About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

B-237135 1 (1989-12-21)

handle is hein.gao/gaobabizi0001 and id is 1 raw text is: GaCmptmler Geneml of the UntedStats Wadhngm, D.C. 2058 39 B-237135 DELAYED DISTRIBUTION ! A SF0 December 21, 1989 The Honorable J. J. Pickle Chairman, Subcommittee on Oversight Committee on Ways and Means House of Representatives Dear Mr. Chairman: By letter of September 11, 1988, you asked whether the Customs Service's practice of incurring obligations against anticipated reimbursements from the sale of seized and forfeited assets is legal. Unless Congress provides specific statutory authority, an agency may not obligate anticipated reimbursements from future sales of property. Accordingly, Customs violated the Antideficiency Act if it did not have sufficient funds available from other sources for obligation when it recorded an obligation against anticipated eimbursements from the sale of property. 31 U.S.C. §VL341(a) (1982). Our response is based on information collected and supplied to us by members of the Subcommittee staff. Unfortunately, due to the limited amount of time available, we were unable to validate the information or obtain the Customs Service's views concerning this matter, as is our usual practice. BACKGROUND Under the Tariff Act of 1930, the Customs Service is responsible for the management, maintenance, and disposal of property obtained by seizure, forfeiture, or abandonment. 19 U.S.C. 5§1605 (1982). To help defray expenses associated with that responsibility, Congress established the Customs Forfeiture Fund in October 1984. Pub. L. No. 98-573, Title I, § 213, 98 Stat.A973' 2986- (1984). Congress re-authorized the Fund with slightly different provisions in 1988. Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, Pub. L. No. 100-690, Title VII, § 7634,A02 Stat. 4181), 4475. In 1985, Customs contracted with Northrop Worldwide Services to manage, maintain, and dispose of the property. We understand that each fiscal year Customs estimated the projected c9titract costs and anticipated reimbursements. Por example, in fiscal year 1987, the Northrop contract cost

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most