21 U.S.C. § 971 Notification, Suspension of Shipment, and Penalties With Respect to Importation and Exportation of Listed Chemicals

• Library: United States Statutes
• Edition: 2023 Edition
• Currency: Current through P.L. 118-19 (published on www.congress.gov on 10/06/2023)

(a) Notification prior to transaction

Each regulated person who imports or exports a listed chemical shall notify the Attorney General of the importation or exportation not later than 15 days before the transaction is to take place.

(b) Regular customers or importers

(1) The Attorney General shall provide by regulation for circumstances in which the requirement of subsection (a) does not apply to a transaction between a regulated person and a regular customer or to a transaction that is an importation by a regular importer. At the time of any importation or exportation constituting a transaction referred to in the preceding sentence, the regulated person shall notify the Attorney General of the transaction.

(2) The regulations under this subsection shall provide that the initial notification under subsection (a) with respect to a customer of a regulated person or to an importer shall, upon the expiration of the 15-day period, qualify the customer as a regular customer or the importer as a regular importer, unless the Attorney General otherwise notifies the regulated person in writing.

(c) Suspension of importation or exportation; disqualification of regular customers or importers; hearing

(1) The Attorney General may order the suspension of any importation or exportation of a listed chemical (other than a regulated transaction to which the requirement of subsection (a) does not apply by reason of subsection (b)) or may disqualify any regular customer or regular importer on the ground that the chemical may be diverted to the clandestine manufacture of a controlled substance (without regard to the form of the chemical that may be diverted, including the diversion of a finished drug product to be manufactured from bulk chemicals to be transferred). From and after the time when the Attorney General provides written notice of the order (including a statement of the legal and factual basis for the order) to the regulated person, the regulated person may not carry out the transaction.

(2) Upon written request to the Attorney General, a regulated person to whom an order applies under paragraph (1) is entitled to an agency hearing on the record in accordance with subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5. The hearing shall be held on an expedited basis and not later than 45 days after the request is made, except that the hearing may be held at a later time, if so requested by the regulated person.

(d) Information required in notice; updated notice for change in circumstances

(1)

(A) Information provided in a notice under subsection (a) or (b) shall include the name of the person to whom the importer or exporter involved intends to transfer the listed chemical involved, and the quantity of such chemical to be transferred.

(B) In the case of a notice under subsection (b) submitted by a regular importer, if the transferee identified in the notice is not a regular customer, such importer may not transfer the listed chemical until after the expiration of the 15-day period beginning on the date on which the notice is submitted to the Attorney General.

(C) After a notice under subsection (a) or (b) is submitted to the Attorney General, if circumstances change and the importer or exporter will not be transferring the listed chemical to the transferee identified in the notice, or will be transferring a greater quantity of the chemical than specified in the notice, the importer or exporter shall update the notice to identify the most recent prospective transferee or the most recent quantity or both (as the case may be) and may not transfer the listed chemical until after the expiration of the 15-day period beginning on the date on which the update is submitted to the Attorney General, except that such 15-day restriction does not apply if the prospective transferee identified in the update is a regular customer. The preceding sentence applies with respect to changing circumstances regarding a transferee or quantity identified in an update to the same extent and in the same manner as such sentence applies with respect to changing circumstances regarding a transferee or quantity identified in the original notice under subsection (a) or (b).