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Customs and Excise Act 2018

Customs powers - Powers in relation to goods

234: Failure to produce or account for goods

You could also call this:

"Breaking the rules about showing or explaining what happened to goods can get you in trouble"

Illustration for Customs and Excise Act 2018

If you do not comply with a requirement under section 232, section 233, or section 237(2), you commit an offence. You must follow these rules or you will be in trouble. This is because the law says you have to do what you are told in these situations.

If you are taken to court for not following the rules, you can say you did not do anything wrong if you can prove you did not have the goods or you had a good reason for not following the rules. You have to show that you did not have the goods or that something stopped you from following the rules. This is your chance to explain what happened.

If you are found guilty, you will have to pay a fine. If you are an individual, the fine can be up to $5,000, and if you are a company, the fine can be up to $25,000. You will have to pay this money because you broke the law. The court will decide how much you have to pay.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM7039526.

Topics:
Money and consumer rights > Consumer protectionBusiness > Industry rules
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233: Production of goods, or

"Showing customs officers the goods you have in a special area when they ask"

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235: Temporary removal of goods from Customs-controlled area, or

"Borrowing goods from a Customs area for a short time without paying duty"

Part 4Customs powers
Powers in relation to goods

234Failure to produce or account for goods

  1. A person commits an offence if the person fails to comply with a requirement imposed on the person under—

  2. section 232; or
    1. section 233; or
      1. section 237(2).

        1. It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence under this section if the defendant proves that he or she—

        2. did not have possession or control of the goods; or
          1. was otherwise, for good reason, unable to comply with the requirement.

            1. A person who commits an offence under this section is liable on conviction,—

            2. in the case of an individual, to a fine not exceeding $5,000:
              1. in the case of a body corporate, to a fine not exceeding $25,000.

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