IIB 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1843 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 6, 2017 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

AN ACT 

To amend title 31, United States Code, to prohibit the Internal Revenue Service from carrying out seizures relating 

to a structuring transaction unless the property to be 

seized derived from an illegal source or the funds were 

structured for the purpose of concealing the violation 

of another criminal law or regulation, to require notice 

and a post-seizure hearing for such seizures, and for 

other purposes. 


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HR 1843 RFS

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Clyde-Hirsch-Sowers 

5 RESPECT Act’’ or the ‘‘Restraining Excessive Seizure of 

6 Property through the Exploitation of Civil Asset For7 feiture Tools Act’’. 

8 SEC. 2. INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE SEIZURE REQUIRE9 MENTS WITH RESPECT TO STRUCTURING 

10 TRANSACTIONS. 

11 Section 5317(c)(2) of title 31, United States Code, 

12 is amended— 

13 (1) by striking ‘‘Any property’’ and inserting 

14 the following: 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any property’’; and 

16 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(B) INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE SEI18 ZURE REQUIREMENTS WITH RESPECT TO

19 STRUCTURING TRANSACTIONS.— 

20 ‘‘(i) PROPERTY DERIVED FROM AN IL21 LEGAL SOURCE.—Property may only be 

22 seized by the Internal Revenue Service 

23 pursuant to subparagraph (A) by reason of 

24 a claimed violation of section 5324 if the 

25 property to be seized was derived from an 


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HR 1843 RFS

1 illegal source or the funds were structured 

2 for the purpose of concealing the violation 

3 of a criminal law or regulation other than 

4 section 5324. 

5 ‘‘(ii) NOTICE.—Not later than 30 

6 days after property is seized by the Inter7 nal Revenue Service pursuant to subpara8 graph (A), the Internal Revenue Service 

9 shall— 

10 ‘‘(I) make a good faith effort to 

11 find all persons with an ownership in12 terest in such property; and 

13 ‘‘(II) provide each such person 

14 with a notice of the seizure and of the 

15 person’s rights under clause (iv). 

16 ‘‘(iii) EXTENSION OF NOTICE UNDER

17 CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.—The Internal 

18 Revenue Service may apply to a court of 

19 competent jurisdiction for one 30-day ex20 tension of the notice requirement under 

21 clause (ii) if the Internal Revenue Service 

22 can establish probable cause of an immi23 nent threat to national security or personal 

24 safety necessitating such extension. 


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1 ‘‘(iv) POST-SEIZURE HEARING.—If a 

2 person with a property interest in property 

3 seized pursuant to subparagraph (A) by 

4 the Internal Revenue Service requests a 

5 hearing by a court of competent jurisdic6 tion within 30 days after the date on which 

7 notice is provided under subclause (ii), 

8 such property shall be returned unless the 

9 court holds an adversarial hearing and 

10 finds within 30 days of such request (or 

11 such longer period as the court may pro12 vide, but only on request of an interested 

13 party) that there is probable cause to be14 lieve that there is a violation of section 

15 5324 involving such property and probable 

16 cause to believe that the property to be 

17 seized was derived from an illegal source or 

18 the funds were structured for the purpose 

19 of concealing the violation of a criminal 

20 law or regulation other than section 

21 5324.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. EXCLUSION OF INTEREST RECEIVED IN ACTION TO 

2 RECOVER PROPERTY SEIZED BY THE INTER3 NAL REVENUE SERVICE BASED ON STRUC4 TURING TRANSACTION. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part III of subchapter B of chap6 ter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended 

7 by inserting before section 140 the following new section: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 139G. INTEREST RECEIVED IN ACTION TO RECOVER 

9 PROPERTY SEIZED BY THE INTERNAL REV10 ENUE SERVICE BASED ON STRUCTURING 

11 TRANSACTION. 

12 ‘‘Gross income shall not include any interest received 

13 from the Federal Government in connection with an action 

14 to recover property seized by the Internal Revenue Service 

15 pursuant to section 5317(c)(2) of title 31, United States 

16 Code, by reason of a claimed violation of section 5324 of 

17 such title.’’. 

18 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

19 for part III of subchapter B of chapter 1 of such Code 

20 is amended by inserting before the item relating to section 

21 140 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 139G. Interest received in action to recover property seized by the Internal Revenue Service based on structuring transaction.’’. 


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1 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 this section shall apply to interest received on or after the 

3 date of the enactment of this Act. 

Passed the House of Representatives September 5, 

2017. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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