U.S. Customs Service proposes to amend its regulations to clarify the responsibilities of importers of food, drugs, devices, and cosmetics under customs entry bond, and to provide a reasonable period of time to allow the Food and Drug Administration to perform its enforcement functions with respect to these articles. The proposed amendments provide for a specific conditional-release period for any food, drug, device or cosmetic that has been released under bond and for which admissibility is to be determined under the provisions of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. The proposed amendment also clarifies the amount of liquidated damages that may be assessed when there is a breach of the terms and conditions of the customs bond. The document also proposes to amend the customs regulations to authorize any representative of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to obtain a sample of any food, drug, device or cosmetic, the importation of which is governed by section 801 of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Comments must be received on or before August 6, 2002. For a copy of the proposed regulations and additional information on submitting comments, click http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2002_register&docid=02-14286-filed.

U.S. Customs Services proposes to amend its regulations pertaining to the importation of merchandise bearing a counterfeit mark to clarify the limit on the amount of a civil fine which may be assessed by Customs when merchandise bearing a counterfeit mark is imported. The regulations currently use, as a measurement for determining the limit, the domestic value of merchandise as if it had been genuine, based on the manufacturer's suggested retail price of the merchandise at the time of seizure. The proposed regulation will base the limit of the civil fine on the value of the genuine goods according to the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP), without any reference to domestic value. Comments must be received on or before August 6, 2002. For a copy of the proposed regulations and additional information on how to submit comments, click http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2002_register&docid=02-14287-filed.