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Customs and Excise Act 2018

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

378: False allegation or report to Customs officer with intention of diverting deployment of Customs personnel, etc

You could also call this:

"Making a false report to trick or distract Customs officers is against the law."

Illustration for Customs and Excise Act 2018

If you make a false statement to someone, like a Customs officer, you might be in trouble. You will be in trouble if you do this on purpose to distract the Customs officers or waste their time, and your statement makes someone worried about their safety or someone else's safety. You know your statement is not true, and that is against the law.

If you behave in a way that makes someone worried about their safety, or someone else's safety, you might be in trouble too. You will be in trouble if you know there is no real reason to be worried, but you do it anyway to distract the Customs officers or waste their time.

You can get in trouble with the law if you do these things, and you might have to go to prison for up to 3 months or pay a fine of up to $5,000 if you are found guilty, you can compare this to the 1996 law to see how it has changed.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM7039844.

Topics:
Crime and justice > Criminal lawTransport and travel > Border control
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377: Obstructing Customs officer or interfering with Customs property, or

"Don't stop Customs officers or damage their things, or you could get in trouble with the law."

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379: Killing or injuring Customs dog, or

"Hurting or killing a Customs dog on purpose is against the law"

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

378False allegation or report to Customs officer with intention of diverting deployment of Customs personnel, etc

  1. A person commits an offence if the person, with the intention of diverting deployment or causing wasteful deployment of Customs personnel or resources, or being reckless as to that result,—

  2. makes a false statement to any person that gives rise to serious apprehension for that person’s own safety or the safety of any other person or property, knowing that the statement is false; or
    1. behaves in a manner that is likely to give rise to serious apprehension for the safety of any person or property, knowing that the apprehension would be groundless.

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

      2. imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months; or
        1. a fine not exceeding $5,000.

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