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Customs and Excise Act 2018

Final and miscellaneous provisions - Offences - Offences in relation to information

368: Offences in relation to declarations and documents that are known to be faulty

You could also call this:

"Lying on customs forms or giving fake documents is against the law"

Illustration for Customs and Excise Act 2018

If you make a declaration under this Act, knowing it is false, you commit an offence. You also commit an offence if you give a Customs officer a document that is not genuine, knowing it is not genuine. This includes documents that have mistakes in important details, which you know about.

If you commit this offence, you can be punished when convicted. As an individual, you could be imprisoned for up to 6 months or fined. The fine can be up to $10,000 or three times the value of the goods involved, whichever is greater.

If you are a company, you can be fined if you commit this offence. The fine can be up to $50,000 or three times the value of the goods involved, whichever is greater. You can compare this to the 1996 No 27 s 204(4), (5) for more information.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM7039832.

Topics:
Crime and justice > Criminal lawMoney and consumer rights > Consumer protectionBusiness > Industry rules
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367: Offence in relation to documents that are not genuine, or

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Part 6Final and miscellaneous provisions
Offences: Offences in relation to information

368Offences in relation to declarations and documents that are known to be faulty

  1. A person commits an offence if the person—

  2. makes a declaration under this Act, knowing the declaration is false:
    1. produces or delivers to a Customs officer any document that is not genuine, knowing that it is not genuine:
      1. produces or delivers to a Customs officer any document that is erroneous in any material particular, knowing that it is erroneous.

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

        2. in the case of an individual,—
          1. to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months; or
            1. to a fine not exceeding the greater of the following:
              1. $10,000:
                1. an amount equal to 3 times the value of the goods to which the offence relates:
              2. in the case of a body corporate, to a fine not exceeding the greater of the following:
                1. $50,000:
                  1. an amount equal to 3 times the value of the goods to which the offence relates.

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