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30 1954

EXCHANGE CONTROL ACT, 1954

PART VI.

Enforcement.

Application of the Customs Acts:

18. —(1) The Customs Acts shall, subject to such modifications, if any, as may be prescribed to adapt them to this Act, apply, in relation to any thing prohibited to be imported or exported by any of the provisions of this Act except with the permission of the Minister, as they apply in relation to goods prohibited to be imported or exported by or under any of the said Acts, and any reference in the said Acts to goods shall be construed as including a reference to any thing prohibited to be imported or exported by any of the provisions of this Act except with the permission of the Minister.

(2) References in this section to the Customs Acts shall be taken as including references to section 14 of the Post Office (Parcels) Act, 1882 (which, as amended by section 7 of the Post Office (Amendment) Act, 1951 (No. 17 of 1951), applies the Customs Acts to goods contained in foreign parcels and postal packets and provides that goods may be examined, seized and forfeited accordingly) and to section 18 of the Post Office Act, 1908 (which enables the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs to detain and forward to the Revenue Commissioners for opening and detention for the purpose of prosecution any postal packet suspected to contain contraband goods).

(3) Any declaration required to be given under section 17 shall, for the purposes of section 168 of the Customs Consolidation Act, 1876 (under which making false declarations in matters relating to customs is an offence), be deemed to be a declaration in a matter relating to customs.

Search and seizure.

19. —(1) Without prejudice to any powers conferred by the Customs Acts, a person (in this section referred to as the traveller) who, on any occasion, is about to leave the State or arrives in the State shall, if on that occasion he is required to do so by an officer of customs and excise or an authorised officer—

(a) declare whether or not he has with him any thing prohibited to be imported or exported by any of the provisions of this Act except with the permission of the Minister, and

(b) produce any such thing as aforesaid which he has with him.

(2) The officer may examine or search any article which the traveller has with him for the purpose of ascertaining whether he is conveying or has in his possession any such thing and, if the officer has reasonable grounds for suspecting that the traveller has about his person any such thing, he may search the traveller, and the officer may seize any thing produced as aforesaid or found upon such examination or search as aforesaid as to which the officer has reasonable grounds for suspecting that it is prohibited to be imported or exported by any of the provisions of this Act except with the permission of the Minister, unless the traveller produces evidence showing that he is exporting or importing the thing in accordance with this Act.

(3) A female shall not be searched in pursuance of this section except by a female.

Offences, prosecutions and punishments.

20. —(1) Every person who contravenes (whether by act or omission) or attempts so to contravene any provision of, or any restriction or requirement imposed by or under, this Act shall be guilty of an offence under this section.

(2) Every person who aids, abets, assists, counsels or procures another person, or conspires with another person, to commit an offence under this section, shall himself be guilty of an offence under this section.

(3) Every person who, knowing that another person has committed an offence under this section, gives that person any assistance with intent thereby to prevent, hinder or interfere with the apprehension, trial or punishment of that other person for the offence shall himself be guilty of an offence under this section.

(4) Where an offence under this section or an offence consequent on section 18 is committed by a body corporate and is proved to have been so committed with the consent or approval of, or to have been facilitated by any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary, or other officer of such body corporate, such director, manager, secretary, or other officer shall also be guilty of the offence.

(5) Every person who, being ordinarily resident in the State, commits, whether within or without the State, an offence under this section and every person who, not being ordinarily resident in the State, commits within the State an offence under this section shall—

(a) on summary conviction of the offence, be liable to a fine not exceeding five hundred pounds (together with, in the case of a continuing offence, a further fine not exceeding ten pounds for every day on which the offence is continued) or, at the discretion of the Court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both such fine and imprisonment, or

(b) on conviction of the offence on indictment, be liable to a fine not exceeding five thousand pounds (together with, in the case of a continuing offence, a further fine not exceeding fifty pounds for every day on which the offence is continued) or, at the discretion of the Court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

(6) Where a person is convicted of an offence under this section, the Court may, in addition to the punishment to which such person is liable under subsection (5) of this section, direct that any currency, any security, any gold, any goods or any other property, in relation to or by means of which the offence was committed, be forfeited, and anything so forfeited shall be disposed of in such manner as the Minister may direct.

(7) An offence consequent upon section 18 shall not be punishable under this section.

Continued non-compliance.

21. —(1) Where—

(a) a person is convicted of an offence under section 20 by reason of his failure, neglect or refusal to comply with any provision requiring him to perform a specified act within a specified period or before a specified date, and

(b) the act remains, after the date of such conviction, unperformed by him,

that person shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding ten pounds for each day on which the act remains unperformed by him or, at the discretion of the Court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

(2) An offence under this section shall be a continuing offence and accordingly fresh proceedings in respect thereof may be taken from time to time.

Summary proceedings.

22. —Proceedings in the District Court in relation to an offence under section 20 or 21 may be brought and prosecuted by the Minister.