Act 008 of 1878 : Sea Customs Act, 1878

Section 1. Short title

Chapter 1 - Preliminary

1. Short title.-This Act may be called the Sea Customs Act, 1878.

Local extent, commencement.-It extends to the whole of India ¹ [* * *] and shall come into force on the first day of April, 1878.

Section 2. [Repealed]

2. Repeal of Enactments. References to enactments repealed. Saving of appointments, etc.-[Repealed by the Repealing Act, 1938 (1 of 1938), Section 2 and Schedule.]

Section 3. Interpretation

3. Interpretation.-In this Act, unless there be something repugnant in the subject or context,-

¹[(a) "Chief Customs-authority" means the Central Board of Revenue constituted under the Central Board of Revenue Act, 1924 (4 of 1924), and includes, in relation to any power or duty which the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, transfer from the Central Board of Revenue ² [and entrust to a State Government or to an officer of a State Government under ³ [Article 258(1) of the Constitution], such Government or officer, as the case may be]:]

(b) "Chief Customs-officer" denotes the Chief Executive Officer of Sea-customs for any port to which this Act applies:

(c) "Customs-collector" includes every officer of Customs for the time being in separate charge of a custom-house, or duly authorized to perform all, or any special, duties of an officer so in charge:

(d) "customs-port" means any place ⁴ [* * *] declared under Section 11 to be a port for the shipment and landing of goods:

⁵[(e) "foreign port" means any place not within the territory of India:

⁶[* * *]

(f) "vessel" includes anything made for the conveyance by water of human beings or property:

(g) "coasting vessel" denotes any vessel proceeding from one customs-port to another customs-port, whether touching at any intermediate foreign port or not, or proceeding from or to a customs-port to or from a place declared to be a port under Section 12:

⁷[(gg) "Indian customs waters" means the waters extending into the sea to a distance of twelve nautical miles measured from the appropriate base line on the coast of India:]

(h) "master", when used in relation to any vessel, means any person, except a pilot or harbour-master, having command or charge of such vessel:

(i) "warehousing port" means any customs-port declared under Section 14 to be a warehousing port:

(j) "warehouse" denotes any place appointed or licensed under Section 15 or Section 16.

⁸[* * *]

Section 3-A. Power to define customs frontiers

¹[3-A. Power to define customs frontiers.-The Central Government may by ²notification in the Official Gazette, define the customs frontiers of India.]

Section 4. Agent of owner of goods to be deemed owner for certain purposes

4. Agent of owner of goods to be deemed owner for certain purposes.-When any person is expressly or impliedly authorized by the owner of any goods to be his agent in respect of such goods for all or any of the purposes of this Act, and such authorization is approved by the Customs-collector, such person shall, for such purposes, be deemed to be the owner of such goods.

Section 5. When ship's agent may act for master

5. When ship's agent may act for master.-Anything which a master is required or empowered to do under this Act may, with the express or implied consent of such master and the approval of the Customs-collector, be done by a ship's agent.

Section 6. Appointment of Customs-officers

Chapter 2 - Appointment and Powers of Officers, etc.

¹[6. Appointment of Customs-officers.-The Central Government may appoint such persons as it thinks fit to be officers of Customs and to exercise the powers conferred, and perform the duties imposed, by this Act on such officers.]

Section 7. [Repealed]

7. Delegation of powers under Section 6.-[Repealed by the A. O. 1937.]

Section 8. Performance of duties of Customs-collector, where no custom-house

8. Performance of duties of Customs-collector, where no custom-house.-At any place for which there is no custom-house, the Collector of the district and the officers sub-ordinate to him shall, unless the ¹ [Central Government] otherwise directs, perform all duties imposed by this Act on a Customs-collector and other officers of Customs.

Section 9. Power to make rules

9. Power to make rules.-The Chief Customs-authority may from time to time ¹ [* * *] makes rules consistent with this Act-

(a) prescribing and limiting the powers and duties of officers of Customs;

(b) regulating the delegation of their duties by such officers; and

(c) generally to carry out the provisions of this Act.

Section 10. Customs-officers exempted from service on jury or inquest or as assessors

10. Customs-officers exempted from service on jury or inquest or as assessors.-No Chief Customs-authority or Chief Customs-officer, and no other officer of Customs whom such Chief authority or Chief officer deems it necessary to exempt on grounds of public duty, shall be compelled to serve on any jury or inquest, or as an assessor.

Section 11. Power to appoint ports, wharves and custom-houses

Chapter 3 - Appointment of Ports, Wharves, Custom-Houses, Warehouses and Boarding and Landing Stations

11. Power to appoint ports, wharves and custom-houses.-¹ [The Chief Customs-authority] may from time to time, by notification in the Official Gazette,

(a) declare the places ² [* * *] which alone shall be ports for the shipment and landing of goods;

(b) declare the limits of such ports;

(c) appoint proper places therein to be wharves for the landing and shipping of goods, or of particular classes of goods;

(d) declare the limits of any such wharf;

(e) alter the name of any such port or wharf; and

(f) declare what shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be a custom-house, and the limits thereof.

Section 12. Power to declare places to be ports for coasting-trade

12. Power to declare places to be ports for coasting-trade.-¹ [The Chief Customs-authority] may also from time to time in like manner declare places to be ports for the carrying on of coasting-trade with customs-ports, or with any specified customs-port, and for no other purpose.

Section 13. Power to declare that foreign ports shall be regarded as customs-ports for certain purposes

13. Power to declare that foreign ports shall be regarded as customs-ports for certain purposes.-The Central Government may from time to time direct, by notification in the Official Gazette, that all goods or any specified class of goods imported from or exported to any foreign port to or from a customs-port shall, with such limitations and on such conditions (if any) as it thinks fit, be treated for any of the purposes of this Act as goods imported from or exported to a customs-port, as the case may be.

Section 14. Power to declare warehousing ports

14. Power to declare warehousing ports.-¹ [The Chief Customs-authority] may from time to time declare, by notification in the Official Gazette, that any customs-port shall be a warehousing port for the purposes of this Act.

Section 15. Power to appoint public warehouses

15. Power to appoint public warehouses.-At any warehousing port¹, the ² [Chief Customs-Officer] may, from time to time, appoint public warehouses wherein dutiable goods may be deposited without payment of duty on the first importation thereof, and may cancel such appointment.

Section 16. Power to license private warehouses

16. Power to license private warehouses.-At any warehousing port¹, the Chief Customs-officer may from time to time license private warehouses² wherein dutiable goods may be deposited as aforesaid.

Every application for a license for a private warehouse shall be in writing, and shall be drawn up in such form as is from time to time prescribed by the ³ [Chief Customs-officer], and shall be signed by the applicant.

Every license granted under this section may be cancelled on conviction of the licensee of any offence under this Act relating to warehouses, unless it is otherwise provided in the license, or on the expiration of one month's notice in writing given to the licensee by the Chief Customs-officer.

[Ed.-Section 34 of Arms Act, 1959 provides:

34. Sanction of Central Government for warehousing of arms.-Notwithstanding anything contained in the Sea Customs Act, 1878 (8 of 1878), no arms or ammunition shall be deposited in any warehouse licensed under Section 16 of that Act without the sanction of the Central Government.]

Section 17. Stations for Customs-officers to board and land

17. Stations for Customs-officers to board and land.-The ¹ [Chief Customs-officer] may from time to time appoint, in or near any customs-port, stations or limits at or within which vessels arriving at, or departing from, such port shall bring-to for the boarding or landing of officers of Customs, and may, unless separate provision therefor has been made under the Indian Ports Act, 1875 (12 of 1875)², direct at what particular place in any such port vessels, not brought into port by pilots, shall anchor or moor.

Section 18. Prohibitions

Chapter 4 - Prohibitions and Restrictions of Importation and Exportation

18. Prohibitions.-No goods specified in the following clauses shall be brought, whether by land or sea, into ¹ [India]:-

²[* * *]

(b) counterfeit coin: or coin which purports to be ³ [Indian coin], or to be coin made under the Native Coinage Act, 1876 (9 of 1876), but which is not of the established standard in weight or fineness:

(c) any obscene book, pamphlet, paper, drawing, painting, representation, figure or article:

⁴[(d) goods having applied thereto a false trade mark within the meaning of Section 77 of the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958;

(dd) goods having applied thereto a false trade description within the meaning of clause (f) of sub-section (1) of Section 2 of the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958, otherwise than in relation to any of the matters specified in sub-clauses (ii) and (iii) of clause (u) of that sub-section;]

(e) goods made or produced beyond the limits of ⁵ [India], and having applied thereto any name or trade-mark being, or purporting to be, ⁶ [* * *] the name or trade-mark of any person who is a manufacturer, dealer or trader in ⁷ [India], unless-

(i) the name or trade-mark is, as to every application thereof, accompanied by a definite indication of the goods having been made or produced in a place beyond the limits of ⁸ [India], and

(ii) ⁹ [the country in which that place is situated is] in that indication indicated in letters as large and conspicuous as any letter in the name or trade-mark, and ¹⁰ [in the English language]:]

¹¹[(f) piece-goods manufactured outside India, such as are ordinarily sold by length or by the piece, if each piece has not been conspicuously marked-

(i) with the name of the manufacturer, exporter, or wholesale purchaser in India, of the goods, and

(ii) with the real length of the piece in ¹² [standard yards or in standard metres], inscribed in the international form of numerals:]

¹³[(ff) goods made or produced beyond the limits of ¹⁴ [India] and intended for sale, and having applied thereto, a design in which copyright exists under the Indian Patents and Designs Act, 1911, in respect of the class to which the goods belong or any fraudulent or obvious imitation of such design except when the application of such design has been made with the license or written consent of the registered proprietor of the design:]

¹⁵[(g) matches made with white phosphorus:]

¹⁶[(h) goods which are required by a notification under Section 117 of the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958, to have applied to them an indication of the country or place in which they were made or produced or the name and address of the manufacturer or the person for whom the goods were manufactured, unless such goods show such indication applied in the manner specified in the notification;]

¹⁷[(i) cotton yarn manufactured outside India, such as is ordinarily imported in bundles, if each bundle containing such yarn has not been conspicuously marked-

(i) with the name of the manufacturer, exporter, or wholesale purchaser in India, in India, of the goods, and

(ii) with an indication of the weight and the count of the yarn contained in it, in accordance with the rules made ¹⁸ [under Section 75 of the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958]:

(j) cotton sewing, darning, crochet or handicraft thread manufactured outside India, if each of the units in which the thread is supplied has not been conspicuously marked-

(i) with the name of the manufacturer, exporter, or wholesale purchaser in India, of the goods, and

(ii) with the length or weight of the thread contained in it and in such other manner as is required by the rules made ¹⁹ [under Section 75 of the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958].]

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Prior to amendment by Act 43 of 1958, Section 18 read as:

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18. Prohibitions.-No goods specified in the following clauses shall be brought, whether by land or sea, into ²⁰ [India]:-

²¹[* * *]

(b) counterfeit coin: or coin which purports to be ²² [Indian coin], or to be coin made under the Native Coinage Act, 1876 (9 of 1876), but which is not of the established standard in weight or fineness:

(c) any obscene book, pamphlet, paper, drawing, painting, representation, figure or article:

²³[(d) goods having applied thereto a counterfeit trade-mark within the meaning of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860), or a false trade-description within the meaning of the Indian Merchandise Marks Act, 1889 (4 of 1889):

(e) goods made or produced beyond the limits of ²⁴ [India], and having applied thereto any name or trade-mark being, or purporting to be, ²⁵ [* * *] the name or trade-mark of any person who is a manufacturer, dealer or trader in ²⁶ [India], unless-

(i) the name or trade-mark is, as to every application thereof, accompanied by a definite indication of the goods having been made or produced in a place beyond the limits of ²⁷ [India], and

(ii) ²⁸ [the country in which that place is situated is] in that indication indicated in letters as large and conspicuous as any letter in the name or trade-mark, and ²⁹ [in the English language]:]

³⁰[(f) piece-goods manufactured outside India, such as are ordinarily sold by length or by the piece, if each piece has not been conspicuously marked-

(i) with the name of the manufacturer, exporter, or wholesale purchaser in India, of the goods, and

(ii) with the real length of the piece in standard yards, inscribed in the international form of numerals:]

³¹[(ff) goods made or produced beyond the limits of ³² [India] and intended for sale, and having applied thereto, a design in which copyright exists under the Indian Patents and Designs Act, 1911, in respect of the class to which the goods belong or any fraudulent or obvious imitation of such design except when the application of such design has been made with the license or written consent of the registered proprietor of the design:]

³³[(g) matches made with white phosphorus:]

³⁴[(h)] goods which are required by a notification under Section 12-A of the Indian Merchandise Marks Act, 1889 (4 of 1889), to have applied to them an indication of the country or place in which they were made or produced, unless such goods show such indication applied in the manner specified in the notification:]

³⁵[(i) cotton yarn manufactured outside India, such as is ordinarily imported in bundles, if each bundle containing such yarn has not been conspicuously marked-

(i) with the name of the manufacturer, exporter, or wholesale purchaser in India, in India, of the goods, and

(ii) with an indication of the weight and the count of the yarn contained in it, in accordance with the rules made under Section 20 of the Indian Merchandise Marks Act, 1889 (4 of 1889):

(j) cotton sewing, darning, crochet or handicraft thread manufactured outside India, if each of the units in which the thread is supplied has not been conspicuously marked-

(i) with the name of the manufacturer, exporter, or wholesale purchaser in India, of the goods, and

(ii) with the length or weight of the thread contained in it and in such other manner as is required by the rules made under Section 20 of the Indian Merchandise Marks Act, 1889.]

