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Customs and Excise Act 2018

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

382: Unauthorised presence in certain Customs-controlled areas

You could also call this:

"Going into restricted areas at airports or ports without permission is against the law"

Illustration for Customs and Excise Act 2018

If you enter a special area without permission, you might be breaking the law. This area is called a specified Customs-controlled area and it is used for things like checking goods that come into New Zealand, or for people arriving or leaving the country. You can find more information about checking goods under section 227.

If you go into one of these areas without a good reason or without a Customs officer saying it is okay, you are committing an offence. A Customs officer might tell you to leave the area, and if you do not leave without a good reason, you are also committing an offence.

If you break the law in this way, you could have to pay a fine of up to $1,000.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM7039848.

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Crime and justice > Police and safetyTransport and travel > Air travelGovernment and voting > Border control
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Part 6Final and miscellaneous provisions
Offences: Offences in relation to Customs

382Unauthorised presence in certain Customs-controlled areas

  1. In this section, specified Customs-controlled area means a Customs-controlled area that is licensed to be used for—

  2. the temporary holding of imported goods for the purpose of examining those goods under section 227; or
    1. the disembarkation, embarkation, or processing of persons arriving in, or departing from, New Zealand; or
      1. the processing of craft arriving in, or departing from, New Zealand; or
        1. the loading or unloading of goods onto or from craft arriving in, or departing from, New Zealand.

          1. A person commits an offence if the person, without the permission of a Customs officer or a reasonable excuse, enters into a specified Customs-controlled area that is being, or is about to be, used for any of the purposes for which it is licensed as a Customs-controlled area.

          2. A person commits an offence if the person—

          3. is directed by a Customs officer to leave a specified Customs-controlled area that is being, or is about to be, used for any of the purposes for which the area is licensed as a Customs-controlled area; and
            1. without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with the direction.

              1. A person who commits an offence under this section is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000.

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