§ 103.11 - Specific Customs Service records subject to disclosure.

(a) Administrative staff manuals and instructions. Except as exempted by §103.12, all administrative staff manuals and instructions to staff that affect any member of the public, and indexes thereto, are available for public inspection and copying in the Customs Service public reference facilities (see §103.1), including the following:

Forms Catalog. Customs and other agency forms currently available from the Customs Service.

Legal Precedent Retrieval System. The directory is a listing by selected keywords of all classification rulings issued since early 1974 that affect a substantial volume of imports or transactions or are of general interest or importance, and of all published classification rulings issued since August 31, 1963, including classification decisions, and classification rulings circulated within the Customs Service by the Customs Information Exchange and the Office of Regulations and Rulings. The directory also contains limited information on decisions and rulings pertaining to entry, value, drawback, marking, country of origin, and vessel repairs. The directory is maintained on microfiche and is continually updated. Duplicate microfiche are available for 15¢ each, through subscription or in individual sets. The costs of a set will depend upon the number of microfiche it contains.

Fines, Penalties, and Forfeitures Handbook. Collects in one document information relating to the total management of the fines, penalties, and forfeitures program.

Inspector Rate Book. A ready reference guide for inspection personnel. Contains an abbreviated Tariff Schedules of the United States and other reference material.

Customs Issuance System (CIS) Index. The index provides a brief description of circulars, manuals, legal rulings, decisions, and other Customs documents.

Operational Handbook of Other Agency Requirements Enforced by the U.S. Customs Service.

Customs Valuation under the Trade Agreements Act of 1979.

Fundamentals of Customs Tariff and Trade Operations Handbook. Material relating to the duties and responsibilities of import specialists: entry of merchandise, restrictions, prohibitions and other agency requirements, special trade programs, invoicing and related documentation, examination of merchandise, Customs valuation, tariff classification, liquidation, protests, and miscellaneous import specialist concerns.

(b) Other Customs records. In general, all other documents issued by the Secretary of the Treasury, the Commissioner of Customs, or other officers of the Department of the Treasury or of the United States Customs Service in matters administered by the United States Customs Service, if reasonably described, and unless exempted from disclosure under §103.12, are available. The classes of records of the United States Customs Service which may be made available under this paragraph upon written request submitted in accordance with §103.5 include, but are not limited to the following:

(1) Records relating to:

(i) Comments submitted by private parties (which are not considered to include foreign governments) in response to a published notice of proposed rulemaking and of proposed changes in tariff classification, unless the submitter states that the information is privileged or confidential, giving reasons therefor, and the Commissioner of Customs agrees that the information contained therein is exempt from disclosure under §103.12;

(ii) Advisory committees on Customs matters;

(iii) Rosters of licensed customhouse brokers;

(iv) Names of individual licensed customhouse brokers;

(v) Names and titles of all Customs personnel;

(vi) Performance awards;

(vii) Suggestion awards;

(viii) The administration of and decisions concerning import quotas; and

(ix) Customs laboratory methods.

(2) Decisions concerning—(i) Matters arising under the Tariff Schedules of the United States and the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (19 U.S.C. 1202);

(ii) Whether or not specific items, articles, or merchandise qualify for entry under the Trade Fair Act of 1959 (19 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.), and the disposition of articles previously entered under the Trade Fair Act; Customs participation and assistance at Trade Fairs;

(iii) The dutiable status of gifts pursuant to section 321, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1321);

(iv) The eligibility of vehicles used in international traffic pursuant to section 332(a), Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1322(a)), and other instruments of international traffic generally for duty-free entry;

(v) Prohibition from entry of merchandise produced by convict, forced, or indentured labor (19 U.S.C. 1307);

(vi) The entry or valuation of merchandise;

(vii) Liens in cases arising under section 564, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1564);

(viii) Bills of lading, carriers' certificates, or rights in respect of merchandise, cases arising under section 483 or 484(c), (h), or (i), Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1483, 1484(c), (h), (i));

(ix) Trademarks, trade names, copyrights, patents, and related matters;

(x) Country of origin marking requirements of section 304, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304);

(xi) Psittacine or other birds, bird feathers, bird skins, monkeys, dogs, cats, and other animals and pets prohibited entry or subject to restrictions and controls on entry;

(xii) Entry of articles admitted temporarily free of duty under bond as provided in Schedule 8, part 5C, Tariff Schedules of the United States and Chapter 98, Subchapter XIII, HTSUS (19 U.S.C. 1202), and entry of articles admitted temporarily free of duty under A.T.A. Carnets, as provided in §114.22(a) of this chapter;

(xiii) Tonnage taxes (regular, special, and discriminatory) and light money;

(xiv) The entry, clearance and use of vessels and permits for them to proceed coastwise;

(xv) The regulation of vessels in the foreign, coastal, fishing, and other trades of the United States;

(xvi) The limitation of the use of foreign vessels in waters under the jurisdiction of the United States;

(xvii) Salvage operations by vessels within the territorial waters of the United States (46 U.S.C. 316);

(xviii) The assessment and collection of duties on equipment or repairs of vessels or aircraft under section 466, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1466), and the remission or refund of such duties;

(xix) Requirements for entry, clearance, and use of aircraft;

(xx) The arrival or departure and the use of motor vehicles, railway trains, or other vehicles;

(xxi) Adequacy of premises at Customs bonded warehouses and control of the merchandise stored therein;

(xxii) Use of protective Customs seals and labels; and

(xxiii) The itineraries of foreign vessels which had been submitted for an advisory ruling to determine whether the primary object of a contemplated voyage would be considered to unlawful coastwise trade (see §4.80a(d) of this chapter).

[T.D. 81-168, 46 FR 32565, June 24, 1981, as amended by T.D. 85-123, 50 FR 29954, July 23, 1985; T.D. 89-1, 53 FR 51255, Dec. 21, 1988; T.D. 97-82, 62 FR 51770, Oct. 3, 1997]