Section 19. Power to prohibit or restrict importation or exportation of goods

19. Power to prohibit or restrict importation or exportation of goods.-The Central Government may from time to time, by notification in the Official Gazette, prohibit or restrict the bringing or taking by sea or by land goods of any specified description into or out of ¹ [India] ² [across any customs frontier as defined by the Central Government].

Section 19-A. Detention and confiscation of goods whose importation is prohibited

¹[19-A. Detention and confiscation of goods whose importation is prohibited.-(1) Before detaining any such goods as are or may be specified in or under Section 18 or Section 19, as the case may be, or taking any further proceedings with a view to the confiscation thereof under this Act, the Chief Customs-officer or other officer appointed by the ² [Chief Customs-authority] in this behalf may require the regulations under this section, whether as to information, security, conditions or other matters, to be complied with, and may satisfy himself in accordance with those regulations that the goods are such as are prohibited to be imported.

(2) The Central Government may make regulations, either general or special, respecting the detention and confiscation of goods the importation of which is prohibited, and the conditions, if any, to be fulfilled before such detention and confiscation, and may by such regulations determine the information, notices and security to be given, and the evidence requisite for any of the purposes of this section and the mode of verification of such evidence.

(3) Where there is on any goods a name which is identical with, or a colourable imitation of, the name of a place in the United Kingdom, ³ [⁴ [India] or ⁵ [Burma]], that name, unless accompanied in equally large and conspicuous letters, ⁶ [in the English language], by the name of the country in which such place is situate, shall be treated for the purposes of Sections 18 and 19 as if it were the name of a place in the United Kingdom, ⁷ [⁸ [India] or ⁹ [Burma]].

(4) Such regulations may apply to all goods the importation of which is prohibited by Section 18 or under Section 19, or different regulations may be made respecting different classes of such goods or of offences in relation to such goods.

(5) The regulations may provide for the informant reimbursing any public officer and the ¹⁰ [Central Government] all expenses and damages incurred in respect of any detention made on his information, and of any proceedings consequent on such detention.

¹¹[(6) All regulations under this section shall be published in the Gazette of India and, with the consent of the State Government concerned, in the Official Gazette of each State.]]

Section 20. Goods dutiable

Chapter 5 - Levy of, and Exemption from, Customs-Duties

20. Goods dutiable.-¹ [(1)] Except as hereinafter provided, customs-duties shall be levied at such rates as may be prescribed by or under any ²law for the time being in force, on-

(a) goods imported or exported by sea into or from any customs-port from or to any foreign port;

(b) opium, salt or salted fish imported by sea from any customs-port into any other customs-port;

(c) goods brought from any foreign port to any customs-port, and without payment of duty, there transhipped for, or thence carried to, and imported at, any other customs-port; and

(d) goods brought in bond from one customs-port to another.

³[ * * *]

⁴[(2) The provisions of sub-section (1) shall apply in respect of all goods belonging to the ⁵ [Government of a State] and used for the purposes of a trade or business of any kind carried on by, or on behalf of, that Government, or of any operations connected with such trade or business as they apply in respect of goods not belonging to any Government.

⁶[Explanation.-In this sub-section, "State" does not include a Union Territory.]]

Section 21. Goods partially composed of dutiable articles

21. Goods partially composed of dutiable articles.-Except as otherwise expressly provided by any law for the time being in force, goods whereof any article liable to duty under this Act forms a part or ingredient shall be chargeable with the full duty which would be payable on such goods if they were entirely composed of such article, or, if composed of more than one article liable to duty, then with the full duty which would be payable on such goods if they were entirely composed of the article charged with the highest rate of duty.

Section 22. Power to fix tariff-values

22. Power to fix tariff-values.-The Central Government may from time to time, by notification in the Official Gazette, fix, for the purpose of levying duties, tariff-values of any goods exported or imported by sea on which customs-duties are by law imposed, and alter any such values fixed by any Tariff Act¹ for the time being in force.

Section 23. General power to exempt from customs-duties

23. General power to exempt from customs-duties.-The Central Government may from time to time, by notification in the Official Gazette, exempt any goods imported into, or exported from, ¹ [India], or into or from any specified port therein, from the whole or any part of the customs-duties leviable on such goods.

²[Power to authorize, in special cases, exemption from duty.-The Chief Customs-authority] may, ³ [with the previous sanction of the Central Government], by special order in each case, exempt from the payment of duty, under circumstances of an exceptional nature, to be stated in such order, any goods on which customs-duties are leviable.

Section 24. Baggage in actual use

24. Baggage in actual use.-The Customs-collector may, subject to any general rules relating to the landing and shipping of passengers' baggage and the passing of the same through the custom-house, which may be made under Section 75 pass free of duty any baggage in actual use, and for this purpose may determine, subject to any such rules, whether any goods shall be treated as baggage in actual use, or as goods subject to duty.

Section 25. Re-imported articles of country-produce

25. Re-imported articles of country-produce.-If good produced or manufactured in ¹ [India] be imported into any customs-port from any foreign port, such goods shall be liable to all the duties, conditions and restrictions (if any) to which goods of the like kind and value not so produced or manufactured are liable on the first importation thereof:

Provided that, if such importation takes place within three years after the exportation of such goods, and it is proved to the satisfaction of the Customs-collector that the property in such goods has continued in the person by whom, or on whose account, they were exported, the goods may be admitted ² [without payment of duty if no drawback in respect of the goods has been allowed under Section 43-B and on payment of duty equal to the amount of the drawback if drawback has been allowed under that section].

Section 26. Excise-duty on importation of certain country-goods

26. Excise-duty on importation of certain country-goods.-Any goods produced or manufactured in ¹ [India] which have been exported therefrom, and on the exportation of which any drawback of excise has been received, shall on being imported into any customs-port, be subjected, unless the ² [Chief Customs-officer] in any particular case otherwise directs by special order, to payment of excise duty, at the rate to which goods of the like kind and quality are liable at such port.

Section 27. Goods derelict and wreck

27. Goods derelict and wreck.-All goods derelict, jetsam, flotsam and wreck, brought or coming into any place in ¹ [India], shall be subject to the same duties, if any, to which goods of the like kind are for the time being subject on importation at any customs-port, and shall in other respects be dealt with as if they were imported from a foreign port, unless it be shown to the satisfaction of the Customs-Collector that such goods are the produce or manufacture of any place from which they are entitled to be admitted duty-free.

Section 28. Country-provisions and stores may be shipped free of duty

28. Country-provisions and stores may be shipped free of duty.-Provisions and stores produced or manufactured in ¹ [India], required for use on board of any vessel proceeding to any foreign port, may be shipped free of duty, whether of customs or excise, in such quantities as the Customs-collector determines with reference to the tonnage of the vessel, the numbers of the crew and passengers, and the length of the voyage on which the vessel is about to depart:

Provided that no rum shall be so shipped on any vessel going on a voyage of less than thirty day' probable duration.

Section 29. Owner to declare real value, etc., of goods in bill of entry or shipping bill

29. Owner to declare real value, etc., of goods in bill of entry or shipping bill.-On the importation into, or exportation from, any customs-port of any goods, whether liable to duty or not, the owner of such goods shall, in his bill of entry or shipping bill, as the case may be, state the real value, quantity and description of such goods to the best of his knowledge and belief, and shall subscribe a declaration of the truth of such statement at the foot of such bill.

Power to require production of invoice, etc.-In case of doubt, the Customs-collector may require any such owner or any other person in possession of any invoice, broker's note, policy of insurance or other document, whereby the real value, quantity or description of any such goods can be ascertained, to produce the same, and to furnish any information relating to such value, quantity or description which it is in his power to furnish. And thereupon such person shall produce such document and furnish such information:

Provided that, if the owner makes and subscribed a declaration before the Customs-collector, to the effect that he is unable, from want of full information, to state the real value or contents of any case, package or parcel of goods, then the Customs-collector shall permit him, previous to the entry thereof, (1) to open such case, package or parcel, and examine the contents in presence of an officer of Customs, or (2) to deposit such case, package or parcel in a public warehouse appointed under Section 15 without warehousing the same, pending the production of such information.

Section 29-A. Assessment of duty prior to examination of goods

¹[29-A. Assessment of duty prior to examination of goods.-Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, goods chargeable to duty may, prior to the examination thereof, be permitted by the Customs-collector to be assessed for the purposes of this Act on the basis of the statement contained in the bill of entry or shipping bill, as the case may be, but if it is found subsequently on an examination of the goods or otherwise, that any such statement is not true in respect of any matter relevant to the assessment, the goods may, without prejudice to any other action which may be taken under this Act, be reassessed to duty.

Section 29-B. Provisional assessment of duty

29-B. Provisional assessment of duty.-(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, but without prejudice to the provisions contained in Section 29,-

(a) where the owner of any goods makes and subscribes a declaration before the Customs-collector to the effect that he is unable for want of full information to state precisely the real value or quantity of such goods in a bill of entry or a shipping bill, as the case may be; or

(b) where the owner of any goods has furnished full information in regard to the real value or quantity of the goods but the Customs-collector requires further proof in respect thereof; or

(c) where the Customs-collector deems it expedient to subject any goods liable to duty, to any chemical or other test,

the Customs-collector may direct that the duty leviable on such goods may, pending the production of such information or proof or pending the completion of any such test, be assessed provisionally in accordance with, and subject to the provisions of, this section and any rules made thereunder.

(2) When the owner of any goods in respect of which the duty has been assessed provisionally under sub-section (1) has paid such duty, the officer of Customs may make an order allowing the goods to be cleared for home consumption or shipped or water borne to be shipped for exportation, as the case may be, and such order shall be sufficient authority for the removal of the goods by the owner.

(3) When the duty leviable on such goods is assessed finally in accordance with the provisions of this Act, the duty provisionally assessed under sub-section (1) shall be adjusted against the duty finally assessed, and if the duty provisionally assessed falls short of, or is in excess of, the duty finally assessed, the owner of the goods shall pay the deficiency or be entitled to a refund, as the case may be.

(4) The Chief Customs-authority may, subject to the condition of previous publication, make rules for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this section and, in particular, such rules may provide for-

(a) the circumstances in which, and the restrictions, and conditions subject to which, duty may be provisionally assessed on any goods and the manner in which such duty may be so assessed;

(b) the furnishing of any security for the payment of the deficiency, if any, between the duty finally assessed, and the duty provisionally assessed; and

(c) the final assessment of duty, where the owner of the goods fails to furnish full information within a specified period regarding the real value or quantity of the goods.

(5) All rules made under this section shall be laid before both Houses of Parliament, as soon as may be, after they are made.]

Section 30. "Real value" defined

30. "Real value" defined.-For the purposes of this Act the real value shall be deemed to be-

(a) the wholesale cash price, less trade discount, for which goods of the like kind and quality are sold, or are capable of being sold, at the time and place of importation or exportation, as the case may be, without any abatement or deduction whatever, except (in the case of goods imported) of the amount of the duties payable on the importation thereof: or

(b) where such price is not ascertainable, the cost at which goods of the like kind and quality could be delivered at such place, without any abatement or deduction except as aforesaid.

Section 31. Examination of ad valorem goods

31. Examination of ad valorem goods.-Goods chargeable with duty upon the value thereof, but for which a specific value is not fixed by law for the purpose of levying duties thereon, shall, without unnecessary delay, be examined by an officer of Customs. If it appears that the real value of such goods is correctly stated in the bill of entry or shipping bill, the goods shall be assessed in accordance therewith.

Section 32. Procedure where such goods are under-valued by owner

32. Procedure where such goods are under-valued by owner.-If it appears that such goods are properly chargeable with a higher rate or amount of duty than that to which they would be subject according to the value thereof as stated in the bill of entry or shipping bill, such officer may detain such goods.

In every such case the detaining officer shall forthwith give notice in writing to the owner of the goods of their detention, and of the value thereof as estimated by him; and the Customs-collector shall, within two clear working days after such detention, or within such reasonable period as may with the consent of the parties be arranged, determine either to deliver such goods on payment of duty charged according to the entry of such owner, or to retain the same for the use of ¹ [the Central Government].

