§ 400.62 - Fines, penalties and instructions to suspend activated status.

§ 400.62 Fines, penalties and instructions to suspend activated status.

(a) In general. Fines are authorized solely for specific violations of the FTZ Act or the Board's regulations as detailed in §§ 400.62(b) and (c). Each specific violation is subject to a fine of not more than 1,000 dollars (as adjusted for inflation pursuant to § 400.62(j)), with each day during which a violation continues constituting a separate offense subject to imposition of such a fine (FTZ Act, section 19; 19 U.S.C. 81s). This section also establishes the party subject to the fine which, depending on the type of violation, would be the zone operator, grantee, or a person undertaking one or more zone-related functions on behalf of the grantee, where applicable. In certain circumstances, the Board or the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance could instruct CBP to suspend the activated status of all or part of a zone or subzone. Violations of the FTZ Act or the Board's regulations (including the sections pertaining to uniform treatment and submission of annual reports), failure to pay fines, or failure to comply with an order prohibiting or restricting activity may also result in the Executive Secretary's suspending the processing of any requests to the Board and staff relating to the zone or subzone in question. In circumstances where non-compliance pertains to only a subset of the operations in a zone, suspensions of activated status and suspensions of the processing of requests shall be targeted to the specific non-compliant operation(s).

(b) Violations involving requirement to submit annual report. A grantee's failure to submit a complete and accurate annual report pursuant to section 16 of the FTZ Act (19 U.S.C. 81p(b)) and § 400.51(c)(1) of these regulations constitutes a violation subject to a fine, with each day of continued failure to submit the report constituting a separate offense subject to a fine of not more than 1,000 dollars (as adjusted for inflation pursuant to § 400.62(j)). Further, each day during which a zone operator fails to submit to the zone's grantee the information required for the grantee's timely submission of a complete and accurate annual report to the Board shall constitute a separate offense subject to a fine of not more than 1,000 dollars (as adjusted for inflation pursuant to § 400.62(j)). Consistent with § 400.46, if the grantee submits a timely report to the Board identifying any operator that has not provided complete and timely information in response to a timely request(s) by the grantee, the grantee shall not be subject to a fine-assessment action stemming from the operator's failure to timely provide its report.

(c) Violations involving uniform treatment. Failure by a grantee or a person undertaking one or more zone-related functions on behalf of the grantee to comply with the uniform treatment requirement of section 14 of the FTZ Act (19 U.S.C. 81n) or the provisions of § 400.43 of these regulations constitutes a violation, with each day of continued violation constituting a separate offense subject to a fine of not more than 1,000 dollars (as adjusted for inflation pursuant to § 400.62(j)).

(d) Procedures for determination of violations and imposition of fines. When the Board or the Executive Secretary has reason to believe that a violation pursuant to §§ 400.62(b) and (c) has occurred and that the violation warrants the imposition of a fine (such as a situation where a party has previously been notified of action required for compliance and has failed to take such action within a reasonable period of time), the following steps shall be taken:

(1) The Executive Secretary shall notify the party or parties responsible for the violation and the zone grantee in writing stating the nature of the alleged violation, and provide the party(ies) a specified period (no less than 30 days, with consideration given to any requests for an extension, which shall not be unreasonably withheld) to respond in writing;

(2) The Executive Secretary shall conduct a hearing, if requested or otherwise if appropriate. Parties may be represented by counsel at the hearing, and any evidence and testimony of witnesses in the proceeding shall be presented. A transcript of the hearing shall be produced and a copy shall be made available to the parties;

(3) The Executive Secretary shall make a recommendation on the record of the proceeding not earlier than the later of 15 days after the deadline for the party(ies)'s response under paragraph (d)(1) of this section or 15 days after the date of a hearing held under paragraph (d)(2) of this section. If the recommendation is for an affirmative determination of a violation, the Executive Secretary shall also recommend the amount of the fine to be imposed; and

(4) The Board shall make a determination regarding the finding of a violation and imposition of a fine based on the Executive Secretary's recommendation under paragraph (d)(3) of this section. For related actions where the total sum of recommended fines is no more than 10,000 dollars (50,000 dollars in the case of violations pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section), the Board delegates to the Executive Secretary the authority to make a determination.

(e) Mitigation -

(1) In general. The Commerce Department's Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance may approve the mitigation (reduction or elimination) of an imposed fine based on specific evidence presented by the affected party. Authority is delegated to the Executive Secretary to mitigate a fine where the total sum of fines imposed on a party for related actions does not exceed 10,000 dollars (50,000 dollars in the case of violations pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section). Mitigating evidence and argument pertaining to mitigating factors must be submitted within 30 days of the determination described in paragraph (d)(4) of this section, subject to requests for extension for cause, the granting of which shall not be unreasonably withheld.

