distraint.

SEC. 3190. When distraint is made, as aforesaid, the Proceedings on officer charged with the collection shall make or cause to be made an account of the goods or effects distrained, a copy of which, signed by the officer making such distraint, shall be left with the owner or possessor of such goods or effects, or at his dwelling or usual place of business, with some person of suitable age and discretion, if any such can be found, with a note of the sum demanded, and the time and place of sale; and the said officer shall forthwith cause a notification to be published in some newspaper within the county wherein said distraint is made, if a newspaper is published in said county, or to be publicly posted at the post-office, if there be one within five miles, nearest to the residence of the person whose property shall be distrained, and in not less than two other public places. Such notice shall specify the articles distrained, and the time and place for the sale thereof. Such time shall not be less than ten nor more than twenty days from the date of such notification to the owner or possessor of the property and the publication or posting of such notice as herein provided, and the place proposed for the sale shall not be more than five miles distant from the place of making such distraint. Said sale may be adjourned from time to time by said officer, if he deems it advisable, but not for a time to exceed in all thirty days.

Collectors enjoined against unnecessary delays in making sales, providing against postponement beyond the statutory period, and as to making reports promptly. (T. D. 623, Jan. 23, 1903.)

traint is subject

SEC. 3191. When property subject to tax, but upon when property which the tax has not been paid, is seized upon distraint sold under dis and sold, the amount of such tax shall, after deducting the to tax, and tax expenses of such sale, be first appropriated out of the not paid. proceeds thereof to the payment of the tax. And if no assessment of such tax has been made upon such property, the collector shall make a return thereof in the form required by law, and the Commissioner of Internal Revenue shall assess the tax thereon.

As taxes are now paid by stamps, assessments under the last clause are rarely necessary. (See sec. 3458, p. 362.)

sold under dis

for

United States,

SEC. 3192. When any property advertised for sale When property under distraint, as aforesaid, is of a kind subject to tax, raint may be and the tax has not been paid, and the amount bid for purchased such property is not equal to the amount of the tax, the etc. collector may purchase the same in behalf of the United States for an amount not exceeding the said tax. All property so purchased may be sold by the collector, under such regulations as may be prescribed by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. The collector shall render to the Commissioner a distinct account of all charges incurred in such sales, and, in case of sale, shall pay into the Treasury the surplus, if any there be, after defraying all lawful charges and fees.

Property distrained to be restored on

SEC. 3193. In any case of distraint for the payment of pay-the taxes aforesaid, the goods, chattels, or effects so ment before sale. distrained shall be restored to the owner or possessor, if, prior to the sale, payment of the amount due is made to the proper officer charged with the collection, together with the fees and other charges; but in case of nonpayment as aforesaid, the said officer shall proceed to sell the said goods, chattels, or effects at public auction, (and shall retain from the proceeds of such sale the amount demandable for the use of the United States, and a commission of five per centum thereon for his own use, with the fees and charges for distraint and sale, rendering the overplus, if any there be, to the person who may be entitled to receive the same.)

Effect of certifi

cate of sale.

When property distrained is not divisible.

The clause in parenthesis is obsolete in view of subsequent legislation.

Section 3193 was amended by the act of May 27, 1908, to the extent that overplus can not be returned to legal owner by a collector, but must be deposited as internal-revenue collections. (Int. Rev. Cir. No. 725; T. D. 1373.)

Allowances for salary and office expenses of collectors are in lieu of salary and commissions formerly provided by law, except a commission of one-half of one per centum on sales of tax-paid spirit stamps is allowed where the office is less than maximum. See secs. 3148, p. 63, and 3314, p. 208.

SEC. 3194. In all cases of sale, as aforesaid, the certificate of such sale shall be prima-facie evidence of the right of the officer to make such sale, and conclusive evidence of the regularity of his proceedings in making the sale, and shall transfer to the purchaser all right, title, and interest of such delinquent in and to the property sold; and where such property consists of stocks, said certificate shall be notice, when received, to any corporation, company, or association of said transfer, and shall be authority to such corporation, company, or association to record the same on their books and records in the same manner as if transferred or assigned by the party holding the same, in lieu of any original or prior certificates, which shall be void, whether canceled or not. And said certificates, where the subject of sale is securities or other evidences of debt, shall be good and valid receipts to the person holding the same, as against any person holding, or claiming to hold, possession of such securities or other evidences of debt.