If the goods be retained for the use of ² [the Central Government], the Customs-collector shall cause the full amount stated in the bill as their real value to be paid to the owner in full satisfaction for such goods in the same manner as if they had been transferred by ordinary sale, and shall, after due notice in the Official Gazette or some local newspaper, and without unnecessary delay, cause them to be put up to public auction in wholesale lots for cash on delivery.

If the Customs-collector deems the highest offer made at such sale to be inadequate, he may either adjourn the sale to some other day, to be notified as aforesaid, or buy in the goods, and without unnecessary delay dispose of them for the benefit of ³ [the Central Government].

If the proceeds arising from such sale exceed the sum paid to the owner, together with (in the case of goods imported) the duty to which the goods are liable and all charges incurred by ⁴ [the Central Government] in connection with them, a portion not exceeding one-half of the overplus shall, at the discretion of the Chief Officer of Customs, be payable to the officer who detected the under-valuation of the goods.

Nothing in this section shall prevent the Chief Officer of Customs, when he has reason to believe that any such under-valuation was solely the result of accident or error, from permitting the owner of the goods, on his application for that purpose, to amend such entry, on payment of such increased rate of duties on the excess of the amended over the original valuation, or on such other terms as the Chief Officer of Customs may determine.

Section 33. Abatement allowed on damaged goods

33. Abatement allowed on damaged goods.-If, on the first examination of any such goods under Section 31, the owner thereof states in writing that such goods are, in consequence of damage sustained before delivery of the bill of entry, of value less than that stated in such bill, the Customs-collector, on being satisfied of the fact, may allow abatement of duty accordingly.

Reduced duty how determined.-The reduced duty to be levied on such goods may be ascertained by either of the following methods, at the option of the owner:-

(a) the real value of such goods may be fixed on appraisement by an officer of Customs and the duty may be assessed on the value so fixed; or

(b) the goods may, after due notice in the Official Gazette or some local newspaper, be sold by public auction at such time (within thirty days from the date of delivery of the bill of entry), and at such place, as the Customs-collector appoints; and the duty may be assessed on the gross amount realized by such sale, without any abatement or deduction, except (in the case of goods imported) of so much as represents the duties payable on the importation thereof.

Section 34. Deterioration of tariff-value goods

34. Deterioration of tariff-value goods.-When any goods, the value of which has been fixed by law for the purpose of levying duties thereon, have, before delivery of the bill of entry, deteriorated to the extent of more than one-tenth of their value, the duty on such goods shall, if the owner thereof so desires, be assessed ad valorem.

The real value of such goods shall be ascertained as provided in Section 33; and the duty shall be assessed thereon.

Section 34-A. Abatement of duty on goods on which duty is levied on quantity

¹[34-A. Abatement of duty on goods on which duty is levied on quantity.-Where the Customs-collector is satisfied that any goods on which duties are levied on quantity and not on value, and which are of a kind to which the Central Government has, by notification in the Official Gazette, ²declared that the provisions of this section shall apply, have before delivery of the bill of entry deteriorated to the extent of more than one-tenth of their value, he may allow an abatement of duty proportionate to the extent of such deterioration.]

Section 35. No abatement when duty is levied on quantity

35. No abatement when duty is levied on quantity.-No abatement of duty on account of ¹ [any deterioration] shall be allowed on wines, spirit or beer, or ² [save as provided by Section 34-A] on any other articles on which duties are levied on quantity and not on value.

Section 36. Restriction on amendment of bill of entry or shipping bill

36. Restriction on amendment of bill of entry or shipping bill.-Except as provided in Section 94, no amendment of a bill of entry or shipping bill relating to goods assessed for duty on the declared value, quantity or description thereof shall be allowed after such goods have been removed from the custom-house.

Section 37. Alteration of import-duty or tariff-valuation

37. Alteration of import-duty or tariff-valuation.-The rate of duty and the tariff-valuation (if any) applicable to any goods imported shall be the rate and valuation in force on the date on which the bill of entry thereof is delivered to the Customs-collector under Section 86:

¹[Provided that, if such goods are warehoused under this Act, the rate and valuation (if any) applicable thereto shall be the rate and valuation in force on the date ² [of the actual removal of such goods from the warehouse in the case of goods delivered out of a warehouse for home consumption, and in the case of goods delivered out of a warehouse for removal under bond to be re-warehoused where the duty is paid on such goods without their being re-warehoused, the rate and valuation (if any) in force on the date on which duty is paid].]

³[Explanation.-A bill of entry shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed to be delivered-

(a) when it is first presented to the proper officer of Customs; or

(b) where it is delivered in anticipation of the arrival of the importing vessel, on the date on which an order is given under Section 57 for the entry of the vessel inwards.]

Section 38. Alteration of export-duty or tariff-valuation

38. Alteration of export-duty or tariff-valuation.-The rate of duty and tariff-valuation (if any) applicable to any goods exported shall be the rate and valuation in force when a shipping bill of such goods is delivered under Section 137:

¹[Provided that where the shipment of any goods is permitted without a shipping bill, or in anticipation of the delivery of a shipping bill, the rate of duty and tariff-valuation, if any, applicable shall be the rate and valuation in force at the time when shipment of the goods commences.]

²[Provided further that where a shipping bill is delivered in anticipation of the arrival of any vessel or before an order is given under Section 61 for entry of the vessel outwards, it shall, for the purpose of this section, be deemed to have been delivered on the date on which, that vessel arrives or that order is given, whichever is later.]

Section 39. Payment of duties not levied, short-levied or erroneously refunded

¹[39. Payment of duties not levied, short-levied or erroneously refunded.-(1) When customs-duties or charges have not been levied or have been short-levied through inadvertence, error, collusion or misconstruction on the part of the officers of Customs, or through mis-statement as to real value, quantity or description on the part of the owner,

or when any such duty or charge, after having been levied, has been, owing to any such cause, erroneously refunded,

the person chargeable with the duty or charge which has not been levied or which has been so short-levied, or to whom such refund has erroneously been made, shall pay the duty or charge or the deficiency or repay the amount paid to him in excess, on a notice of demand being issued to him within three months from the relevant date as defined in sub-section (2);

and the Customs-collector may refuse to pass any goods belonging to such person until the said duties or charges or the said deficiency or excess be paid or repaid.

For the purposes of sub-section (1), the expression "relevant date" means:-

(a) in a case where the duty or charge has not been levied, the date on which the Customs-officer makes an order for clearance of the goods;

(b) in a case where the duty is re-assessed under Section 29-A, the date of re-assessment;

(c) in a case where the duty is provisionally assessed under Section 29-B, the date of final adjustment of duty;

(d) in a case where the duty or charge has been erroneously refunded, the date of refund; and

(e) in any other case, the date of the first assessment.]

Section 40. No refund of charges erroneously levied or paid, unless claimed within three months

40. No refund of charges erroneously levied or paid, unless claimed within three months.-No customs-duties or charges which have been paid, and of which repayment, wholly or in part, is claimed in consequence of the same having been paid through inadvertence, error or misconstruction, shall be returned, unless such claim is made within three months from the date of such payment.

¹[Explanation.-Where duty is provisionally assessed under Section 29-B, the period of three months shall be computed from the date of final adjustment of duty.

Section 41. Power to give credit for, and keep account current of duties and charges

41. Power to give credit for, and keep account current of duties and charges.-The Customs-collector may, if he thinks fit, instead of requiring payment of customs-duties and charges due from any mercantile firm or public body, at the time such duties and charges are payable under this Act, keep with such firm or body an account current of such duties and charges. Such account shall be settled at intervals not exceeding one month, and such firm or body shall make a deposit or furnish security sufficient in the opinion of the Customs-collector to cover the amount which may at any time be due from them in respect of such duties and charges.

Section 42. Drawback allowable on re-export

Chapter 6 - Drawback

42. Drawback allowable on re-export.-When any goods, capable of being easily identified, which have been imported by sea into any customs-port from any foreign port, and upon which duties of customs have been paid on importation, are re-exported by sea from such customs-port to any foreign port, or as provisions or stores for use on board a ship proceeding to a foreign port seven-eights, ¹ [or, in the case of silver bullion, the whole,] of such duties shall, except as otherwise hereinafter provided, be repaid as drawback:

Conditions for grant of drawback.-Provided that, in every such case, the goods be identified to the satisfaction of the Customs-collector at such customs-port, and that the re-export be made within two years from the date of importation, as shown by the records of the custom-house, or within such extended term as the Chief Customs-authority ² [or the Chief Customs-officer,] on sufficient cause being shown, in any case determines:

³[Provided further that the Chief Customs-officer shall not extend the term to a period exceeding three years.]

Section 43. Drawback on goods exported to customs-port and thence to foreign port

43. Drawback on goods exported to customs-port and thence to foreign port.-When any goods, having been charged with import-duty at one customs-port and thence exported to another, are re-exported by sea as aforesaid, drawback shall be allowed on such goods as if they had been so re-exported from the former port:

Provided that, in every such case, the goods be identified to the satisfaction of the officer in charge of the custom-house at the port of final exportation, and that such final exportation be made without three years from the date on which they were first imported into ¹ [India].

Section 43-A. Drawback on goods taken into use between importation and re-exportation

¹[43-A. Drawback on goods taken into use between importation and re-exportation.-(1) Notwithstanding anything hereinbefore contained, the re-payment of duty as drawback in respect of goods which have been taken into use between importation and re-exportation shall be subject to the provisions of the rules made under sub-section (2).

(2) The Central Government may, subject to the condition of previous publication, from time to time, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules, in respect of goods which have been taken into use between importation and re-exportation-

(a) modifying the amount of duty which shall be repaid as drawback on any such goods or class of such goods, or

(b) prohibiting the repayment of duty as drawback on any such goods or class of such goods, or

(c) varying the conditions for the grant of drawback on any such goods or class of such goods by restricting the period after importation within the goods must be re-exported.

Section 43-B. Drawback on imported materials used in the manufacture of goods which are exported

¹[43-B. Drawback on imported materials used in the manufacture of goods which are exported.-(1) Where it appears to the Central Government that, in the case of goods of any class or description manufactured in, and exported from, India or shipped as provisions or stores for use on board as ship proceeding to a foreign port, a drawback should be allowed of duties of customs chargeable under this Act in respect of any material of a class or description used in the manufacture of such goods, the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, direct that a drawback shall be allowed in respect of such goods in accordance with, and subject to, the provisions of this section and any rules made thereunder.

(2) A drawback under this section shall be allowed only in respect of such quantity and material as is shown to the satisfaction of the Customs-collector to be duty-paid.

(3) The Central Government may, subject to the condition of previous publication, make rules for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this section and, in particular, such rules may-

(a) specify the class or description of manufactured goods in the case of which, and the class or description of material in respect of which, drawback is to be paid;

(b) provide for drawback to be paid in respect of such quantity of material of that class or description as is actually contained in the goods or is specified in the rules as being the average quantity of such material used in the manufacture of goods of that class or description either by manufacturers generally or by any particular manufacturer;

(c) specify the rate of drawback to be payable with reference to the weight, quantity or any other basis as the Central Government may deem fit;

(d) provide for the admissibility of drawback for any specific period or without any limit of period;

(e) provide for requiring the manufacturer of goods in the case of which drawback is to be paid to produce, to the Customs-collector, evidence relating to the proportion in which the material in respect of which drawback is claimed is contained in such goods and the payment of duty on such material;

(f) provide for requiring persons who have been concerned at any stage with goods in the case of which drawback is claimed under this section to furnish such information as may, in the opinion of the Customs-collector, be necessary to enable him to determine whether duty has been paid on the material contained in the goods in respect of which a claim is made and for requiring such persons to produce any books of account or other documents of whatever nature relating to that material;

(g) provide for the production of such certificates, documents and other evidence in support of each claim of drawback as may be necessary;

(h) provide for requiring the manufacturer to give access to every part of his manufactory to any officer of the Central Government specially authorised in this behalf by the Chief Customs-officer or the Chief Customs-authority to enable such authorised Officer to inspect the processes of manufacture and to verify by actual check or otherwise the statements made in support of the claim for drawback.

Explanation.-In this section the expression "manufacture" (with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions) includes the processes of blending any goods or making of other alterations therein.

(4) All notifications issued and rules made under this section shall be laid as soon as may be on the Table of both the Houses of Parliament.]

Section 44. Drawback of duties on wine and spirit allowed for officers of Navy

44. Drawback of duties on wine and spirit allowed for officers of Navy.-A drawback of the whole of the customs-duties shall be allowed on wine and spirit intended for the consumption of any officer of Her Majesty's Navy, on board of any of Her Majesty's ships in actual service, unless such wine and spirit have been warehoused without payment of duty on the first entry thereof.

