Customs and Excise Act 2018

Preliminary provisions - Definitions, application, and transitional provision

6: Definition: subject to the control of Customs

You could also call this:

"What 'under the control of Customs' means in New Zealand"

Illustration for Customs and Excise Act 2018

When you bring goods into New Zealand, they are under the control of Customs. This means Customs can check and manage the goods. You can find more information about what happens when goods are removed from a Customs-controlled area under a conditional permit or other authorisation in section 85(1)(b). Goods are also under the control of Customs when they are on board a craft that is subject to section 191 and is in New Zealand.

Goods that are made in a manufacturing area are under the control of Customs from the time they are made. This lasts until the goods are either removed for use in New Zealand or they leave the country. If you are a passenger on a domestic flight or boat, any goods you have with you are under the control of Customs from when you start your journey.

This control ends when you lawfully take the goods out of a Customs-controlled area at the end of your journey. The same rules apply if you are a domestic passenger on a flight or boat. For domestic cargo that is not covered by the passenger rules, the goods are under the control of Customs from when they are brought into a Customs-controlled area.

This control lasts until the goods are lawfully removed from the area.

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This page was last updated on 1 October 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM7039191.

Topics:

Money and consumer rights > Importing and exportingTransport and travel > Border controlBusiness > Import and export rules

5: Definitions for Act, or

"What special words in the law mean"

7: Application of Act to postal articles, or

"How the law applies to letters and parcels sent through the post."

Part 1Preliminary provisions
Definitions, application, and transitional provision

6Definition: subject to the control of Customs

For the purposes of this Act, goods are subject to the control of Customs,—
if the goods are imported goods,—
1. from the time of importation:
2. until the time when the goods are lawfully removed for home consumption or exportation from a Customs-controlled area:
if the goods are lawfully removed from a Customs-controlled area under a conditional permit or other authorisation granted under section 85(1)(b),—
1. from the time of their removal:
2. until the time when the chief executive is satisfied that the conditions of the permit or other authorisation have been met:
if the goods are to be exported (whether or not under drawback) and are in a package in relation to which a Customs-approved export seal has been used,—
1. from the time when the seal is first used:
2. until the goods depart from New Zealand:
if the goods are to be exported (whether or not under drawback) under a Customs-approved secure exports scheme,—
1. from the time when the goods are first secured in a Customs-approved secure package:
2. until the goods depart from New Zealand:
if the goods are to be exported under drawback,—
1. from the earlier of the following:
  1. the time of the claim for drawback:
  2. the time when the goods are brought into a Customs-controlled area or a CASE (whether or not the goods are later transported from that area to another area of any kind, and, if the goods are so transported, during the transportation):
2. until the goods depart from New Zealand:
if the goods are to be exported otherwise than under drawback,—
1. from the time when the goods are brought into a Customs-controlled area or a CASE (whether or not the goods are later transported from that area to another area of any kind, and, if the goods are so transported, during the transportation):
2. until the goods depart from New Zealand:
if the goods are on board any craft to which section 191 applies, at all times that the craft is within New Zealand:
if the goods are Part A goods that are manufactured in a manufacturing area,—
1. from the time of manufacture:
2. until—
  1. the goods are removed for home consumption; or
  2. the goods depart from New Zealand, if that occurs without the goods having been removed for home consumption:
if the goods are owned by, or in the possession of, an internationally ticketed passenger who is using air or sea travel for a domestic sector,—
1. from the time, at the commencement of the domestic sector, when the goods are—
  1. brought into a Customs-controlled area that is licensed to be used for the disembarkation, embarkation, or processing of persons arriving in, or departing from, New Zealand; or
  2. accepted for transportation by an airline or a shipping company:
2. until the time, at the end of the domestic sector, when the goods are lawfully removed from a Customs-controlled area that is licensed to be used for the disembarkation, embarkation, or processing of persons arriving in, or departing from, New Zealand:
if the goods are owned by, or in the possession of, a domestic passenger who is using air or sea travel for a domestic sector,—
1. from the time, at the commencement of the domestic sector, when the goods are—
  1. brought into a Customs-controlled area that is licensed to be used for the disembarkation, embarkation, or processing of persons arriving in, or departing from, New Zealand; or
  2. accepted for transportation by an airline or a shipping company:
2. until the time, at the end of the domestic sector, when the goods are lawfully removed from a Customs-controlled area that is licensed to be used for the disembarkation, embarkation, or processing of persons arriving in, or departing from, New Zealand:
if the goods are domestic cargo to which neither paragraph (i) nor paragraph (j) applies,—
1. from the time when the goods are brought into a Customs-controlled area at a Customs place:
2. until the time when the goods are lawfully removed from that or any other Customs-controlled area.

Compare

s 20(1)