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Arms Act 1983

Miscellaneous provisions - Other miscellaneous provisions

66D: Obligations of owner or operator of craft temporarily visiting New Zealand and carrying firearms, etc

You could also call this:

"Rules for visiting boats with guns in New Zealand"

Illustration for Arms Act 1983

If you are visiting New Zealand with a boat from another country and you have firearms on board, you must tell the New Zealand Customs Service about them. You do this by including details of the firearms in a notice of arrival as required by section 12 of the Customs and Excise Act 2018 or in an inward report as required by section 24 of the Customs and Excise Act 2018. You must also follow any directions given by the New Zealand Customs Service or the Police about storing the firearms safely. If you do not follow these directions, the Police or a Customs officer can board your boat and take the firearms. They can use reasonable force to do this. The Police or Customs officer can also give you directions about how to store the firearms, which might include giving them to the Police or Customs temporarily. In this situation, "arms items" means things like firearms, pistols, and ammunition. The meaning of "craft", "operator", and "owner" is explained in section 5(1) of the Customs and Excise Act 2018. You must comply with these rules if you are visiting New Zealand with a boat that has firearms on board.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS368855.

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Topics:
Transport and travel > BoatingCrime and justice > Police and safety
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Part 9Miscellaneous provisions
Other miscellaneous provisions

66DObligations of owner or operator of craft temporarily visiting New Zealand and carrying firearms, etc

  1. If a craft arriving from a foreign country is, at any time, temporarily berthed, moored, or anchored in any harbour or territorial waters of New Zealand, and has on board any arms items that are not being off-loaded, the owner or operator of the craft must—

  2. include details of all arms items on board the craft—
    1. in an advance notice of arrival that is required to be provided to the New Zealand Customs Service by section 12 of the Customs and Excise Act 2018; or
      1. in an inward report that is required to be provided to the New Zealand Customs Service by section 24 of the Customs and Excise Act 2018; and
      2. comply with any directions given by the New Zealand Customs Service or a member of the Police relating to the secure storage of those arms items, which may include a direction that the arms items be temporarily surrendered to a member of the Police or a Customs officer.

        1. If the owner or operator of a craft does not comply with any direction given under subsection (1)(b), a member of the Police or a Customs officer may—

        2. board the craft; and
          1. seize and detain the arms items; and
            1. in effecting the seizure and detention of the arms items, use any reasonably necessary force.

              1. In this section,—

                arms items means any firearms, pistols, restricted airguns, prohibited items, restricted weapons, pistol carbine conversion kits, or ammunition

                  craft has the meaning given in section 5(1) of the Customs and Excise Act 2018

                    operator has the meaning given in section 5(1) of the Customs and Excise Act 2018

                      owner has the meaning given in section 5(1) of the Customs and Excise Act 2018.

                      Notes
                      • Section 66D: inserted, on , by section 95 of the Arms Legislation Act 2020 (2020 No 23).