**(a)** The Secretary of the Treasury shall prohibit a check or warrant drawn on public money from being sent to a foreign country from the United States or from a territory or possession of the United States when the Secretary decides that postal, transportation, or banking facilities generally, or local conditions in the foreign country, do not reasonably ensure that the payee—
(1) will receive the check or warrant; and
(2) will be able to negotiate it for full value.
**(b)**
(1) If a check or warrant is prohibited from being sent to a foreign country under subsection (a) of this section, the drawer shall hold the check or warrant until the end of the calendar quarter after the date of the check or warrant.
(2) The Secretary may release the check or warrant for delivery during the calendar quarter after the date of the check or warrant if the Secretary decides that conditions have changed to ensure reasonably that the payee—
(A) will receive the check or warrant; and
(B) will be able to negotiate it for full value.
(3) Unless the Secretary otherwise directs, the drawer shall send at the end of the calendar quarter after the date of the check or warrant the—
(A) withheld check or warrant to the drawee; and
(B) report to the Secretary on—
(i) the name and address of the payee;
(ii) the date, number, and amount of the check or warrant; and
(iii) the account on which the check or warrant was drawn.
(4) The drawee shall transfer the amount of a withheld check or warrant from the account of the drawer to the special deposit account “Secretary of the Treasury, Proceeds of Withheld Foreign Checks”. The check or warrant shall be marked “Paid into Withheld Foreign Check Account”. The Secretary shall credit the accounts of the drawer and drawee.
File SHA-256: 592718e21608632d323fafba8a0d94dde12782107acd83c17c2cbd3e1b145d42. The original may include catalog metadata, neighboring provisions, or embedded records outside this collection's scope. This page displays the selected federal record. Historical editions and unverified snapshots are not a statement of current law.
Authority boundary: historical or unconfirmed source not current law verified.
Stable record: federal_law:legal_authorities:record_usc_5843c94e2cecc64d5e7f8e47 Source file: Laws/federal/codes/united-states-code/title-31/section-3329-withholding-checks-to-be-sent-to-foreign-countries--3ef0dd1713.md Pages: Not recorded – Not recorded Passage SHA-256: 73a01494f8c530a2465c1033aac6e81a1cee7cf96740f3786a5bdcdc3b86ed01 Retained source evidence SHA-256: 592718e21608632d323fafba8a0d94dde12782107acd83c17c2cbd3e1b145d42
Source location: Title 31, Chapter 33, § 3329; chapter-033-depositing-keeping-and-paying-money.md
Stored source content
**(a)** The Secretary of the Treasury shall prohibit a check or warrant drawn on public money from being sent to a foreign country from the United States or from a territory or possession of the United States when the Secretary decides that postal, transportation, or banking facilities generally, or local conditions in the foreign country, do not reasonably ensure that the payee—
(1) will receive the check or warrant; and
(2) will be able to negotiate it for full value.
**(b)**
(1) If a check or warrant is prohibited from being sent to a foreign country under subsection (a) of this section, the drawer shall hold the check or warrant until the end of the calendar quarter after the date of the check or warrant.
(2) The Secretary may release the check or warrant for delivery during the calendar quarter after the date of the check or warrant if the Secretary decides that conditions have changed to ensure reasonably that the payee—
(A) will receive the check or warrant; and
(B) will be able to negotiate it for full value.
(3) Unless the Secretary otherwise directs, the drawer shall send at the end of the calendar quarter after the date of the check or warrant the—
(A) withheld check or warrant to the drawee; and
(B) report to the Secretary on—
(i) the name and address of the payee;
(ii) the date, number, and amount of the check or warrant; and
(iii) the account on which the check or warrant was drawn.
(4) The drawee shall transfer the amount of a withheld check or warrant from the account of the drawer to the special deposit account “Secretary of the Treasury, Proceeds of Withheld Foreign Checks”. The check or warrant shall be marked “Paid into Withheld Foreign Check Account”. The Secretary shall credit the accounts of the drawer and drawee.
**(c)** The Secretary may pay an amount deposited in the special account under subsection (b)(4) of this section with a check drawn on the account when—
(1) a person claiming payment satisfies the Secretary of the right to the amount of the check or warrant (or satisfies the Secretary of Veterans Affairs if the claim represents a payment under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs); and
(2) the Secretary is reasonably ensured that the person—
(A) will receive the check or warrant; and
(B) will be able to negotiate it for full value.
**(d)** This section and [section 3330 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title31-section3330&num=0&edition=prelim)—
(1) apply to a check or warrant whose delivery may be withheld under Executive Order 8389;
(2) do not affect a requirement for a license for delivering and paying a check in payment of a claim under subsection (c) of this section when a license is required by law to authorize delivery and payment; and
(3) do not affect a check or warrant issued for the payment of pay or goods bought by the United States Government in a foreign country.
Cross-references
Connections may be documented source relationships, shared citations or nearby passages. Each explains its basis; a connection alone does not establish applicability to your situation.
Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
§ 3329. Withholding checks to be sent to foreign
countries
(a) The Secretary of the Treasury shall pro-
hibit a check or warrant drawn on public money
from being sent to a foreign country from the
United States or from a territory or possession
of the United States when the Secretary decides
that postal, transportation, or banking facilities
generally, or local conditions in the foreign
country, do not reasonably ensure that the
payee—
(1) will receive the check or warrant; and
(2) will be able to negotiate it for full value.
(b)(1) If a check or warrant is prohibited from
being sent to a foreign country under subsection
(a) of this section, the drawer shall hold the
check or warrant until the end of the calendar
quarter after the date of the check or warrant.
(2) The Secretary may release the check or
warrant for delivery during the calendar quarter
after the date of the check or warrant if the Sec-
retary decides that conditions have changed to
ensure reasonably that the payee—
(A) will receive the check or warrant; and
(B) will be able to negotiate it for full value.
(3) Unless the Secretary otherwise directs, the
drawer shall send at the end of the calendar
quarter after the date of the check or warrant
the—
(A) withheld check or warrant to the drawee;
and
(B) report to the Secretary on—
(i) the name and address of the payee;
(ii) the date, number, and amount of the
check or warrant; and
(iii) the account on which the check or
warrant was drawn.
(4) The drawee shall transfer the amount of a
withheld check or warrant from the account of
the drawer to the special deposit account ‘‘Sec-
Page 245
TITLE 31—MONEY AND FINANCE
§ 3330
retary of the Treasury, Proceeds of Withheld
Foreign Checks’’. The check or warrant shall be
marked ‘‘Paid i