# 1 Establishment of Service; Commissioner; appointment
See Change of Name note below.
There shall be in the Department of the Treasury a service to be known as the United States Customs Service, and a Commissioner of Customs.[^1] The Commissioner of Customs,[^1] who shall be appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall—
**(1)** be at the head of the United States Customs Service;
**(2)** carry out the duties and powers prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury; and
**(3)** report to the Secretary of the Treasury through such other officials as may be designated by the Secretary.
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**Source Credit**: (Mar. 3, 1927, ch. 348, § 1, 44 Stat. 1381; May 27, 1930, ch. 342, § 8, 46 Stat. 430; Ex. Ord. No. 6639, § 1a, Mar. 10, 1934; Pub. L. 101–207, § 3(b)(1), Dec. 7, 1989, 103 Stat. 1833; Pub. L. 114–125, title VIII, § 802(d)(2), Feb. 24, 2016, 130 Stat. 210.)
## Editorial Notes
### Codification
Provisions that fixed the compensation of the Commissioner have been omitted as the position is under the Executive Schedule, see , Government Organization and Employees.
Provisions that authorized appointment of the Commissioner “without regard to the civil service laws” were omitted as the appointment is subject to the civil service laws unless specifically excepted by such laws or by laws enacted subsequent to Executive Order No. 8743, , issued by the President pursuant to the , , which covered most excepted positions into the classified (competitive) civil service. The Order is set out as a note under . The position is currently excepted from the civil service rules and regulations by Schedule C, see Part 213 of Title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
Section was formerly classified to prior to the general revision and codification of Title 5 by , , .
References to the Bureau of Prohibition and to the Commissioner of Prohibition were omitted in view of the change of name of the Bureau of Prohibition to the Bureau of Industrial Alcohol by act , and the abolition of the Bureau of Industrial Alcohol by Ex. Ord. No. 6639.
### Amendments
1989— amended second sentence generally. Prior to amendment, second sentence read as follows: “The Commissioner of Customs shall be at the head of the United States Customs Service, and the Commissioner of Customs shall be appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury.”
## Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
### Change of Name
Reference to Commissioner of Customs deemed to be reference to Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection pursuant to , set out as a note under , Domestic Security.
### Effective Date
> “This Act shall take effect
>
> .”
, , provided that:
### Transfer of Functions
For transfer of functions, personnel, assets, and liabilities of the United States Customs Service of the Department of the Treasury, including functions of the Secretary of the Treasury relating thereto, to the Secretary of Homeland Security, and for treatment of related references, see sections 203(1), 551(d), 552(d), and 557 of Title 6, Domestic Security, and the Department of Homeland Security Reorganization Plan of , as modified, set out as a note under . For establishment of U.S. Customs and Border Protection in the Department of Homeland Security, treated as if included in as of , see , as amended generally by , and , set out as a note under .
### Mandatory Advance Electronic Information for Cargo and Other Improved Customs Reporting Procedures
, (c), , , 985, as amended by , , ; , , ; , , ; , (b)(1), (e), , , which authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to promulgate regulations providing for the transmission to the Customs Service of electronic information pertaining to cargo entering or leaving the United States and was formerly set out as a note under this section, was transferred to .
### Secure Systems of Transportation
, , , required the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a joint task force to evaluate, prototype, and certify secure systems of transportation, required the joint task force to establish a program to evaluate and certify secure systems of international intermodal transport, provided minimum standards for the program, and mandated that the Secretary recognize certified systems of intermodal transport and report to Congress within one year of the program’s implementation, prior to repeal by , , .
### Extension of Pre-Clearance Program in Aruba
> “Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the United States Customs Service pilot pre-clearance program authorized to be established in Aruba shall be extended through 1994.”
, , , provided that:
### Reports Regarding Expansion of Customs Preclearance Operations and Recovery for Damage Resulting From Customs Examinations
, , , as amended by , , , provided that the Secretary of the Treasury would assess the advisability of expanding the use of preclearance operations by the United States Customs Service at foreign airports and report to Congress no later than , and also provided that the Secretary would evaluate various means by which persons whose merchandise is damaged during customs examinations could seek compensation from, or take other recourse against, the United States Customs Service, and report this evaluation to Congress by .
### Pilot Preclearance Program
, , , required the Commissioner of Customs to carry out, during fiscal years 1991 and 1992, preclearance operations at a facility of the United States Customs Service in a country within the Caribbean Basin which the Commissioner considered appropriate for testing the extent to which the availability of preclearance operations could assist in the development of tourism and to submit to Congress, as soon as practicable after , a report regarding those preclearance operations.
### Incumbent Commissioner on December 6, 1989
> “The individual who is serving as the Commissioner of Customs on the day before the date of the enactment of this Act [
>
> ] may continue to serve in such capacity until a Commissioner of Customs, appointed as provided in the amendment made by paragraph (1) [amending this section], takes office.”
, , , provided that:
### Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of United States Customs Service
, , , which directed the Secretary of the Treasury to establish an Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of the United States Customs Service to advise the Secretary and prepare annual reports relating to commercial operations of the United States Customs Service, was repealed, effective on the date on which the Advisory Committee was established under [, see 81 F.R. 18865], by , , .
, , , which provided for the establishment of an advisory committee, whose members were to consist of representatives from the airline, shipping, and other transportation industries, the general public, and others, to advise the Secretary of the Treasury on issues related to the performance of the customs services, was repealed by , , .
## Executive Documents
### Change of Name
“United States Customs Service” substituted in text for “Bureau of Customs” pursuant to Treasury Department Order 165–23, , eff. , 38 F.R. 13037. See, also, , Money and Finance.
### Transfer of Functions
Functions vested by law in Attorney General, Department of Justice, or any other officer or any agency of that Department, with respect to the inspection at regular inspection locations at ports of entry of persons, and documents of persons, entering or leaving the United States, were to have been transferred to Secretary of the Treasury by 1973 Reorg. Plan No. 2, § 2, eff. , 38 F.R. 15932, , set out in the Appendix to Title 5. The transfer was negated by section 1(a)(1), (b) of , , , which repealed section 2 of 1973 Reorg. Plan No. 2, eff. .
Functions of all officers of Department of the Treasury and functions of all agencies and employees of such Department transferred, with certain exceptions, to Secretary of the Treasury, with power vested in him to authorize their performance or performance of any of his functions by any of such officers, agencies, and employees, by Reorg. Plan No. 26 of 1950, §§ 1, 2, eff. , 15 F.R. 4935, , 1281, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.