Copyright Act 1994

Border protection measures - Enforcement powers of Customs officers

144C: Customs officer may apply for production order

You could also call this:

"A Customs officer can ask you to show documents if they think you have information about a crime."

You can be asked to show documents if a Customs officer thinks you have documents that are evidence of a crime against the law. The Customs officer must apply to a District Court Judge for an order to make you show the documents. The application must be in writing and follow certain rules. You might have documents about imported goods that could help investigate a crime. The Customs officer needs to explain why they want to see the documents and what documents they want to see. The application must also be made on oath, which means the Customs officer must promise they are telling the truth. The Customs officer is looking for documents that might help with a case about crimes like those mentioned in section 131, 198, or 226C. The application must be in a certain form and have all the required information. The Customs officer must give details about the documents they want to see.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM4127266.

This page was last updated on 3 December 2025 — View changes

Topics:

Crime and justice > Police and safetyCrime and justice > Courts and legal helpMoney and consumer rights > Consumer protection

144B: Chief executive may require person to appear and answer questions concerning goods in control of Customs, or

"Chief executive can ask you to answer questions about goods that might break the law"

144D: Judge may order documents to be produced, or

"A judge can order someone to show important papers to help solve a crime."

Part 7Border protection measures
Enforcement powers of Customs officers

144CCustoms officer may apply for production order

If a Customs officer believes on reasonable grounds that a person has in his or her possession, custody, or control, 1 or more documents that are evidence of, or may be of significant relevance to the investigation of, an offence against section 131, 198, or 226C in respect of imported goods, the Customs officer may apply to a District Court Judge for an order requiring the person to produce the documents for inspection by a Customs officer.
An application by a Customs officer for an order under subsection (1) must—
be in writing; and
be in the prescribed form (if any); and
be made on oath; and
set out, in reasonable detail, the grounds for the application; and
provide details of the documents in respect of which the order is sought.

Notes

Section 144C: inserted, on 7 October 2011, by section 10 of the Copyright Amendment Act 2011 (2011 No 72).