Chapter 251. To provide the necessary organization of the Customs Service for an adequate administration and enforcement of the Tariff Act of 1922 and all other customs revenue laws
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CHAP. 251.— An Act To provide the necessary organization of the Customs Service for an adequate administration and enforcement of the Tariff Act of 1922 and all other customs revenue laws. March 4, 1923.[[S. 4245](/us/bill/67/s/4245).][[Public, No. 502](/us/67/pl/502).] *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled*, That on and afterCustoms Service.Director of Customs, director of special agency service, etc. created.Appointment, etc., by Secretary of the Treasury. the passage of this Act the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized and directed to appoint, pursuant to the civil-service laws and regulations, fix the compensation, and prescribe the duties, when not otherwise defined by law, of one Director of Customs (in lieu of Chief, Division of Customs), two assistant Directors of Customs (in lieu of two assistant chiefs, Division of Customs), one director, Special Agency Service of the Customs, and one assistant director, all with headquarters in the District of Columbia.
The Director ofSpecial agency service. the Special Agency Service and assistant director shall be officers of the Special Agency Service familiar with the statutory and prescribed duties of that service. Sec. 2. That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby furtherDeputy collectors, comptrollers, and other customs officers.Appointment, etc. authorized and directed to appoint deputy collectors, deputy comptrollers, deputy surveyors, deputy and assistant appraisers, examiners of merchandise, inspectors and such other customs officers, laborers, and other employees as he shall deem necessary, prescribe their designations and duties when not otherwise defined by law, and fix their compensation.
He is authorized to appoint special their designations and duties when not otherwise defined by law,Customs agents. and fix their compensation, and to appoint and fix the compensation of such number of customs agents as he may deem necessary, all of whom shall perform their duties as defined by existing law or prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury, under the immediate supervision of the director, special agency service of the customs. He shall likewise appoint and fix the compensation of theClerks, etc., Board of General Appraisers.Appointments subject to civil service laws upon nomination of officers in charge. clerks and other employees of the Board of United States General Appraisers.
The appointment of such customs officers and employees shall be made pursuant to the civil-service laws and regulations upon the nomination of the principal officer in charge of the office to which such appointments are to be made. Sec. 3. That the collectors of customs, comptrollers of customs, surveyors of customs,Collectors of customs, etc., authorized to appoint assistants and appraisers of merchandise shall each, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, appoint a customs officer familiar with the customs laws and procedure, to act and be known as the assistant collector, the assistant comptroller, the assistant surveyor, and the chief assistant appraiser (in lieu of the special deputies), and the Secretary of the Treasury shall fix theirSolicitor at New York City. compensation.
The collector of customs at the port of New York shall also, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, appoint a customs officer qualified in the law and familiar with customs procedure, to act and be known as solicitor to the collector, whose compensation shall likewise be fixed by the Secretary of the Treasury. Sec. 4. That in case of a vacancy in the office of a collector ofAssistant collectors, etc., to act in case of vacancy of their principals. customs, comptroller of customs, surveyor of customs, or appraiser of merchandise, such assistant collector, assistant comptroller, assistant surveyor, or chief assistant appraiser shall give bond when required, act as such officer, and receive the compensation of such office until an appointment thereto has been made and the person so appointed has duly qualified.
Whenever a vacancy occurs in the position ofFilling vacancies In position of such assistants. such assistants, chief assistant, and solicitor to the collector, herein provided for, it shall be filled, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, by the promotion or transfer of a trained and qualified customs officer, and the assistant, chief assistant, and solicitor to the1454collector so appointed shall continue in office and shall not be reduced or removed except for cause and in accordance with the civil-service laws and regulations.
Sec. 5. Traveling expenses, etc., allowed when on duty away from station. That all customs officers and employees, including customs officers and employees in foreign countries, in addition to their compensation shall receive their necessary traveling expenses and actual expenses incurred for subsistence while traveling on duty Allowance for transfer of household goods from one station to another.and away from their designated station, and when transferred from one official station to another for duty may be allowed, within the discretion and under written orders of the Secretary of the Treasury, the expenses incurred for packing, crating, freight, and drayage in the transfer of their household effects and other personal property, not exceeding in all five thousand pounds.
Sec. 6. Compensation of officers, etc., payable from revenue from customs. That the compensation of all customs officers and employees, including the Director and Assistant Directors of Customs, herein provided for, and the expenses authorized by section 5 of this Act, shall be paid from the appropriation for the collection of the revenue from customs. Sec. 7. Laborers.Former pay provision repealed.Vol. 35, p. 1065, repealed.Increases in pay limited. That section 1 of the Act entitled “An Act fixing the compensation of certain officials in the Customs Service, and for other purposes,” approved March 4, 1909, is repealed.
Except in the case of laborers, no compensation fixed under this Act shall be greater than 30 per centum in excess of the limitations of existing law. Approved, March 4, 1923.