SEC. 3195. When any property liable to distraint for taxes is not divisible, so as to enable the collector by a sale of part thereof to raise the whole amount of the tax, with all costs, charges, and commissions, the whole of such property shall be sold, and the surplus of the proceeds of the sale, after satisfying the tax, costs, and charges, shall be paid to the person legally entitled to receive the same; or, if he can not be found, or refuses to receive the same, shall be deposited in the Treasury of the United States, to be there held for his use until he makes application therefor to the Secretary of the Treasury, who, upon such application and satisfactory proofs in support thereof,

shall, by warrant on the Treasury, cause the same to be paid to the applicant.

The act of May 27, 1908 (35 Stat., 325), in effect amends this section by providing that the gross amount of proceeds shall be deposited in the Treasury.

Surplus proceeds of sales can not in any case be returned to legal owner by a collector, but must be deposited as internalrevenue collections. Claims for surplus proceeds in cases where persons entitled to receive same are not known at time of sale, will be made and paid as heretofore. (Cir. 725; T. D. 1373.) SEC. 3196. When goods, chattels, or effects sufficient to When real es satisfy the taxes imposed upon any person are not found by the collector or deputy collector, he is authorized to collect the same by seizure and sale of real estate.

tate may be sold to satisfy taxes.

seizure and sale

SEC. 3197 [as amended by sec. 3, act of Mar. 1, 1879 (20 Proceedings for Stat., 327)]. The officer making the seizure mentioned in of real estate for the preceding section shall give notice to the person whose taxes. estate it is proposed to sell by giving him in hand, or leaving at his last or usual place of abode, if he has any such within the collection-district where the said estate is situated, a notice, in writing, stating what particular estate is to be sold, describing the same with reasonable certainty, and the time when and place where said officer proposes to sell the same; which time shall not be less than twenty nor more than forty days from the time of giving said notice. The said officer shall also cause a notification to the same effect to be published in some newspaper within the county where such seizure is made, if any such there be, and shall also cause a like notice to be posted at the post-office nearest to the estate seized, and in two other public places within the county; and the place of said sale shall not be more than five miles distant from the estate seized, except by special order of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. At the time and place appointed, the officer making such seizure shall proceed to sell the said estate at public auction, offering the same at a minimum price, including the expense of making such levy, and all charges for advertising and an officer's fee of ten dollars. When the real estate so seized consists of several distinct tracts or parcels, the officer making sale thereof shall offer each tract or parcel for sale separately, and shall, if he deem it advisable, apportion the expenses, charges, and fees aforesaid to such several tracts or parcels, or to any of them, in estimating the minimum price aforesaid. If no person offers for said estate the amount of said minimum price, the officer shall declare the same to be purchased by him for the United States; otherwise the same shall be declared to be sold to the highest bidder.

And in case the same shall be declared to be purchased for the United States, the officer shall immediately transmit a certificate of the purchase to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, and, at the proper time, as hereafter provided, shall execute a deed therefor, after its preparation and the indorsement of approval as to its form by

Purchases for United States.

Adjournment of

sale.

Deeds.

the United States district attorney for the district in which the property is situate, and shall without delay cause the same to be duly recorded in the proper registry of deeds, and immediately thereafter shall transmit such deed to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue.

And said sale may be adjourned from time to time by said officer for not exceeding thirty days in all, if he shall think it advisable so to do. If the amount bid shall not be then and there paid, the officer shall forthwith proceed to again sell said estate in the same manner.

And it is hereby provided, That all certificates of purchase, and deeds of property purchased by the United States under the internal-revenue laws, on sales for taxes, or under executions issued from United States courts, which now are, or hereafter may be, found in the office of any collector, United States marshal, or United States district attorney, shall be immediately transmitted by such officers respectively to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue.

