15 U.S.C. 2066 ance being used to transport consumer products in connection with distribution in commerce; and (2) to inspect, at reasonable times and in a reasonable manner such conveyance or those areas of such factory, warehouse, or establishment where such products are manufactured, held, or transported and which may relate to the safety of such products. Each such inspection shall be commenced and completed with reasonable promptness. (b) Every person who is a manufacturer, private labeler, or distributor of a consumer product shall establish and maintain such records, make such reports, and provide such information as the Commission may, by rule, reasonably require for the purposes of implementing this Act, or to determine compliance with rules or orders prescribed under this Act. Upon request of an officer or employee duly designated by the Commission, every such manufacturer, private labeler, or distributor shall permit the inspection of appropriate books, records, and papers relevant to determining whether such manufacturer, private labeler, or distributor has acted or is acting in compliance with this Act and rules under this Act. IMPORTED PRODUCTS SEC. 17. (a) Any consumer product offered for importation into the customs territory of the United States (as defined in general headnote 2 to the Tariff Schedules of the United States) shall be refused admission into such customs territory if such product (1) fails to comply with an applicable consumer product safety rule; (2) is not accompanied by a certificate required by section 14, or is not labeled in accordance with regulations under section 14 (c); (3) is or has been determined to be an imminently hazardous consumer product in a proceeding brought under section 12; (4) has a product defect which constitutes a substantial product hazard (within the meaning of section 15 (a) (2)); or (5) is a product which was manufactured by a person who the Commission has informed the Secretary of the Treasury is in violation of subsection (g). (b) The Secretary of the Treasury shall obtain without charge and deliver to the Commission, upon the latter's request, a reasonable number of samples of consumer products being offered for import. Except for those owners or consignees who are or have been afforded an opportunity for a hearing in a proceeding under section 12 with respect to an imminently hazardous product, the owner or consignee of the product shall be afforded an opportunity by the Commission for a hearing in accordance with section 554 of title 5 of the United States Code with respect to the importation of such products into the customs territory of the United States. If it appears from examination of such samples or otherwise that a product must be refused admission under the terms of subsection (a), such product shall be refused admission, unless subsection (c) of this section applies and is complied with. (c) If it appears to the Commission that any consumer product which may be refused admission pursuant to subsection (a) of this section can be so modified that it need not (under the terms of paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (a)) be refused admission, the Commission may defer final determination as to the admission of such product and, in accordance with such regulations as the Commission and the Secretary of the Treasury shall jointly agree to, permit such product to be delivered from customs custody under bond for the purpose of permitting the owner or consignee an opportunity to so modify such product. (d) All actions taken by an owner or consignee to modify such product under subsection (c) shall be subject to the supervision of an officer or employee of the Commission and of the Department of the Treasury. If it appears to the Commission that the product cannot be so modified or that the owner or consignee is not proceeding satisfactorily to modify such product, it shall be refused admission into the customs territory of the United States, and the Commission may direct the Secretary to demand redelivery of the product into customs custody, and to seize the product in accordance with section 22(b) if it is not so redelivered. (e) Products refused admission into the customs territory of the United States under this section must be exported, except that upon application, the Secretary of the Treasury may permit the destruction of the product in lieu of exportation. If the owner or consignee does not export the product within a reasonable time, the Department of the Treasury may destroy the product. (f) All expenses (including travel, per diem or subsistence, and salaries of officers or employees of the United States) in connection with the destruction provided for in this section (the amount of such expenses to be determined in accordance with regulations of the Secretary of the Treasury) and all expenses in connection with the storage, cartage, or labor with respect to any consumer product refused admission under this section, shall be paid by the owner or consignee and, in default of such payment, shall constitute a lien against any future importations made by such owner or consignee. 15 U.S.C. 2067 15 U.S.C. 2068 (g) The Commission may, by rule, condition the importation of a consumer product on the manufacturer's compliance with the inspection and recordkeeping requirements of this Act and the Commission's rules with respect to such requirements. EXPORTS SEC. 18. This Act shall not apply to any consumer product if (1) it can be shown that such product is manufactured, sold, or held for sale for export from the United States (or that such product was imported for export), unless such consumer product is in fact distributed in commerce for use in the United States, and (2) such consumer product when distributed in commerce, or any container in which it is enclosed when so distributed, bears a stamp or label stating that such consumer product is intended for export; except that this Act shall apply to any consumer product manufactured for sale, offered for sale, or sold for shipment to any installation of the United States located outside of the United States. PROHIBITED ACTS SEC. 