Medicines Act 1981

Enforcement

86: Courts may order withdrawal of goods from circulation

You could also call this:

"Courts can stop bad medicines or devices being sold if the law is broken"

If you make or import medicines or medical devices and you break the law, a court can order you to stop selling them. The court can do this if you are found guilty of an offence against section 61 or other related laws. You will have to fix the problem before you can start selling them again. If the court makes this order, the Director-General will publish the details in the Gazette. Then, anyone who has the same medicines or devices will have to stop selling them too. They can either return them to the supplier or fix the problem themselves. You can get back the costs of fixing the problem or returning the medicines from the person who supplied them. The court can also order you to stop using certain containers or advertising material if you break the law. The Director-General can publish details of the offence in the Gazette if you are found guilty of certain laws, including sections 57, 58, and 61.

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This page was last updated on 27 October 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM56086.

Topics:

Health and wellbeing > Public healthHealth and wellbeing > Healthcare servicesMoney and consumer rights > Consumer protection

85: Forfeiture on conviction, or

"What happens to things when someone breaks a medicines rule and gets convicted"

87: Notification of conviction of practitioners, etc, or

"When medical workers break the law, the court tells their organisation"

Part 5Enforcement

86Courts may order withdrawal of goods from circulation

If any person who manufactures, packs, or imports medicines of any description, or medical devices of any kind, is convicted of an offence against section 61 in respect of medicines of that description, or medical devices of that kind, the court may in its discretion order that person to withdraw from sale all medicines of that description, or medical devices of that kind, until the matter in relation to which the offence was committed has been remedied.
If the court makes an order under subsection (1), the Director-General shall cause particulars of the order and of the offence in relation to which the order was made to be published in the Gazette; and thereupon every distributor, wholesaler, or retailer who has possession of any medicines of the same description, or medical devices of the same kind, that are packed and labelled in the same way as the medicines or medical devices in relation to which the offence was committed shall withdraw them from sale, and may—
return them to the person who supplied them; or
remedy the matter in relation to which the offence was committed.

Every distributor, wholesaler, or retailer who takes action in accordance with paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) of subsection (2) may recover all the costs and expenses incurred in so acting (including, if action is taken under the said paragraph (a), the purchase price of the medicines or medical devices) from the person who supplied them as a debt due by that person to the distributor, wholesaler, or retailer.
Without limiting subsection (1), if any person referred to in that subsection is convicted of an offence against any of the provisions of sections 57, 58, and 61 in respect of any container, or of any advertising material or labelling material, the court may in its discretion order that person to withdraw from use all containers or material of the same description until the matter in relation to which the offence was committed has been remedied; and in any such case subsections (2) and (3) shall apply with any necessary modifications.
Where any person referred to in subsection (1) is convicted of an offence against any of sections 57, 58, and 61, the Director-General may cause particulars of the offence and a description of the substances or articles in relation to which the offence was committed to be published in the Gazette.

Compare

1969 No 7 s 35