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Customs and Excise Act 2018

Entry and exit of goods, persons, and craft - Forfeiture, seizure, and condemnation - Seizure

178: Seizure of forfeited goods or goods suspected to be forfeited goods

You could also call this:

"When goods are forfeited, Customs can take them away if they're not allowed in New Zealand or were used to break the law."

Illustration for Customs and Excise Act 2018

If you have goods that are forfeited, a Customs officer or constable can take them away from you. They can also take goods they think might be forfeited. You might be wondering what forfeited goods are - these are goods that someone has lost ownership of, often because they broke the law. A Customs officer or constable can take these goods at any time, depending on why they were forfeited.

If the goods were forfeited because they are not allowed in New Zealand, they can be taken away at any time. If they were forfeited for another reason, they can be taken away within two years of being forfeited. A Customs officer or constable can use reasonable force to take the goods away.

This law applies not just in New Zealand, but also in the contiguous zone, which is an area of sea near New Zealand's coast. However, in the contiguous zone, the law can only be applied in a certain way, as stated in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which you can learn more about by reading article 33 of the Convention. You can also compare this law to a similar law from 1996, s 226(1)–(5), to see how it has changed over time.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM7039433.

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177: Forfeiture to relate back, or

"Forfeited goods are taken straight away when something goes wrong"

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179: Securing seized goods, or

"Keeping seized goods safe until a decision is made about what to do with them"

Part 3Entry and exit of goods, persons, and craft
Forfeiture, seizure, and condemnation: Seizure

178Seizure of forfeited goods or goods suspected to be forfeited goods

  1. A Customs officer or constable may seize—

  2. any forfeited goods; or
    1. any goods that he or she has reasonable cause to suspect are forfeited.

      1. Forfeited goods (other than goods forfeited because they are prohibited goods) may be seized at any time within 2 years after their forfeiture.

      2. Goods that are forfeited because they are prohibited goods may be seized at any time after their forfeiture.

      3. A Customs officer or constable may use all reasonable force to effect the seizure of goods under subsection (1).

      4. This section applies in the contiguous zone as it applies in New Zealand.

      5. The power under this section may be exercised in the contiguous zone only in accordance with article 33 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

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