The quantity of wine and spirit on which drawback may be so allowed in any one year for the use of such officers shall not exceed the quantities hereinafter allowed for each such officer respectively; that is to say-

Section 45. Persons entering such wine or spirit for drawback to declare name and rank of officer claiming same

45. Persons entering such wine or spirit for drawback to declare name and rank of officer claiming same.-Every person clearing and claiming drawback for wine or spirit, as provided in Section 44, shall state in the shipping bill the name of the Officer for whose use such wine or spirit is intended and of the ship in which he serves as well as the place and date of the last supply for which drawback was allowed.

All such wine and spirit shall be delivered into the charge of the proper officers of Customs at the port of shipment, to be shipped under their care; and when the officer commanding the ship has certified the receipt of such wine and spirit into his charge, and any such officer of Customs has certified the shipment, the drawback shall be paid to the person entitled to received the same.

Section 46. Transfer of wine or spirit from one naval officer to another

46. Transfer of wine or spirit from one naval officer to another.-The Customs-collector may permit the transfer of any such wine or spirit from one naval officer to another naval officer on board of the same, or of any other such vessel, as part of his authorised quantity;

or may permit the transhipment of any such wine, or spirit from one vessel to another for the use of the same naval officer;

or the re-landing and warehousing of any such wine or spirit for future re-shipment.

The Customs-collector may also receive back the duties for any such wine or spirit, and allow the same to be cleared for home consumption.

Section 47. Provisions and stores for Her Majesty's Navy

47. Provisions and stores for Her Majesty's Navy.-Provisions and stores for the use of Her Majesty's Navy or of any officer thereof which are subject to duty may, in like manner, be transferred, transhipped or re-landed and warehoused, free of duty;

and where duties have been paid on any such provisions or stores required for shipment, drawback of such duties, whether of customs or excise, shall be allowed on receipt of an application in writing from the officer commanding the ship for which they are intended, or from some other officer duly authorized to make such application.

Section 48. Indian Navy

48. Indian Navy.-The provisions of Sections 44, 45, 46 and 47 as to officers of Her Majesty's Navy apply also to officers of ¹ [the Indian Navy] on board of any of the ships of ² [the Indian Navy] proceeding to any port out of India, and the rules prescribed by Section 47 as to provisions and stores for the use of Her Majesty's Navy apply also to provisions and stores for the use of ³ [the Indian Navy].

Section 49. Power to declare what goods are identifiable, and to prohibit drawback in case of specified foreign port

49. Power to declare what goods are identifiable, and to prohibit drawback in case of specified foreign port.-The Central Government may from time to time, by notification in the Official Gazette,

(a) declare what goods shall, for the purpose of this Chapter be deemed to be capable of being easily identified; and

(b) prohibit the payment of drawback upon the re-exportation of goods ¹ [or any specified goods or class of goods] to any specified foreign port ² [* * *].

Section 50. When no drawback allowed

50. When no drawback allowed.-Notwithstanding anything hereinbefore contained, no drawback shall be allowed-

(a) upon goods not included in the export manifest, or

(b) where the goods to be exported are of less value than the amount of drawback claimed, or

(c) where the clam is for drawback amounting, in respect of any single shipment, to less than five rupees, and the Customs-collector thinks fit to reject it, or

(d) on salt, salted fish or opium.

Section 51. Time to claim drawback

51. Time to claim drawback.-No drawback shall be allowed unless the claim to receive such drawback be made and established at the time of re-export.

When payment made.-No such payment of drawback shall be made until the vessel carrying the goods has put out to sea, or unless payment be demanded within six months from the date of entry for shipment.

Section 52. Declaration by parties claiming drawback

52. Declaration by parties claiming drawback.-Every person, or his duly authorized agent, claiming drawback on any goods duly exported, shall make and subscribe a declaration that such goods have been actually exported, and have not been re-landed and are not intended to be re-landed at any customs-port; and that such person was at the time of entry outwards and shipment, and continues to be, entitled to drawback thereon.

Section 52-A. Prohibition of entry of vessels constructed, etc., for concealing goods

¹[Chapter VI-A - Prohibition of Entry of Vessels Constructed, etc., for Concealing Goods

52-A. Prohibition of entry of vessels constructed, etc., for concealing goods.-No vessel constructed, adapted, altered or fitted for the purpose of concealing goods shall enter, or be within, the limits of any port in India, or the Indian customs waters.]

Section 53. Power to fix places beyond which inward bound vessels are not to proceed until manifest delivered

Chapter 7 - Arrival and Departure of Vessels

53. Power to fix places beyond which inward bound vessels are not to proceed until manifest delivered.-The ¹ [Chief Customs-authority] may, by notification in the ² [* * *] Official Gazette, fix a place in any river or port, beyond which no vessel arriving shall pass until a manifest has been delivered to the pilot, officer of Customs or other person duly authorized to receive the same.

Delivery of manifest when vessel anchors below place so fixed.-If, in any river or port wherein a place has been fixed by the ³ [Chief Customs-authority] under this section, the master of any vessel arriving remains outside or below the place so fixed, such master shall, nevertheless, within twenty-four hours after the vessel anchors, deliver a manifest to the pilot, officer of Customs or other person authorised to receive the same.

Section 54. Delivery of manifest where no place has been so fixed

54. Delivery of manifest where no place has been so fixed.-If any vessel arrives at any customs-port in which a place has not been so fixed, the master of such vessel shall, within twenty-four hours after such vessel has anchored within the limits of the port, deliver a manifest to the pilot, officer of Customs or other person authorised to received the same.

Section 54-A. Delivery of manifest before arrival of vessel

¹[54-A. Delivery of manifest before arrival of vessel.-Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, the Customs-collector may, subject to any general or special order issued by the Chief Customs-authority, allow a manifest to be delivered in anticipation of the arrival of a vessel.]

Section 55. Signature and contents of manifest

55. Signature and contents of manifest.-Every manifest shall be signed by the master, and shall specify all goods imported in such vessel, showing separately all goods (if any) intended to be landed, transhipped or taken on to another port, and all ship's stores intended for consumption in port or on the homeward voyage, and shall contain such further particulars, and be made out in such form, as the ¹ [Chief Customs-officer] may from time to time direct.

The Customs-collector shall permit the master to amend any obvious error in the manifest, or to supply any omission which in the opinion of such Collector results from accident or inadvertence, by furnishing an amended or supplementary manifest,

and may, if he thinks fit, levy thereon such fee as ² [Chief Customs-officer] from time to time directs.

Except as herein provided, no import manifest shall be amended.

Section 56. Duty of person receiving manifest

56. Duty of person receiving manifest.-The person receiving a manifest under Section 53 or 54 shall countersign the same and enter thereon such particulars as the ¹ [Chief Customs-officer] from time to time directs in this behalf.

Section 57. Bulk not to be broken until manifest, etc., delivered and vessel entered inwards

57. Bulk not to be broken until manifest, etc., delivered and vessel entered inwards.-No vessel arriving in any customs-port shall be allowed to break bulk until a manifest has been delivered as hereinbefore provided; nor until a copy of such manifest, together with an application for entry of such vessel inwards, has been presented by the master to the Customs-collector, and an order has been given thereon for such entry.

Section 58. Master, if required, to deliver bill of lading, etc., to Customs-collector, and answer questions

58. Master, if required, to deliver bill of lading, etc., to Customs-collector, and answer questions.-The master shall, if required so to do by the Customs-collector at the time of presenting such application, deliver to the Customs-collector the bill of lading or a copy thereof for every part of the cargo laden on board, and any port-clearance, cocket or other paper granted in respect of such vessel at the place from which she is stated to have come, and shall answer all such questions relating to the vessel, cargo, crew and voyage as are put to him by such officer.

The Customs-collector may, if any requisition or question made or put by him under this section is not complied with or answered, refuse to grant such application.

Section 59. Special pass for breaking bulk

59. Special pass for breaking bulk.-Notwithstanding anything contained in Section 57, the Customs-collector may grant, prior to receipt of the manifest, and to the entry inwards of the vessel, a special pass permitting bulk to be broken.

The granting of such pass shall be subject to such rules as may from time to time be made by the Chief Customs-authority.

Section 60. Manifest, etc., may be delivered by ship's agent

60. Manifest, etc., may be delivered by ship's agent.-Notwithstanding anything contained in Section 53, 54, 57 or 58, the Customs-collector may accept from the ship's agent, in lieu of the master, delivery of the manifest or of any other document required by those sections to be delivered by the master.

Section 61. Order for entry outwards to be obtained before export cargo is shipped

61. Order for entry outwards to be obtained before export cargo is shipped.-No vessel shall take on board any part of her export cargo, until a written application for entry of such vessel outwards, subscribed by the master of such vessel, has been made to the Customs-collector, or before an order has been given thereon by such officer for such entry.

Every application made under this section shall specify the name, tonnage and national character of the vessel, the name of the master, and the name of every place for which cargo is to be shipped.

Section 62. No vessel to depart without port-clearance

62. No vessel to depart without port-clearance.-No vessel, whether laden or in ballast, shall depart from any customs-port until a port-clearance has been granted by the Customs-collector or other officer duly authorized to grant the same.

No pilot to take charge of vessel proceeding to sea without production of port-clearance.-And no pilot shall take charge of any vessel proceeding to sea, unless the master of such vessel produces a port-clearance.

Section 63. Application for port-clearance

63. Application for port-clearance.-Every application for port-clearance shall be made by the master at least twenty-four hours before the intended departure of the vessel.

The master shall at the time of applying for port-clearance-

(a) deliver to the Customs-collector a manifest in duplicate in such form as may from time to time be prescribed by the ¹ [Chief Customs-officer] signed by such master specifying all goods to be exported in the vessel and showing separately all goods and stores entered in the import manifest, and not landed or consumed on board or transhipped;

(b) deliver to the Customs-collector such shipping bills or other documents as such Customs-collector acting under the general instructions of such ² [Chief Customs-officer] requires; and

(c) answer to the proper officer of Customs such questions touching the departure and destination of the vessel as are demanded of him.

The provisions of Section 55 relating to the amendment of import manifests shall, mutatis mutandis, apply also to export manifests delivered under this section.

Section 64. Power to refuse port-clearance

64. Power to refuse port-clearance.-The Customs-collector may refuse port-clearance to any vessel until-

(a) the provisions of Section 63 are complied with;

(b) all port-dues and other charges and penalties due by such vessel, or by the owner or master thereof, and all duties payable in respect of any goods shipped therein, have been duly paid, or their payment secured by such guarantee, or by deposit at such rate, as such Customs-collector directs;

(c) the ship's agent (if any) delivers to the Customs-collector a declaration in writing to the effect that he will be liable for any penalty imposed under Section 167, No. 17, and furnishes security for the discharge of the same;

(d) the ship's agent (if any) delivers to the Customs-collector a declaration in writing to the effect that such agent is answerable for the discharge of all claims for damage or short delivery which may be established by the owner of any goods comprised in the import cargo in respect of such goods.

A ship's agent delivering a declaration under clause (c) of this section shall be liable to all penalties which might be imposed on the master under Section 167, No. 17, and a ship's agent delivering a declaration under clause (d) of this section shall be bound to discharge all claims referred to in such declaration.

Section 65. Grant of port-clearance

65. Grant of port-clearance.-When the Customs-collector is satisfied that the provisions of Section 63, and if necessary of clauses (b) and (c) and (d) of Section 64, have been complied with, he shall grant a port-clearance to the master, and shall return at the same time to such master one copy of the manifest duly countersigned by the proper officer of Customs.

Section 66. Grant of port-clearance on security of ship's agent

66. Grant of port-clearance on security of ship's agent.-Notwithstanding anything contained in Sections 64 and 65, the Customs-collector may (subject to such rules as the Chief Customs-authority may from time to time prescribe) grant a port-clearance to the master when the ship's agent furnishes such security as the Customs-collector deems sufficient for duly delivering, within five days from the date of such grant, the manifest and other documents specified in Section 63.

Section 67. Power to depute Customs-officer to board ships

Chapter 8 - General Provisions Affecting Vessels in Port

67. Power to depute Customs-officer to board ships.-The Customs-collector at any customs-port may at any time depute at his discretion one or more officers of Customs to board any vessel in or arriving at such port.

Duty of such officer.-Every officer of Customs so sent shall remain on board of such vessel by day and by night unless or until the Customs-collector otherwise orders.

Section 68. Officer and servant to be received

68. Officer and servant to be received.-Whenever an officer of Customs is so deputed on board of any vessel, the master of such vessel shall be bound to receive on board such officer and one servant of such officer, and

Accommodation of officer and servant.-to provide such officer and servant with suitable shelter and accommodation, and likewise with a due allowance of fresh water, and with the means of cooking on board.

Section 69. Officers of Customs to have free access to every part of ship, and may seal and secure goods

69. Officers of Customs to have free access to every part of ship, and may seal and secure goods.-Every officer of Customs so deputed shall have free access to every part of the vessel, and may fasten down any hatchway or entrance to the hold and mark any goods before landing, and lock up, seal, mark or otherwise secure any goods on board of such vessel.