(2) Mitigating factors. Factors to be taken into account in evaluating potential mitigation include:

(i) A good record of a violator over the preceding five years with regard to the type of violation(s) at issue;

(ii) The violation was due to the action of another party despite violator's adherence to the requirements of the FTZ Act and the Board's regulations;

(iii) Immediate remedial action by the violator to avoid future violations;

(iv) A violator's cooperation with the Board (beyond the degree of cooperation expected from a person under investigation for a violation) in ascertaining the facts establishing the violation;

(v) A violation's resulting from a clerical error or similar unintentional negligence; and

(vi) Such other factors as the Board, or the Executive Secretary, deems appropriate to consider in the specific circumstances presented.

(f) Assessment of fines. After evaluating submitted mitigating evidence and argument, where applicable, the Commerce Department's Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance may assess an imposed fine (in whole or in part). Authority is delegated to the Executive Secretary to assess a fine where the total sum of the imposed fines for related actions does not exceed 10,000 dollars (50,000 dollars in the case of violations pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section).

(g) Time for payment. Full payment of an assessed fine must be made within 30 days of the date of the assessment or within such longer period of time as may be specified. Payment shall be made in the manner specified by the Commerce Department's Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance or the Executive Secretary.

(h) Procedures for instruction to suspend activated status. If a fine assessed pursuant to §§ 400.62(d) through (g) has not been paid within 90 days of the specified deadline for payment, if there is a repeated and willful failure to comply with a requirement of the FTZ Act or the Board's regulations, or if there is a repeated and willful failure to comply with a prohibition or restriction on activity imposed by an order of the Board or an order of the Commerce Department's Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance pursuant to § 400.49(c), the Board or the Commerce Department's Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance may instruct CBP to suspend the activated status of the zone operation(s) in question (or, if appropriate, the suspension may be limited to a particular activity of a zone operator, such as suspension of the privilege to admit merchandise), and the suspension shall remain in place until the failure to pay a fine, failure to comply with a requirement of the FTZ Act or the Board's regulations, or failure to comply with an order's prohibition or restriction on activity has been remedied. In determining whether to instruct CBP to suspend the activated status of a zone operation in the circumstances noted, the following steps shall be taken:

(1) Notification of party(ies). The Executive Secretary shall notify the responsible party(ies) in writing stating the nature of the failure to timely pay a fine, to comply with a requirement of the FTZ Act or the Board's regulations or to comply with a prohibition or restriction on activity imposed by an order of the Board or an order of the Commerce Department's Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance. If the grantee is not one of the responsible parties notified, the Executive Secretary shall also provide a copy of the notification to the grantee. The responsible party(ies) shall be provided a specified period (of not less than 15 days) to respond in writing to the notification;

(2) Hearing. If the notified responsible party(ies) or the zone's grantee requests a hearing (or if a hearing is determined to be warranted by the Board, the Commerce Department's Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance or the Executive Secretary), it shall be held before the Executive Secretary (or a member of the Board staff designated by the Executive Secretary) within 30 days following the request for a hearing (or the determination by the Board, the Commerce Department's Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance or the Executive Secretary). Parties may be represented by counsel at the hearing, and any evidence and testimony of witnesses in the proceeding shall be presented. A transcript of the hearing shall be produced and a copy shall be made available to the parties;

(3) The Executive Secretary shall make a recommendation on the record of the proceeding not earlier than 15 days after the later of:

(i) The deadline for the party(ies)'s response under paragraph (h)(1) of this section; or

(ii) The date of a hearing held under paragraph (h)(2) of this section; and

(4) The Board or the Commerce Department's Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance shall determine whether to instruct CBP to suspend the activated status of the zone operation(s) in question. If the determination is affirmative, the Executive Secretary shall convey the instruction to CBP, with due consideration to allow for the transfer of any affected merchandise from the applicable zone site(s).

(i) Enforcement of assessment. Upon any failure to pay an assessed fine, the Board may request the U.S. Department of Justice to recover the amount assessed in any appropriate district court of the United States or may commence any other lawful action.

(j) Adjustment for inflation. The maximum dollar value of a fine for a violation of the FTZ Act or the Board's regulations is subject to adjustment for inflation pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101-410), as amended by the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-134).