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Customs and Excise Act 2018

Final and miscellaneous provisions - Offences - Miscellaneous provisions relating to offences

395: Liability of principal and agent

You could also call this:

"When someone works for you, you're responsible for their actions and can get in trouble if they do something wrong."

Illustration for Customs and Excise Act 2018

If you are the boss of someone who does things for you under the Customs and Excise Act 2018, you are responsible for what they do. This means if they do something wrong, you can get in trouble too. You can be liable for penalties, which are like fines, even if the person who did the wrong thing is not in New Zealand.

When someone does something for you, what they know or want is also considered to be what you know or want. This includes people who work for the person who does things for you, people who help them, or people who follow their instructions.

If someone says they are acting for you, but they are not really, they can still get in trouble as if they were you, and they might have to pay penalties, you can check the 1996 No 27 s 218 to compare this with an earlier law.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM7039872.

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Part 6Final and miscellaneous provisions
Offences: Miscellaneous provisions relating to offences

395Liability of principal and agent

  1. Every declaration made, or other act done, by an agent in the course of his or her agency (whether or not that agent is in New Zealand) in relation to any matter under this Act is treated as also having been made or done by the agent's principal, and the principal is liable accordingly to the penalties imposed under this Act.

  2. For the purposes of this section,—

  3. the knowledge or intent of the agent is imputed to the principal in addition to the principal's own knowledge or intent:
    1. the following are treated as also being the agent of the principal:
      1. an employee of the agent:
        1. a person carrying out any function of or for the agent:
          1. a person acting under the instruction of the agent.

          2. If any person (A) acts or purports to act as the agent of any other person in relation to any matter under this Act, A is liable to the same penalties as if A were the principal for whom A acts or purports to act.

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