Power to authorize search and opening of locks.-If any box, place or closed receptacle in any such vessel be locked, and the key be withheld, such officer shall report the same to the Customs-collector, who may thereupon issue to the officer on board, or to any other officer under his authority, a written order to search.

On production of such order, the officer bearing the same may require that any such box, place or closed receptacle be opened in his presence; and, if it be not opened upon his requisition, he may break open the same.

Section 70. Goods not to be shipped, discharged, or water-borne except in presence of officer

70. Goods not to be shipped, discharged, or water-borne except in presence of officer.-Unless with the written permission of the Customs-collector or in accordance with a general permission granted under Section 74, no goods, other than passenger's baggage, or ballast urgently required to be shipped for the vessel's safety, shall be shipped or water-borne to be shipped or discharged from any vessel in any customs-port, except in the presence of an officer of Customs.

Section 71. Period allowed for discharge and shipment of cargo

71. Period allowed for discharge and shipment of cargo.-When an officer of Customs is deputed under Section 67 to remain on board a vessel, the tonnage of which does not exceed six hundred tons, a period of thirty working days, reckoned from the date on which he boards such vessel, or such additional period as the Customs-collector directs, shall be allowed for the discharge of import-cargo and the shipment of export-cargo on board of such vessel.

One additional day shall, in like manner, be allowed for every fifty tons in excess of six hundred.

No charge shall be made for the services of a single officer of Customs for such allowed number of working days, or for the services of several such officers (if available) for respective periods not exceeding in the aggregate such allowed number of working days.

Consequence of exceeding same.-If the period occupied in the discharge and shipment of cargo be in excess of thirty working days, together with the additional period (if any) allowed under this section, the vessel shall be charged with the expense of the officer of customs at a rate not exceeding five rupees per diem (Sundays and holidays excepted) for such excess period.

Allowance for period during which vessel is laid up.-In calculating any period allowed, or any charge made under this section, the period (if any) during which a vessel, after the completion of the discharge of import-cargo, and before commencing the shipment of export-cargo, is laid up by the withdrawal of the officer of Customs, upon application from the master, shall be deducted.

Section 72. Goods not to be landed, etc., on Sundays or holidays without permission, nor except within fixed hours

72. Goods not to be landed, etc., on Sundays or holidays without permission, nor except within fixed hours.-Except with the written permission of the Customs-collector, no goods, other than passengers' baggage, shall in any customs-port be discharged from any vessel, or be shipped or water-borne to be shipped,-

(a) on any Sunday or on any holiday or day on which the discharge or shipping of cargo, as the case may be, is prohibited by the Chief Customs-authority;

(b) on any day, except between such hours as such authority from time to time appoints by notification in the Official Gazette.

Section 73. Goods not to be shipped, etc., except at wharves

73. Goods not to be shipped, etc., except at wharves.-No goods shall in any customs-port be landed at any place other than a wharf or other place duly appointed for that purpose, and

unless with the written permission of the Customs-collector, or when a general permission has been granted under Section 74, no goods shall in any customs-port be shipped or water-borne to be shipped from any place other than a wharf or other place duly appointed for that purpose.

Section 74. Power to exempt from Sections 70 and 73

74. Power to exempt from Sections 70 and 73.-Notwithstanding anything contained in Section 70 or 73, the Chief Customs-authority may, by notification in the ¹ [* * *] Official Gazette, give general permission for goods to be shipped or water-borne to be shipped in any customs-port from all or any places not duly appointed as wharves, and without the presence or authority of an officer of Customs.

Section 75. Power to make rules regarding baggage and mails

75. Power to make rules regarding baggage and mails.-The Chief Customs-authority may from time to time make rules for the landing and shipping of passengers' baggage and the passing of the same through the custom-house; and for the landing, shipping and clearing of parcels forwarded by ¹ [Government of India's] or other mails, or by other regular packets and passenger-vessels.

Landing fees.-When any baggage or parcels is or are made over to an officer of Customs for the purpose of being landed, a fee of such amount as the ² [Chief Customs-authority] from time to time directs shall be chargeable thereon, as compensation for the expense and trouble incurred in landing and depositing the same in the custom-house.

Section 76. Boat-note

76. Boat-note.-When any goods are water-borne for the purpose of being landed from any vessel and warehoused or cleared for home consumption, or of being shipped for exportation on board of any vessel, there shall be sent, with each boat-load or other separate despatch, a boat-note specifying the number of packages so sent and the marks and numbers or other description thereof.

Each boat-note for goods to be landed shall be signed by an officer of the vessel, and likewise by the officer of Customs on board, if any such officer be on board, and shall be delivered on arrival to any officer of Customs authorized to receive the same.

Each boat-note for goods to be shipped shall be signed by the proper officer of Customs, and, if an officer of Customs is on board of the vessel on which such goods are to be shipped, shall be delivered to such officer. If no such officer be on board, every such boat-note shall be delivered to the master of the vessel, or to an officer of the vessel appointed by him to receive it.

The officer of Customs who receives any boat-note of goods landed, and the officer of Customs, master or other officer, as the case may be, who receives any boat-note of goods shipped, shall sign the same and note thereon such particulars as the ¹ [Chief Customs-officer] may from time to time direct.

The ² [Chief Customs-authority] may from time to time, by notification in the ³ [* * *] Official Gazette suspend the operation of this section in any customs-port or part thereof.

Section 77. Goods water-borne to be forthwith landed or shipped

77. Goods water-borne to be forthwith landed or shipped.-All goods water-borne for the purpose of being landed or shipped shall be landed or shipped without any unnecessary delay.

Section 78. Such goods not to be transhipped without permission

78. Such goods not to be transhipped without permission.-Except in cases of imminent danger, no goods discharged into or loaded in any boat for the purpose of being landed or shipped shall be transhipped into any other boat without the permission of an officer of Customs.

Section 79. Power to prohibit plying of unlicensed cargo-boats

79. Power to prohibit plying of unlicensed cargo-boats.-The ¹ [Chief Customs-authority] may declare with regard to any customs-port, by notification in the ² [* * *] Official Gazette, that, after a date therein specified, no boat not duly licensed and registered shall be allowed to ply as a cargo-boat for the landing and shipping of merchandise within the limits of such port.

Issue of licenses and registration of cargo-boats.-In any port with regard to which such notification has been issued, the Chief Officer of Customs or other officer whom the ³ [Chief Customs-authority] appoints in this behalf, may, subject to such rules and on payment of such fees as the ⁴ [Chief Customs-authority] from time to time prescribes by notification in the ⁵ [* * *] Official Gazette, issue licenses for and register cargo-boats. Such officer may also, subject to rules so prescribed, cancel any licence so issued.

Section 80. Power to require goods to be weighed or measured on board before landing or after shipment

80. Power to require goods to be weighed or measured on board before landing or after shipment.-The Customs-collector may, whenever he thinks fit, require that goods stowed in bulk, and brought by sea or intended for exportation, shall be weighed or measured on board ship before landing or after shipment, and may levy duty according to the result of such weighing or measurement.

Section 81. Discharge of cargo may commence on receipt of due permission

Chapter 9 - Of Discharge of Cargo and Entry Inwards of Goods

81. Discharge of cargo may commence on receipt of due permission.-When an order for entry inwards of any vessel which has arrived in any customs-port or a special pass permitting such vessel to break bulk has been given, the discharge of the cargo of such vessel may be proceeded with.

Section 82. Goods not to leave ship unless entered in manifest

82. Goods not to leave ship unless entered in manifest.-Except as otherwise provided in this Act, no goods shall be allowed to leave any such vessel, unless they are entered in the original manifest of such vessel, or in an amended or supplementary manifest received under Section 55.

Section 83. Procedure in respect of goods not landed within time allowed

83. Procedure in respect of goods not landed within time allowed.-If the owner of any goods (except such as have been shown in the import-manifest as not to be landed) does not land such goods within such period as is specified in the bill of lading of such goods, or, if no period is so specified, within such number of working days, not exceeding fifteen, after the entry of the vessel importing the same, as the ¹ [Chief Customs-authority] from time to time appoints by notification in the Official Gazette, or

if the cargo of any vessel, with the exception of only a small quantity of goods, has been discharged previously to the expiration of the period so specified or appointed, as the case may be-

the master of such vessel or, on his application, the proper officer of Customs, may then carry such goods to the custom-house, there to remain for entry.

The Customs-collector shall thereupon take charge of, and grant receipts for, such goods;

and if notice in writing has been given by the master that the goods are to remain subject to a lien for freight, primage, general average, or other charges of a stated amount, the Customs-collector shall hold such goods until he receives notice in writing that the said charges are paid.

Section 84. Power to land small parcels

84. Power to land small parcels.-At any time after the arrival of any vessel the Customs-collector may, with the consent of the master of such vessel, cause any small package or parcel of goods to be carried to the custom-house, there to remain for entry, in charge of the officers of Customs, during the remainder of the working days allowed under this Act for the landing of such package or parcel.

Notice regarding unclaimed packages.-If any package or parcel so carried to the custom-house remains unclaimed on the expiration of the number of working days so allowed for its landing, or at the time of the clearance outwards of the vessel from which it was landed, the master may give such notice as is provided in Section 83, and the officer in charge of the custom-house shall thereupon hold such package or parcel as provided in that section.

Section 85. Power to permit immediate discharge

85. Power to permit immediate discharge.-Notwithstanding anything contained in Sections 83 and 84, the Customs-collector in any customs-port to which the ¹ [Chief Customs-authority], by notification in the ² [* * *] Official Gazette, declares this section to be applicable, may permit the master of any vessel, immediately on receipt of an order under Section 57 or a special pass under Section 59, to discharge the cargo of such vessel or any portion thereof into the custody of the ship's agents if willing to receive the same, for the purpose of landing the same forthwith-

(a) at the custom-house or any specified landing-place wharf; or

(b) at any landing-place or wharf belonging to any Port Commissioners, Port Trust or other public body or company.

Any ship's agent so receiving such cargo or portion shall be bound to discharge all claims for damage or short delivery which may be established in respect of the same by the owner thereof, and shall be entitled to recover from such owner his charges for service rendered, but not for commission or the like, where any agent for the landing of such cargo or portion has been previously appointed by the owner and such appointment is unrevoked.

The Customs-collector shall take charge of all goods discharge under clause (a) of this section, and otherwise proceed in relation thereto as provided in Sections 83 and 88.

A public body or company at whose landing-place or wharf any goods are discharged under clause (b) of this section shall not permit the same to be removed without an order in writing from the Customs-collector.

Section 86. Entry for home consumption or warehousing

86. Entry for home consumption or warehousing.-¹ [The owner of any goods shall, after the delivery of the manifest by the master of the vessel in which they are imported, make entry of the goods for home consumption or warehousing by delivering to the Customs-collector a bill of entry thereof with such number of copies, in such form and containing such particulars, in addition to the particulars specified in Section 29, as may, from time to time, be prescribed by the Chief Customs-officer.]

The particulars of such entry shall correspond with the particulars given of the same goods in the manifest of the ship.

Section 87. Assessment of dutiable goods

87. Assessment of dutiable goods.-On the delivery of such bill the duty (if any) leviable on such goods shall be assessed, and the owner of such goods may then proceed to clear the same for home consumption, or warehouse them, subject to the provisions hereinafter contained.

Section 88. Procedure in case of goods not cleared or warehoused within four months after entry of vessel

88. Procedure in case of goods not cleared or warehoused within four months after entry of vessel.-If any goods are not entered and cleared for home consumption, or warehoused, within four months from the date of entry of the vessel, such goods may, after due notice to the owner, if his address can be ascertained, and in the local Official Gazette, be sold by public auction and the proceeds thereof shall be applied, first, to the payment of freight, primage and general average, if the goods are held by the Customs-collector subject to such charges under notice given under Section 83, 84 or 85; next to the payment of the duties which would be leviable on such goods if they were then cleared for home consumption, and next to the payment of the other charges (if any) payable to the Customs-collector in respect of the same.

The surplus, if any, shall be paid to the owner of the goods, on his application for the same; provided that such application be made within one year from the sale of the goods, or that sufficient cause be shown for not making it within such period.

Power to direct sale of perishable goods.-If any goods of which the Customs-collector has taken charge under Section 83, 84 or 85 be of a perishable nature, the Customs-collector may at any time direct the sale thereof, and shall apply the proceeds in like manner:

Provided that, where any goods liable to be sold under this section are arms, ammunition or military stores, they may be sold or otherwise disposed of at such place (whether within or without) ¹ [India], and in such manner as ² [the Chief Customs-authority may, with the concurrence of the ³ [Central Government], direct]:

Provided also that nothing in this section shall authorize the removal for home consumption of any dutiable goods without payment of duties of customs thereon.

Section 89. Clearance for home consumption

Chapter 10 - Of Clearance of Goods for Home Consumption

89. Clearance for home consumption.-When the owner of any goods entered for home consumption, and (if such goods be liable to duty) assessed under Section 87, has paid the import-duty (if any) assessed on such goods and any charges payable under this Act in respect of the same, the Customs-officer may make an order clearing the same; and such order shall be sufficient authority for the removal of such goods by the owner.

