19 CFR 148.83
§ 148.83 Diplomatic and consular bags.
United States · 19 CFR — Customs Duties · Status: effective
Cite this
- Citation
- 19 CFR 148.83, § 148.83 Diplomatic and consular bags, United States, version 1 as recorded 2026-07-09, yourstate.us, https://yourstate.us/provision/74848
- Permanent ID
ys:prov:74848@1- SHA-256
61dbbab2effa0c534015e30dd83e0b70f2e1e36d594f2de7efe11b5a1fb01765
The hash is SHA-256 of this version's text, with every run of whitespace collapsed to a single space and the ends trimmed. The ID always leads back here, and checking it says whether the text you cited is still the current version.
Full text
(a) Diplomatic bags. The contents of diplomatic bags are restricted to diplomatic documents and articles intended exclusively for official use and packages constituting the diplomatic bag must bear visible marks of their character. Diplomatic bags shall not be opened or detained nor shall they be subject to duty or entry.
(b) Consular bags. Consular bags must bear visible external marks of their character and their contents are restricted to official correspondence and documents or articles intended exclusively for official use. Consular bags shall not be subject to duty and ordinarily shall not be opened or detained. However, if Customs officers have serious reason to believe that a consular bag contains other than permissible materials, they may request that the bag be opened in their presence by an authorized representative of the foreign government concerned. If this request is refused, the consular bag shall be returned to its place of origin.
Legislative history
This is a federal regulation, adopted through agency rulemaking under the Administrative Procedure Act — not enacted by a recorded vote of Congress.