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(1) Seizure of real property.-Unless required by statute, a levy or seizure of real property for the purpose of sale to satisfy a debt or tax may be made without going upon the premises, by making a memorandum upon the warrant of the description of the premises for the purpose of a levy and sale.

(2) Sale of real property.—A deputy collector of internal revenue, to whom a warrant was directed for the collection of a delinquent tax due from A, levied upon 330 acres of land belonging to A, when said tax became due, by entering upon said warrant a correct description of the premises, by metes and bounds, but at the same time incorrectly stated therein that they were in the occupation of B, who lived over 2 miles distant from the premises, and afterwards offered the premises which said B lived on for sale upon the erroneous assumption that they were the premises of A, upon which he levied as above, and there being no bidders, declared the same purchased for the United States, for the amount of the tax, interest thereon, and charges. Held that there was no valid sale of the premises, and that the United States took nothing by the subsequent conveyance to it from the collector. (United States v. Hess, 5 Sawyer, 533; 25 Int. Rev. Rec., 201, 240.)

When real estate is offered for sale under warrant of distraint and is bid in for the United States, the amount bid should be for no larger sum than is necessary to prevent the sale for an inadequate price. (T. D. 1654.)

If property is bid in for an amount equal to the tax it extinguishes the debt, and suit can not be maintained on the bond. (United States v. Triplett, 22 Int. Rev. Rec., 207.)

Bill in equity by party not in possession to remove cloud from title to land purchased by United States not authorized unless State Statutes authorize it. (Wilson v. United States, 118 U. S., 86.)

It is a general rule that in the execution of a power to sell lands for nonpayment of taxes a strict compliance with all the material requirements of the statute authorizing the sale is required.

Regarding the seizure and sale of real estate for taxes. (Reg. No. 12, Rev., p. 41; United States v. Mackoy, 2 Dill., 299; Mansfield v. Excelsior Refining Co., 135 U. S., 326; 36 Int. Rev. Rec., 165.)

Offers for real estate to be deposited as internal-revenue collections. (Act May 27, 1908; T. D. 1373.)

The officer's fee of $10 for making the sale of real estate under distraint proceedings is no longer allowed. (See sec. 3206; T. D. 1373.)

SEC. 3197a. [An act to regulate the manner in which proprty shall be sold under orders and decrees of any United States courts (act of Mar. 3, 1893, 27 Stat., 751).] That all real estate or any interest in land sold under any order or decree of any United States Court shall be sold at public sale at the Court-house of the county, parish, or city in which the property, or the greater part thereof, is located, or upon the premises, as the court rendering such order or decree of sale may direct.

SEC. 2. That all personal property sold under any order Sale of personal or decree of any Court of the United States shall be sold property. as provided in the first section of this act, unless in the opinion of the court rendering such order or decree, it would be best to sell it in some other manner.

Publication of

SEC. 3. That hereafter no sale of real estate under any notice of sale of order, judgment, or decree of any United States Court real estate. shall be had without previous publication of notices of such proposed sale being ordered and had once a week for at least four weeks prior to such sale in at least one newspaper printed, regularly issued and having a general circulation in the county and State where the real estate proposed to be sold is situated, if such there be. If said. property shall be situated in more than one county or State, such notice shall be published in such of the counties where said property is situated, as the court may direct. Said notice shall, among other things, describe the real estate to be sold. The court may, in its discretion, direct the publication of the notice of sale herein provided for to be made in such other papers as may seem proper.

of purchase. Deed.

Bill for advertising must be made on Form 153 approved by the Comptroller December 29, 1909. (Regulations No. 2, rev., p. 48.) SEC. 3198. Upon any sale of real estate, as provided Certificate in the preceding section, and the payment of the purchase money, the officer making the seizure and sale shall give to the purchaser a certificate of purchase, which shall set forth the real estate purchased, for whose taxes the same was sold, the name of the purchaser, and the price paid therefor; and if the said real estate be not redeemed in the manner and within the time hereafter provided, the said collector or deputy collector shall execute to the said purchaser, upon his surrender of said certificate, a deed of the real estate purchased by him as aforesaid, reciting the facts set forth in said certificate, and in accordance with the laws of the State in which such real estate is situate upon the subject of sales of real estate under execution.