Section 90. Application to warehouse

Chapter 11 - Warehousing

90. Application to warehouse.-When any dutiable goods have been entered for warehousing and assessed under Section 87, the owner of such goods may apply for leave to deposit the same in any warehouse appointed or licensed under this Act.

Section 91. Form of application

91. Form of application.-Every such application shall be in writing signed by the applicant, and shall be in such form as is from time to time prescribed by the Chief Customs-authority.

Section 92. Warehousing bond

92. Warehousing bond.-When any such application has been made in respect of any goods, the owner of the goods to which it relates shall execute a bond, binding himself, in a penalty of twice the amount of duty assessed under Section 87 on such goods,-

(a) to observe all rules prescribed by this Act in respect of such goods;

(b) to pay, on demand, all duties, rent and charges claimable on account of such goods under this Act, together with interest on the same from the date of demand, at such rate not exceeding six per cent. per annum as is for the item being fixed by the Chief Customs-authority; and

(c) to discharge all penalties incurred for violation of the provisions of this Act in respect of such goods.

Form of bond.-Every such bond shall be in the form marked A hereto annexed, or, when such form is inapplicable or insufficient, in such other form as is from time to time prescribed by the Chief Customs-authority,

and shall relate to the cargo or portion of the cargo of one vessel only.

Section 93. Forwarding of goods to warehouse

93. Forwarding of goods to warehouse.-When the provisions of Sections 91 and 92 have been complied with in respect of any goods, such goods shall be forwarded in charge of an officer of Customs to the warehouse in which they are to be deposited.

A pass shall be sent with the goods specifying the name of the importing vessel and of the bonder, the marks, numbers and contents of each package, and the warehouse or place in the warehouse wherein they are to be deposited.

Section 94. Receipt of goods at warehouse

94. Receipt of goods at warehouse.-On receipt of the goods, the pass shall be examined by the warehouse-keeper, and shall be returned to the Customs-collector.

No package, butt, cask or hogshead shall be admitted into any warehouse unless it bear the marks and numbers specified in, and otherwise correspond with, the pass for its admission.

If the goods be found to correspond with the pass, the warehouse-keeper shall certify to that effect on the pass, and the warehousing of such goods shall be deemed to have been completed.

If the goods do not so correspond, the fact shall be reported by the warehouse-keeper for the orders of the Customs-collector, and the goods shall either be returned to the custom-house in charge of an officer of Customs, or kept in deposit pending such orders as the warehouse-keeper deems most convenient.

If the quantity or value of any goods has been erroneously stated in the bill of entry, the error may be rectified at any time before the warehousing of the goods is completed, and not subsequently.

Section 95. Goods how warehoused

95. Goods how warehoused.-Except as provided in Section 100, all goods shall be warehoused in the packages, butts, casks or hogsheads in which they have been imported.

Section 96. Warrant to be given when goods are warehoused

96. Warrant to be given when goods are warehoused.-Whenever any goods are lodged in a public warehouse or a licensed private warehouse, the warehouse-keeper, or, in the case of the Bengal Bonded Warehouse Association, the Secretary of the said Association, shall deliver a warrant signed by him as such to the person lodging the goods.

Form of warrant.-Such warrant shall be in the form B hereto annexed, and shall be transferable by endorsement; and the endorsee shall be entitled to receive the goods specified in such warrant on the same terms as those on which the person who originally lodged the goods would have been entitled to receive the same.

The ¹ [Chief Customs-authority] may, by notification in the ² [* * *] Official Gazette, exempt salt and salted fish from the operation of this section, and may in like manner cancel such exemption.

Section 97. Access of Customs-officer to private warehouse

97. Access of Customs-officer to private warehouse.-The Customs-collector, or any officer deputed by him for the purpose, shall have access to any private warehouse licensed under this Act.

Section 98. Power to cause packages lodged in warehouse to be opened and examined

98. Power to cause packages lodged in warehouse to be opened and examined.-The Customs-collector may at any time by order in writing direct that any goods or packages lodged in any warehouse shall be opened, weighed or otherwise examined; and after any goods have been so opened or examined, may cause the same to be sealed or marked in such manner as he thinks fit.

When any goods have been so sealed and marked after examination, they shall not be again opened without the permission of the Customs-collector; and, when any such goods have been opened with such permission, the packages shall, if he thinks fit, be again sealed or marked as before.

Section 99. Access of owners to warehoused goods

99. Access of owners to warehoused goods.-Any owner of goods lodged in a warehouse shall, at any time within the hours of business, have access to his goods in presence of an officer of Customs, and an officer of Customs shall, upon application for the purpose being made in writing to the Customs-collector, be deputed to accompany such owner.

When an officer of Customs is specially employed to accompany such owner, a sum sufficient to meet the expense thereby incurred shall, if the Customs-collector so require, be paid by such owner to the Customs-collector, and such sum shall, if the Customs-collector so direct, be paid in advance.

Section 100. Owner's power to deal with warehoused goods

100. Owner's power to deal with warehoused goods.-With the sanction of the Customs-collector, and after such notice given, and under such rules and conditions as the Chief Customs-authority from time to time prescribes, any owner of goods may, either before or after warehousing the same,-

(a) sort, separate, pack and repack the goods, and make such alterations therein as may be necessary for the preservation, sale, shipment or disposal thereof (such goods to be repacked in the packages in which they were imported, or in such other packages as the Customs-collector permits);

(b) fill up any casks of wine, spirit or beer from any casks of the same secured in the same warehouse;

(c) mix any wines or spirit of the same sort secured in the same warehouse, erasing from the cask all import-brands, unless the whole of the wine or spirit so mixed be of the same brand;

(d) bottle-off wine or spirit from any casks;

(e) take such samples of goods as may be allowed by the Customs-collector with or without entry for home consumption, and with or without payment of duty, except such as may eventually become payable on a deficiency of the original quantity.

After any such goods have been so separated and repacked in proper or approved packages, the Customs-collector may, at the request of the owner of such goods, cause or permit any refuse, damaged or surplus goods remaining after such separation or repacking (or, at the like request, any goods which may not be worth the duty) to be destroyed, and may remit the duty payable thereon.

Section 100-A. Manufacture of goods in bonded warehouses

¹[100-A. Manufacture of goods in bonded warehouses.-(1) With the sanction of the Customs-collector, and after such notice given and under such rules as the Chief Customs-authority from time to time prescribes, any owner of goods may, after warehousing the same-

(a) carry on any manufacturing process in the warehouse in relation to such goods;

(b) blend the goods or make any other alteration therein for any purpose whatsoever.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the power conferred by sub-section (1), the rules which the Chief Customs-authority may prescribe under that sub-section may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:-

(a) the conditions relating to the storage duty-paid and other goods in the warehouse for the purpose of carrying on therein any operations permissible under sub-section (1);

(b) the supervision by officers of customs over such operations and the payment of fees for such supervision;

(c) the security to be furnished for the due observance of any rules and conditions prescribed under this section.

(3) After any operations permissible under this section have been carried out in the warehouse and the warehoused goods repacked in proper or approved packages, the Customs-collector may, at the request of the owner of such goods, cause or permit any refuse, damaged or surplus goods remaining after the completion of such operations or repacking (or, at the like request, any goods which may not be worth the duty) to be destroyed, and may remit the duty payable thereon.

(4) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, exempt any goods manufactured, blended or otherwise altered in a warehouse, when cleared for home consumption from the whole or any part of the duties leviable thereon.]

Section 101. Payment of rent and warehouse-dues

101. Payment of rent and warehouse-dues.-If goods be lodged in a public warehouse, the owner shall pay monthly, on receiving a bill or written demand for the same from the Customs-collector or other officer deputed by him in that behalf, rent and warehouse-dues at such rates as the ¹ [Chief Customs-officer] may fix.

A table of the rates of rent and warehouse-dues so fixed shall be placed in a conspicuous part of such warehouse.

If any bill for rent or warehouse-dues presented under this section is not discharged within ten days from the date of presentation, the Customs-collector may, in the discharge of such demand (any transfer or assignment of the goods notwithstanding) cause to be sold by public auction, after due notice in the Official Gazette such sufficient portion of the goods as he may select.

Out of the proceeds of such sale, the Customs-collector shall first satisfy the demand for the discharge of which the sale was ordered and shall then pay over the surplus (if any) to the owner of the goods:

Provided that the application for such surplus be made within one year from the date of the sale of the goods or that sufficient cause be shown for not making it within such period.

Section 102. Goods not to be taken out of warehouse, except as provided by this Act

102. Goods not to be taken out of warehouse, except as provided by this Act.-No warehoused goods shall be taken out of any warehouse, except on clearance for home consumption or shipment, or for removal to another warehouse, or as otherwise provided by this Act.

Section 103. Period for which goods may remain warehoused under bond

103. Period for which goods may remain warehoused under bond.-Any goods warehoused may be left in the warehouse in which they are deposited, or in any warehouse to which they may in manner hereinafter provided be removed, till the expiry of three years after the date of the bond executed in relation to such goods under Section 92. The owner of any goods remaining in a warehouse on the expiry of such period shall clear the same for home consumption or shipment in manner hereinafter provided:

Goods in private warehouse on cancellation of license.-Provided that when the license for any private warehouse is cancelled, and the Customs-collector gives notice of such cancelment to the owner of any goods deposited in such warehouse, such owner shall in manner hereinafter provided and within seven days from the date on which such notice is given, remove such goods to another warehouse or clear them for home consumption or shipment.

Section 104. Power to remove goods from one warehouse to another in same port

104. Power to remove goods from one warehouse to another in same port.-Any owner of goods warehoused under this Act may, at any time within three years from the date of the bond executed in respect of such goods under Section 92, and with the permission of the Chief Customs-officer, and on such conditions and after giving such security (if any) as such officer directs, remove goods from one warehouse to another warehouse in the same port.

When any owner desires so to remove any goods, he shall apply for permission to do so in such form as the ¹ [Chief Customer-officer] from time to time prescribes.

Section 105. Power to remove goods from one port to another

105. Power to remove goods from one port to another.-Any owner of goods warehoused to any warehousing port may, from time to time, within the said period of three years, remove the same by sea or by inland carriage, in order to be re-warehoused at any other warehousing port.

Procedure.-When any owner desires so to remove any goods for such purpose, he shall apply to the Chief Customs-officer, stating the particulars of the goods to be removed, and the name of the port to which it is intended that they shall be removed, together with such other particulars, and in such manner and form, as the ¹ [Chief Customer-officer] from time to time prescribes.

Section 106. Transmission of account of goods to officers at port of destination

106. Transmission of account of goods to officers at port of destination.-When permission is granted for the removal of any goods from one warehousing port to another under Section 105, an account containing the particulars thereof shall be transmitted by the proper officer of the port of removal to the proper officer of the port of destination;

Bond for due arrival and re-warehousing.-and the person requiring the removal shall before such removal enter into a bond, with one sufficient surety, in a sum equal at least to the duty chargeable on such goods, for the due arrival and re-warehousing thereof at the port of destination within such time, as the ¹ [Chief Customs-officer] directs.

Such bond may be taken by the proper officer either at the port of removal or at the port of destination as best suits the convenience of the owner.

If such bond is taken at the port of destination, a certificate thereof, signed by the proper officer of such port, shall, at the time of the removal of such goods, be produced to the proper officer at the port of removal; and such bond shall not be discharged unless such goods are produced to the proper officer, and duly re-warehoused at the port of destination within the time allowed for such removal, or are otherwise accounted for to the satisfaction of such officer; nor until the full duty due upon any deficiency of such goods, not so accounted for, has been paid.

Section 107. Remover may enter into a general bond

107. Remover may enter into a general bond.-The ¹ [Chief Customs-officer] may permit any person desirous of removing warehoused goods to enter into a general bond, with such sureties, in such amount, and under such conditions, as the ² [Chief Customs-officer] approves, for the removal, from time to time, of any goods from one warehouse to another, either in the same or in a different port, and for the due arrival and re-warehousing of such goods at the port of destination within such time as such ³ [officer] directs.

Section 108. Goods on arrival at port of destination to be subject to same laws as goods on first importation

108. Goods on arrival at port of destination to be subject to same laws as goods on first importation.-Upon the arrival of warehoused goods at the port of destination, they shall be entered and warehoused in like manner as goods are entered and warehoused on the first importation thereof, and under the laws and rules, in so far as such laws and rules are applicable, which regulate the entry and warehousing of such last-mentioned goods.

Section 109. Bond under Section 92 to continue in force notwithstanding removal

109. Bond under Section 92 to continue in force notwithstanding removal.-Every bond executed under Section 92 in respect of any goods shall, unless the Chief Officer of Customs in any case deems a fresh bond to be necessary, continue in force, notwithstanding the subsequent removal of such goods to another warehouse or warehousing port.

