§ 4.37 General order. (a) Any merchandise or baggage regularly landed but not covered by a permit for its release shall be allowed to remain at the place of unlading until the fifteenth calendar day after landing. No later than 20 calendar days after landing, the master or owner of the vessel or the agent thereof shall notify Customs of any such merchandise or baggage for which entry has not been made. Such notification shall be provided in writing or by any appropriate Customs-authorized electronic data interchange system. Failure to provide such notification may result in assessment of a monetary penalty of up to $1,000 per bill of lading against the master or owner of the vessel or the agent thereof. If the value of the merchandise on the bill is less than $1,000, the penalty shall be equal to the value of such merchandise.(b) Any merchandise or baggage that is taken into custody from an arriving carrier by any party under a Customs-authorized permit to transfer or in-bond entry may remain in the custody of that party for 15 calendar days after receipt under such permit to transfer or 15 calendar days after arrival at the port of destination. No later than 20 calendar days after receipt under the permit to transfer or 20 calendar days after arrival under bond at the port of destination, the party shall notify Customs of any such merchandise or baggage for which entry has not been made. Such notification shall be provided in writing or by any appropriate Customs-authorized electronic data interchange system. If the party fails to notify Customs of the unentered merchandise or baggage in the allotted time, he may be liable for the payment of liquidated damages under the terms and conditions of his custodial bond (see § 113.63(c)(4) of this chapter).(c) In addition to the notification to Customs required under paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section, the carrier (or any other party to whom custody of the unentered merchandise has been transferred by a Customs authorized permit to transfer or in-bond entry) shall provide notification of the presence of such unreleased and unentered merchandise or baggage to a bonded warehouse certified by the port director as qualified to receive general order merchandise. Such notification shall be provided in writing or by any appropriate Customs-authorized electronic data interchange system and shall be provided within the applicable 20-day period specified in paragraph (a) or (b) of this section. It shall then be the responsibility of the bonded warehouse proprietor to arrange for the transportation and storage of the merchandise or baggage at the risk and expense of the consignee. Any unentered merchandise or baggage shall remain the responsibility of the carrier, master, or person in charge of the importing vessel or the agent thereof or party to whom the merchandise has been transferred under a Customs authorized permit to transfer or in-bond entry, until it is properly transferred from his control in accordance with this paragraph. If the party to whom custody of the unentered merchandise or baggage has been transferred by a Customs-authorized permit to transfer or in-bond entry fails to notify a Customs-approved bonded warehouse of such merchandise or baggage within the applicable 20-calendar-day period, he may be liable for the payment of liquidated damages of $1,000 per bill of lading under the terms and conditions of his international carrier or custodial bond (see §§ 113.63(b), 113.63(c) and 113.64(b) of this chapter).(d) If the bonded warehouse operator fails to take possession of unentered and unreleased merchandise or baggage within five calendar days after receipt of notification of the presence of such merchandise or baggage under this section, he may be liable for the payment of liquidated damages under the terms and conditions of his custodial bond (see § 113.63(a)(1) of this chapter).

(e) In ports where there is no bonded warehouse authorized to accept general order merchandise or if merchandise requires specialized storage facilities which are unavailable in a bonded facility, the port director, after having received notice of the presence of unentered merchandise or baggage in accordance with the provisions of this section, shall direct the storage of the merchandise by the carrier or by any other appropriate means.(f) Whenever merchandise remains on board any vessel from a foreign port more than 25 days after the date on which report of arrival of such vessel was made, the port director, as prescribed in section 457, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1457), may take possession of such merchandise and cause it to be unladen at the expense and risk of the owners of the merchandise. Any merchandise so unladen shall be sent forthwith by the port director to a general order warehouse and stored at the risk and expense of the owners of the merchandise.(g) Merchandise taken into the custody of the port director pursuant to section 490(b), Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1490(b)), shall be sent to a general order warehouse after 1 day after the day the vessel was entered, to be held there at the risk and expense of the consignee. [T.D. 98-74, 63 FR 51287, Sept. 25, 1998]