322.2—Export certificates; instructions concerning issuance.
(a)
Upon application of the exporter, the inspector in charge is authorized to issue official export certificates for shipments of inspected and passed product to any foreign country. Certificates should be issued at the time the products leave the official establishment; if not issued at that time they may be issued later only after identification and reinspection of the products.
(b)
Official export certificates shall be issued with serial numbers and in triplicate form. Quadruplicate certificates may be issued for any exportation on request of the exporter. Each certificate shall show the names of the exporter and the consignee, the destination, the number and types of packages, the shipping marks, the kinds of products, and the weight of the products in accordance with § 317.2 of this subchapter.
(c)
Only one certificate shall be issued for each consignment, except that for sufficient reasons new certificates in lieu of the original certificates may be issued. A certificate issued in lieu of another shall show in the left hand margin the notation “Issued in lieu of * * *”, and the number of the certificate which is superseded. The certificate that is superseded when another is issued in lieu thereof, shall if available, be surrendered to the inspector in charge and marked by him to show in the left hand margin the number of the certificate which supersedes it, as follows: “Superseded by No. __”.
(d)
The original of the certificate shall be delivered to the shipper and may be furnished by him to the consignee for purposes of effecting the entry of product into the foreign country of destination.
(e)
The duplicate of the certificate shall be delivered to the shipper and shall be delivered by the shipper to the agent of the railroad or other carrier which transports the consignment from the United States otherwise than by water, or to the chief officer of the vessel on which the export shipment is made, or to the vessel's agent and shall be used only by such carrier and only for the purpose of effecting the transportation of the consignment certified. The chief officer of the vessel or the vessel's agent, shipper or shipper's agent shall file such duplicate with the Customs officer within four (4) business days of the clearance of the vessel at the time of filing the complete manifest. In the interim period, the vessel will be cleared by Customs on the basis of a statement, under the shipper's or agent's letterhead, containing the number of boxes, the number of pounds, the product name and the USDA export certificate number that covers the shipment of the product. No clearance shall be given to a vessel carrying meat products unless either the duplicate of the certificate or the prescribed statement referencing the certificate has been presented to Customs.
(g)
Under no circumstances shall the original or the triplicate of such certificate be used for the purpose prescribed by paragraph (e) of this section for the duplicate.
(h)
Upon request, official export certificates may be issued by inspectors for export consignments of product of official establishments not under their supervision, provided the consignments are first identified as having been “U.S. inspected and passed” and are found to be neither adulterated nor misbranded, and marked as required by § 322.1.