Section 110. Clearance of bonded goods for home consumption

110. Clearance of bonded goods for home consumption.-Any owner of goods warehoused may, at any time within three years from the date of the bond executed under Section 92 in respect of such goods, clear such goods for home consumption by paying (a) the duty assessed on such goods under Section 87, or where the duty on such goods is altered under the provisions hereinafter contained, such altered duty; and (b) all rent, penalties, interest and other charges payable to the Customs-collector in respect of such goods.

Section 111. Clearance of same for shipment to foreign port

111. Clearance of same for shipment to foreign port.-Any owner of goods warehoused may, at any time within three years from the date of the bond executed under Section 92 in respect of such goods, clear such goods for shipment to a foreign port on payment of all rent, penalties, interest, ¹ [export duties] and other charges payable as aforesaid and without payment of import duty on the same:

Provided that the Central Government may prohibit the shipment for exportation to any specified foreign port of warehoused goods in respect of which payment of drawback or transhipment has been prohibited under Section 49 or 134 respectively.

Section 112. Clearance of same for shipment as provisions, etc., on vessels proceeding to foreign ports

112. Clearance of same for shipment as provisions, etc., on vessels proceeding to foreign ports.-Provisions and stores warehoused at the time of importation may, within the said period of three years, be shipped without payment of duty for use on board of any vessel proceeding to a foreign port.

Section 113. Form of application for clearance of goods

113. Form of application for clearance of goods.-Application to clear goods from any warehouse for home consumption or for shipment shall be made in such form as the ¹ [Chief Customs-officer] from time to time prescribes.

Application when to be made.-Such application shall ordinarily be made to the Customs-collector at least twenty-four hours before it is intended so to clear such goods.

Section 114. Re-assessment of warehoused goods when damaged

114. Re-assessment of warehoused goods when damaged.-If any goods upon which duties are leviable ad valorem or on a tariff-valuation receive damage through unavoidable accident after they have been entered for warehousing and assessed under Section 87, and before they are cleared for home consumption, they shall, if the owner so desires, be re-assessed for duty according to their actual value and a new bond for the same may, at the option of the owner, be executed for the unexpired term of warehousing.

Section 115. Re-assessment on alteration of duty or tariff-valuation

115. Re-assessment on alteration of duty or tariff-valuation.-If, after any goods entered for warehousing have been assessed under Section 87, any alteration is made in the duty leviable upon such goods or in the tariff-valuation (if any) applicable thereto, such goods shall be re-assessed in accordance with ¹ [such alteration].

Section 116. Allowance in case of wine, spirit, beer or salt

116. Allowance in case of wine, spirit, beer or salt.-If it appear at the time of clearing any wine, spirit, beer or salt from any warehouse for home consumption that there exists a deficiency not otherwise accounted for to the satisfaction of the Customs-collector, an allowance on account of ullage and wastage shall be made in adjusting the duties thereon, as follows (namely):-

(a) upon wine, spirit and beer in cask to an extent not exceeding the rates specified below, or such other rates as may, from time to time, be prescribed in this behalf by the ¹ [Chief Customs-authority] and notified in the Official Gazette.

(b) in the case of salt warehoused in a public warehouse, only the amount actually cleared shall be charged with customs-duties:

(c) in the case of salt warehoused in a private warehouse, wastage shall be allowed at such rate as may be prescribed from time to time by the ² [Chief Customs-authority] and notified in the³ [* * *] Official Gazette.

Section 117. Further special allowance

117. Further special allowance.-When any wine, spirit, beer or salt lodged in a warehouse is found to be deficient at the time of the delivery therefrom, and such deficiency is proved to be due solely to ullage or wastage, the ¹ [Chief Customs-authority] may direct, in respect of any such article, that allowance be made in any special case for a rate of ullage or wastage exceeding that contemplated in Section 116.

Section 118. If goods are improperly removed from warehouses or allowed to remain beyond time fixed, or lost or destroyed

118. If goods are improperly removed from warehouses or allowed to remain beyond time fixed, or lost or destroyed.-If any warehoused goods are removed from the warehouse in contravention of Section 102; or

if any such goods have not been removed from the warehouse at the expiration of the time during which such goods are permitted by Section 103 to remain in such warehouse; or

if any goods in respect of which a bond has been executed under Section 92, and which have not been cleared for home consumption or shipment, or removed under this Act, are lost or destroyed otherwise than as provided in Section 100 or as mentioned in Section 122, or are not accounted for to the satisfaction of the Customs-collector; or

or taken as samples.-if any such goods have been taken under Section 100 as samples without payment of duty,

Collector may demand duty, etc.-the Customs-collector may thereupon demand, and the owner of such goods shall forthwith pay, the full amount of duty chargeable on account of such goods, together with all rent, penalties, interest and other charges payable to the Customs-collector on account of the same.

Section 119. Procedure on failure to pay duty, etc.

119. Procedure on failure to pay duty, etc.-If any owner fails to pay any sum so demanded, the Customs-collector may forthwith either proceed upon the bond executed under Section 92, or cause such portion as he thinks fit of the goods (if any) in the warehouse on account of which the amount is due, to be detained with a view to the recovery of the demand;

and if the demand be not discharged within ten days from the date of such detention (due notice thereof being given to the owner), the goods so detained may be sold by public auction duly advertised in the Official Gazette.

The net proceeds of any sale so made of goods so detained shall be written off upon the bond in discharge thereof to the amount received, and if any surplus be obtained from such sale, beyond the amount of the demand, such surplus shall be paid to the owner of the goods:

Provided that application for the same be made within one year from the sale, or that sufficient cause be shown for not making the application within such period.

No transfer or assignment of the goods shall prevent the Customs-collector from proceeding against such goods in the manner above provided, for any amount due thereon.

Section 120. Noting removal of goods

120. Noting removal of goods.-When any warehoused goods are taken out of any warehouse, the Customs-collector shall cause the fact to be noted on the back of the bond.

Every note so made shall specify the quantity and description of such goods, the purposes for which they have been removed, the date of removal, the name of the person removing them, the number and date of the shipping bill under which they have been taken away if removed for exportation by sea, or of the bill of entry if removed for home consumption, and the amount of duty paid (if any).

Section 121. Register of bonds

121. Register of bonds.-A register shall be kept of all bonds entered into for customs-duties on warehoused goods, and entry shall be made in such register of all particulars required by Section 120 to be specified.

Cancellation and return of bonds.-When such register shows that the whole of the goods covered by any bond have been cleared for home consumption or shipment, or otherwise duly accounted for, and when all amounts due on account of such goods have been paid, the Customs-collector shall cancel such bond as discharged in full, and shall on demand deliver it, so cancelled, to the person who has executed or who is entitled to receive it.

Section 122. Power to remit duties on warehoused goods lost or destroyed

122. Power to remit duties on warehoused goods lost or destroyed.-If any goods in respect of which a bond has been executed under Section 92 and which have been cleared for home consumption are lost or destroyed by unavoidable accident or delay, the ¹ [Chief Customs-officer] may in ² [his] discretion remit the duties due thereon:

Provided that, if any such goods be so lost or destroyed in a private warehouse, notice thereof be given to the Customs-collector within forty-eight hours after the discovery of such loss or destruction.

Section 123. Responsibility of warehouse-keeper

123. Responsibility of warehouse-keeper.-The warehouse-keeper in respect of goods lodged in a public warehouse, and the licensee in respect of goods lodged in a private warehouse, shall be responsible for their due reception therein and delivery therefrom, and for their safe custody while deposited therein, according to the quantity, weight or gauge reported by the custom-house-officer who has assessed such goods, allowance being made, if necessary, for ullage and wastage as provided in Sections 116 and 117:

Compensation for loss or injury.-Provided that no owner of goods shall be entitled to claim from the Customs-collector, or from any keeper of a public warehouse compensation for any loss or damage occurring to such goods while they are being passed into or out of such warehouse, or while they remain therein, unless it be proved that such loss or damage was occasioned by the wilful act or neglect of the warehouse-keeper or of an officer of Customs.

Section 124. Public warehouse to be locked

124. Public warehouse to be locked.-Every public warehouse shall be under the lock and key of a warehouse-keeper appointed by the Chief Officer of Customs.

Section 125. Power to decide where goods may be deposited in public warehouse, and on what terms

125. Power to decide where goods may be deposited in public warehouse, and on what terms.-The ¹ [Chief Customs-officer] may from time to time determine in what division of any public warehouse, and in what manner, and on what terms, any goods may be deposited, and what sort of goods may be deposited in any such warehouse.

Section 126. Expenses of carriage, packing, etc., to be borne by owners

126. Expenses of carriage, packing, etc., to be borne by owners.-The expenses of carriage, packing and storage of goods on their reception into or removal from a public warehouse shall, if paid by the Customs-collector or by the warehouse-keeper, be chargeable on the goods and be defrayed by, and recoverable from, the owner, in the manner provided in Section 119.

Section 127. Bengal Bonded Warehouse Association

127. Bengal Bonded Warehouse Association.-All the provisions of this Act relating to private warehouses shall be applicable to the warehouses wherein the Bengal Bonded Warehouse Association receives bonded goods.

Section 128. Power to permit transhipment without payment of duty

Chapter 12 - Transhipment

128. Power to permit transhipment without payment of duty.-In the ports of Calcutta, Madras, Bombay, Karwar, ¹ [* * *] and such other ports as ² [the Chief Customs-authority] may from time to time, by notification in the ³ [⁴ [* * *] Official Gazette], direct in this behalf, the Customs-collector may, on application by the owner of any goods, imported into such port, and specially and distinctly manifested at the time of importation as for transhipment to some other customs or foreign port, grant leave to tranship the same without payment of the duty (if any) leviable at the port of transhipment, and without any security or bond for the due arrival and entry of the goods at the port of destination.

In any customs-port other than a port in which the preceding clause may for the time being be in force, the Customs-collector may, on application by the owner of any goods so imported and manifested, grant leave for transhipment without payment of the duty (if any) leviable at such port:

Provided that, where the goods so transhipped are dutiable, and are to be removed to some other customs-port, the applicant shall enter into a bond, with such security as may be required of him, in a sum equal at least to the duty chargeable on such goods, for the due arrival and entry thereof at the port of destination within such time as such Customs-collector directs.

Section 129. Superintendence of transhipment

129. Superintendence of transhipment.-An officer of Customs shall, in every case, be deputed free of charge to superintend the removal of transhipped goods from vessel to vessel.

Section 130. Subsidiary rules as to transhipment

130. Subsidiary rules as to transhipment.-The powers conferred on the Customs-collector by Section 128 shall be exercised, and the transhipment shall be performed, subject to such rules as may from time to time be made by the ¹ [Chief Customs-authority].

No rules made under this section shall come into force until after the expiry of such reasonable time from the date of the publication of the same as the ² [Chief Customs-authority] may in each case appoint in this behalf.

Section 131. Entry and warehousing, on arrival, of goods transhipped under Section 128, clause 2

131. Entry and warehousing, on arrival, of goods transhipped under Section 128, clause 2.-All goods transhipped under the second clause of Section 128 for removal to a customs-port shall, on their arrival at such port, be entered in like manner as goods are entered on the first importation thereof, and under the laws and rules, in so far as such laws and rules can be made applicable, which regulate the entry of such last-mentioned goods.

Section 132. Transhipment of provisions and stores from one vessel to another of same owner without payment of duty

132. Transhipment of provisions and stores from one vessel to another of same owner without payment of duty.-If two or more vessels belonging wholly or in part to the same owner be at any customs-port at the same time, any provisions and stores in use or ordinarily shipped for use on board may, at the discretion of the Customs-collector, be transhipped from one such vessel to any other such vessel without payment of import-duty.

Section 133. Levy of transhipment-fee

133. Levy of transhipment-fee.-A transhipment-fee on any goods or class of goods transhipped under this Act may be levied at such rates, on each bale or package, or according to weight, measurement, quantity or number, and under such rules, as ¹ [the Chief Customs-authority] may from time to time, by notification in the ² [* * *] Official Gazette prescribe for each port.

Section 134. Power to prohibit transhipment

134. Power to prohibit transhipment.-The Central Government may from time to time, by notification in the Official Gazette, prohibit, at any specified port, or at all ports, the transhipment of any specified class of goods, generally or when destined for any specified ports, or prescribe any special mode of transhipping any specified class of goods.

Section 135. No goods to be transhipped except as provided

135. No goods to be transhipped except as provided.-Except as provided in this Act, no goods shall be transhipped at any port or place in ¹ [India].

Section 136. No goods to be shipped, etc., till entry outwards of vessel

Chapter 13 - Exportation or Shipment, and Re-landing

136. No goods to be shipped, etc., till entry outwards of vessel.-Except with the written permission of the Customs-collector, no goods other than passengers' baggage, or ballast urgently required for a vessel's safety, shall be shipped or water-borne to be shipped in any vessel in a customs-port until an order has been obtained under Section 61 for entry outwards of such vessel.