19. (a) It shall be unlawful for any person to(1) manufacture for sale, offer for sale, distribute in commerce, or import into the United States any consumer product which is not in conformity with an applicable consumer product safety standard under this Act; (2) manufacture for sale, offer for sale, distribute in commerce, or import into the United States any consumer product which has been declared a banned hazardous product by a rule under this Act; (3) fail or refuse to permit access to or copying of records, or fail or refuse to make reports or provide information, or fail or refuse to permit entry or inspection, as required under this Act or rule thereunder; (4) fail to furnish information required by section 15 (b); (5) fail to comply with an order issued under section 15 (c) or (d) (relating to notification, and to repair, replacement, and refund); (6) fail to furnish a certificate required by section 14 or issue a false certificate if such person in the exercise of due care has reason to know that such certificate is false or misleading in any material respect; or to fail to comply with any rule under section 14 (c) (relating to labeling); or (7) fail to comply with any rule under section 9(d)(2) (relating to stockpiling). (b) Paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a) of this section shall not apply to any person (1) who holds a certificate issued in accordance with section 14 (a) to the effect that such consumer product conforms to all applicable consumer product safety rules, unless such person knows that such consumer product does not conform, or (2) who relies in good faith on the representation of the manufacturer or a distributor of such product that the product is not subject to an applicable product safety rule. CIVIL PENALTIES SEC. 20. (a) (1) Any person who knowingly violates 15 U.8.C. 2069 section 19 of this Act shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $2,000 for each such violation. Subject to paragraph (2), a violation of section 19 (a) (1), (2), (4), (5), (6), or (7) shall constitute a separate offense with respect to each consumer product involved, except that the maximum civil penalty shall not exceed $500,000 for any related series of violations. A violation of section 19(a)(3) shall constitute a separate violation with respect to each failure or refusal to allow or perform an act required thereby; and, if such violation is a continuing one, each day of such violation shall constitute a separate offense, except that the maximum civil penalty shall not exceed $500,000 for any related series of violations. (2) The second sentence of paragraph (1) of this subsection shall not apply to violations of paragraph (1) or (2) of section 19(a) (A) if the person who violated such paragraphs is not the manufacturer or private labeler or a distributor of the products involved, and (B) if such person did not have either (i) actual knowledge that his distribution or sale of the product violated such paragraphs or (ii) notice from the Commission that such distribution or sale would be a violation of such paragraphs. (b) Any civil penalty under this section may be compromised by the Commission. In determining the amount of such penalty or whether it should be remitted or mitigated and in what amount, the appropriateness of such penalty to the size of the business of the person charged and the gravity of the violation shall be considered. The amount of such penalty when finally determined, or the amount agreed on compromise, may be deducted from any sums owing by the United States to the person charged. (c) As used in the first sentence of subsection (a) (1) of this section, the term "knowingly" means (1) the having of actual knowledge, or (2) the presumed having of knowledge deemed to be possessed by a reasonable man 15 U.S.O. 2070 15 U.S.C. 2071 who acts in the circumstances, including knowledge ob- CRIMINAL PENALTIES SEC. 21. (a) Any person who knowingly and willfully violates section 19 of this Act after having received notice of noncompliance from the Commission shall be fined not more than $50,000 or be imprisoned not more than one year, or both. (b) Any individual director, officer, or agent of a corporation who knowingly and willfully authorizes, orders, or performs any of the acts or practices constituting in whole or in part a violation of section 19, and who has knowledge of notice of noncompliance received by the corporation from the Commission, shall be subject to penalties under this section without regard to any penalties to which that corporation may be subject under subsection (a). INJUNCTIVE ENFORCEMENT AND SEIZURE SEC. 22. (a) The United States district courts shall have jurisdiction to restrain any violation of section 19, or to restrain any person from distributing in commerce a product which does not comply with a consumer product safety rule, or both. Such actions may be brought by the Commission (with the concurrence of the Attorney General) or by the Attorney General in any United States district court for a district wherein any act, omission, or transaction constituting the violation occurred, or in such court for the district wherein the defendant is found or transacts business. In any action under this section process may be served on a defendant in any other district in which the defendant resides or may be found. (b) Any consumer product which fails to conform to an applicable consumer product safety rule when introduced into or while in commerce or while held for sale after shipment in commerce shall be liable to be proceeded against on libel of information and condemned in any United States district court within the jurisdiction of which such consumer product is found. Proceedings in cases instituted under the authority of this subsection shall conform as nearly as possible to proceedings in rem in admiralty. Whenever such proceedings involving substantially similar consumer products are pending in courts of two or more judicial districts they shall be consolidated for trial by order of any such court upon application reasonably made by any party in interest upon notice to all other parties in interest. |