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Customs and Excise Act 2018

Final and miscellaneous provisions - Offences - Interference with goods or cargo

359: Interference with goods

You could also call this:

"Don't touch goods that Customs is in charge of without permission"

Illustration for Customs and Excise Act 2018

If you alter goods that Customs is in charge of without a Customs officer's permission or a good reason, you are doing something wrong. This includes changing the condition of the goods, interfering with them, unpacking or repacking them, or moving them from a place where a Customs officer told you to store them. You must have permission or a reasonable excuse to do these things.

If you do not have permission or a reasonable excuse and you alter, interfere with, unpack, repack, or move goods that Customs is in charge of, you can get in trouble. You can be fined if you break this rule. The fine can be up to $5,000 if you are an individual, or up to $25,000 if you are a company.

This rule is similar to a rule in the 1996 legislation.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM7039821.

Topics:
Money and consumer rights > Importing and exportingCrime and justice > Police and safety
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360: Interference with cargo, or

"Don't touch imported goods until they're cleared by Customs"

Part 6Final and miscellaneous provisions
Offences: Interference with goods or cargo

359Interference with goods

  1. A person commits an offence if the person, without the permission of a Customs officer or reasonable excuse,—

  2. alters any goods (including the condition of any goods) that are subject to the control of Customs; or
    1. interferes with any goods that are subject to the control of Customs; or
      1. unpacks or repacks any goods that are subject to the control of Customs; or
        1. removes any goods that are subject to the control of Customs from any place in which a Customs officer has directed that the goods be stored.

          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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