges, or duties on or on account of said merchandise, or any other matter or thing as to which said owner, importer, consignee, or agent might under this chapter be entitled to protest or appeal from the decision of such officer."

1970-Pub. L. 91–271 substituted "customs officer" for "collector or other customs officer" and "such officer" for "such collector or other officer".

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 1970 Amendment

For effective date of amendment by Pub. L. 91–271, see section 203 of Pub. L. 91–271, set out as a note under section 1500 of this title.