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Trade Marks Act 2002

Legal proceedings - Border protection measures - Enforcement powers of Customs officers

155G: Issue of search warrants to Customs officers

You could also call this:

"Customs officers can ask for permission to search places for things that break import rules"

You can ask a Customs officer to get a search warrant if they need to look for something in a place or object. The Customs officer can ask a judge or other official for this warrant.

The judge or official can give the warrant if they think there's a good reason to believe that there's something in that place or object that shows someone broke the rules about bringing things into the country. These rules are in sections 120 to 124 of the law.

When the Customs officer gets the warrant and uses it, they have to follow certain rules. These rules are in sections 134G to 134S of the law, but they might need to be changed a bit to fit this situation.

If the Customs officer takes anything during the search, they have to follow more rules. These rules are in sections 134T to 134W. When following these rules, whenever it says 'chief executive', it means the person in charge of the New Zealand Customs Service.

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This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM4124779.

Topics:
Business > Intellectual propertyImmigration and citizenship > Border control
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Part 4Legal proceedings
Border protection measures: Enforcement powers of Customs officers

155GIssue of search warrants to Customs officers

  1. A Customs officer may apply for a search warrant to search a place or thing.

  2. Any District Court Judge, Justice of the Peace, Community Magistrate, or Registrar of the District Court (the issuing officer) may, on an application by a Customs officer, issue a warrant if the issuing officer is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing that there is in, on, over, or under the place or thing any thing that is evidence of, or of significant relevance to the investigation of, an offence against any of sections 120 to 124 in respect of imported goods.

  3. Sections 134G to 134S apply with all necessary modifications in respect of every search warrant applied for and issued under this section.

  4. Sections 134T to 134W apply with all necessary modifications in respect of any thing seized under a search warrant issued under this section, and in applying those provisions every reference to the chief executive must be read as a reference to the chief executive of the New Zealand Customs Service.

Notes
  • Section 155G: inserted, on , by section 23 of the Trade Marks Amendment Act 2011 (2011 No 71).
  • Section 155G(2): amended, on , by section 261 of the District Court Act 2016 (2016 No 49).