When such order has been obtained, the export-cargo of such vessel may be shipped, subject to the provisions next hereinafter contained.

Section 137. Clearance for shipment

137. Clearance for shipment.-¹ [* * *] No goods, except passengers' baggage, shall be shipped or water-borne to be shipped for exportation, until-

(a) the owner has delivered to the Customs-collector, or other proper officer, a shipping bill of such goods in duplicate, in such form and containing such particulars in addition to those specified in Section 29 as may from time to time be prescribed by the ² [Chief Customs-officer]

(b) such owner has paid the duties (if any) payable on such goods; and

(c) such bill has been passed by the Customs-collector:

³[Provided that the Chief Customs-officer may in the case of any customs-port or wharf, by notification in the Official Gazette, and subject to such restrictions and conditions, if any, as he thinks fit, exempt goods or any specified goods or class of goods or any specified person or class of persons, from all or any of the provisions of this section.]

Section 138. Bond required in certain cases before exportation

138. Bond required in certain cases before exportation.-Before any warehoused goods or goods subject to excise-duties, or goods entitled to drawback of customs-duties on exportation, or goods exportable only under particular rules or restrictions, are permitted to be exported, the owner shall, if required so to do, give security by bond in such sum, not exceeding twice the duty leviable on such goods, as the Customs-Collector directs, with one sufficient surety, that such goods shall be duly shipped, exported and landed at the place for which they are entered outwards, or shall be otherwise accounted for to the satisfaction of such officer.

Section 139. Additional charge on goods cleared for shipment after port-clearance granted

139. Additional charge on goods cleared for shipment after port-clearance granted.-When goods are cleared for shipment on a shipping bill presented after port-clearance has been granted, the Customs-collector may, if he thinks fit, levy, in addition to any duty to which such goods are ordinarily liable, a charge not exceeding-

(a) in the case of goods liable to duties on fixed tariff-valuations, one per cent. on the tariff-value;

(b) in the case of all other goods, one per cent. on the market value.

Nothing in this section shall apply to any shipment of treasure or opium.

Section 140. Notice of non-shipment or re-landing and return of duty thereon

140. Notice of non-shipment or re-landing and return of duty thereon.-If any goods mentioned in a shipping bill or manifest be not shipped, or be shipped and afterwards re-landed, the owner shall, before the expiration of five clear working days after the vessel on which such goods were intended to be shipped, or from which they were re-landed, has left the port, give information of such short-shipment or re-landing to the Customs-collector.

Upon an application being made to the Customs-collector, any duty levied upon goods not shipped, or upon goods shipped and afterwards re-landed, shall be refunded to the person on whose behalf such duty was paid:

¹[Provided that no such refund shall be allowed unless a claim therefor is made within three months of the date on which the said vessel left the port.]

Section 141. Goods re-landed or transhipped from a vessel returning to port or putting into another port

141. Goods re-landed or transhipped from a vessel returning to port or putting into another port.-If, after having cleared from any customs-port, any vessel, without having discharged her cargo, returns to such port, or puts into any other customs-port, any owner of goods in such vessel, if he desires to land or tranship the same or any portion thereof for re-export, may, with the consent of the master, apply to the Customs-collector in that behalf.

The Customs-collector, if he grant the application, shall thereupon send an officer of Customs to watch the vessel, and to take charge of such goods during such re-landing or transhipment.

Such goods shall not be allowed to be transhipped or re-exported free of duty by reason of the previous settlement of duty at the time of first export, unless they are lodged and remain, until the time of re-export, under the custody of an officer of Customs, in a place appointed by the Customs-collector, or are transhipped under such custody.

All expenses attending such custody shall be borne by the owner.

Section 142. Vessel returning to port may enter and land goods under import-rules

142. Vessel returning to port may enter and land goods under import-rules.-In either of the cases mentioned in Section 141, the master of the vessel may enter such vessel inwards, and any owner of goods therein may, with the consent of the master, land the same under the rules herein contained for the importation of goods.

In every such case, any export-duty levied shall be refunded to, and any amount paid in drawback shall be recovered from, such owner.

Section 143. Landing of cargo during repairs

143. Landing of cargo during repairs.-The Customs-collector may, on application by the master of any vessel which is obliged before completing her voyage to put into any customs-port for repairs, permit him to land the cargo, or any portion thereof, and to place it in the custody of an officer of Customs during such repairs, and to re-ship and export the same free of duty.

All expenses attending such custody shall be borne by the master.

Section 144. Rules for removal of spirit from distillery without payment of duty for exportation

Chapter 14 - Spirit

144. Rules for removal of spirit from distillery without payment of duty for exportation.-The Chief Customs-authority may from time to time make rules prescribing the conditions on which spirit manufactured in ¹ [India] may be removed from any licensed distillery for exportation without payment of excise-duty.

The person so removing any such spirit shall execute a bond with one or more sureties, in the form marked C hereto annexed, or (when such form is inapplicable or insufficient) in such other form as the said Authority from time to time prescribes, conditioned that such duty shall be paid on all such spirit as is-

(a) not exported within four months from the date of the bond, or

(b) exported to a customs-port, unless ² [either] the payment of excise-duty as provided by this Chapter in respect thereof at the port of destination ³ [or the delivery of the spirit into a warehouse appointed in this behalf by the ⁴ [Chief Customs-authority] having authority at that port] is within six months from the date of the bond proved to the satisfaction of the proper officer.

The Chief Officer of Customs of the port of exportation may, on sufficient causes shown, extend for a further term not exceeding four months the period allowed for the exportation of any such spirit, or for the production of such proof that duty has been ⁵ [so paid or the spirit so delivered].

Section 145. Spirit for export to be taken direct from distillery to custom-house under pass

145. Spirit for export to be taken direct from distillery to custom-house under pass.-Spirit intended for exportation under bond for the excise-duty shall ¹ [except when provision is made by any enactment for the time being in force for its being intermediately deposited in a licensed warehouse] be taken from the distillery direct to the custom-house, under passes to be granted for that purpose by the officers of Excise.

Section 146. Gauging and proving of spirit

146. Gauging and proving of spirit.-Spirit brought to the custom-house for exportation under bond for the excise-duty ¹ [may], previous to shipment, be gauged and proved by an officer of Customs, and the quantity of spirit for which credit is to be given in the settlement of any bond ² [may] be determined in the same manner.

Section 147. Duty to be recovered on any deficiency in spirit under bond

147. Duty to be recovered on any deficiency in spirit under bond.-Excise duty, shall be recoverable previous to shipment upon the excess (if any) of the quantity of spirit passed from a distillery over the quantity ascertained by gauge and proof at the custom-house, less an allowance for ullage and wastage at such rates as are from time to time prescribed by the ¹ [Chief Customs-authority] and notified in the ² [* * *] Official Gazette.

Section 148. Duty on spirit exported under bond from one Indian port to another

148. Duty on spirit exported under bond from one Indian port to another.-¹ [Notwithstanding anything in the ²Indian Tariff Act, 1882 (11 of 1882),] spirit exported under bond for excise-duty from any customs-port to any other customs-port shall be charged at the port of importation with excise-duty at the ordinary rate to which spirit of the like kind and strength is liable at such port:

³[Provided that the ⁴ [Chief Customs-authority] may authorize the import of such spirit without the payment of that duty at the port of importation when the spirit is to be delivered into a warehouse appointed by the ⁵ [Chief Customs-authority] in this behalf, and the excise-duty thereon is to be paid on the removal of the spirit from a warehouse so appointed.]

Section 149. Removal for local consumption of spirit intended for exportation

149. Removal for local consumption of spirit intended for exportation.-Spirit brought to the custom-house ¹ [or to a warehouse licensed under any enactment for the time being in force] for exportation under bond for the excise-duty may, on payment of such duty, be removed for local consumption under passes to be granted for that purpose by the officers of Excise.

Credit for every such payment shall be given in discharge of the bond to which it relates.

Section 150. Drawback of excise-duty on spirit exported

150. Drawback of excise-duty on spirit exported.-A drawback of excise-duty paid on spirit manufactured in ¹ [India] and exported to any foreign port under the provisions of Section 138 shall be allowed by the Customs-collector at the port of exportation:

Provided that the exportation be made within one year from the date of payment of such excise-duty, and that the spirit, when brought to the custom-house, be accompanied by a pass in which such payment is certified.

Such drawback shall be regulated by the strength and quantity of such spirit as ascertained by gauge and proof by an officer of Customs.

Section 151. Differential duty to be levied in certain cases

151. Differential duty to be levied in certain cases.-¹ [Notwithstanding anything in the ²Indian Tariff Act, 1882 (11 of 1882),] if spirit manufactured in ³ [India] upon which excise-duty has been paid is exported from one customs-port to another, and the rate of local excise-duty at the port of importation is higher than that already paid upon such spirit, a differential duty shall be charged thereon, at such rate ⁴ [(not exceeding the difference between the two rates)] as the State Government at such port may, by notification in the Official Gazette, from time to time prescribe:

⁵[Provided that the ⁶ [Chief Customs-authority] may authorize the import of such spirit without the payment of the differential duty at the port of importation when the spirit is to be delivered into a warehouse appointed by the ⁷ [Chief Customs-authority] in this behalf, and the differential duty is to be paid on the removal of the spirit from a warehouse so appointed.]

Section 152. Rum-shrub, etc., how charged with duty

152. Rum-shrub, etc., how charged with duty.-Rum-shrub, cordial and other such liquor prepared in a licensed distillery under the supervision of the surveyor or officer in charge of the distillery shall be charged with excise-duty under this Act according to the quantity of sprit used in its preparation as ascertained by such surveyor or officer.

Provisions respecting spirit applied to such liquors.-The provisions of this Act respecting spirit, except such as relate to gauge and proof, shall apply to such liquor.

Section 153. Conditions of drawback and remission of duty on spirit

153. Conditions of drawback and remission of duty on spirit.-No drawback shall be allowed for any spirit on which duty has been paid, nor shall the duty due on any spirit under bond be remitted, unless the spirit is shipped from the custom-house, and in a vessel whereon an officer of Customs has been appointed to superintend the receipt of export-cargo.

Section 154. Re-landing of spirit shipped

154. Re-landing of spirit shipped.-No spirit shipped for exportation shall be relanded without a special pass from an officer of Excise, in addition to any permission of an officer of Customs which may be required by the law for the time being in force.

Section 155. Power to make rules for ascertaining that imported spirit has been rendered unfit for human consumption

155. Power to make rules for ascertaining that imported spirit has been rendered unfit for human consumption.-¹ [When by any law for the time being in force, a special duty is imposed on denatured spirit, ² [the Central Government] may ³ [* * *] make rules for ascertaining and determining what spirit imported into ⁴ [India] shall be deemed to be denatured spirit for the purposes of such law, and for causing such spirit to be denatured, if necessary, ⁵ [by officers of Government] at the expense of the person importing the same, before the customs duties leviable thereon are levied.]

Decision where no rules, or their applicability disputed.-In the absence of any such rules, or if any dispute arises as to their applicability, the Chief Customs-officer shall decide what spirit is subject only to the said duty, and such decision shall be final.

Section 156. Chapters VII, IX, X and part of XIII inapplicable to coasting-trade

Chapter 15 - Coasting-Trade

156. Chapters VII, IX, X and part of XIII inapplicable to coasting-trade.-Except as hereinafter provided, nothing in Chapters VII, IX, X and Sections 136, 139, and 141 to 143 inclusive, of this Act, shall apply to coasting-vessels or to goods imported in such vessels.

Section 157. Power to regulate coasting-trade

157. Power to regulate coasting-trade.-The Central Government may, from time to time, make rules consistent with the provisions of this Chapter-

(a) extending any provision of the Chapters and sections mentioned in Section 156, with or without modification, to any coasting-vessels or to any goods imported or exported in such vessels;

(b) exempting any such vessels or goods from any of the other provisions of this Act except those contained in this Chapter;

(c) prescribing the conditions on which goods, or any specified class of goods, may be (1) carried in a coasting-vessel, whether shipped at a foreign port, or at a customs-port, or at a place declared under Section 12 to be a port; (2) shipped in a coasting-vessel before all dutiable goods and goods brought in such vessel from a foreign port have been unladen;

(d) prohibiting the conveyance of any specified class of goods generally, or to or between specified ports in a coasting-vessel.

Section 158. Coasting-vessels to deliver manifest and obtain port-clearance before leaving port of lading

158. Coasting-vessels to deliver manifest and obtain port-clearance before leaving port of lading.-Before any coasting-vessel departs from the port of lading, or, when there are more ports of lading than one, the first port of lading, the master shall fill in, sign and deliver to the Customs-collector a manifest in duplicate containing a true specification of all goods to be carried in such vessel, in such form, and accompanied by such shipping bills or other documents, as may from time to time be prescribed by the Chief Customs-authority.

If the Customs-collector sees no objection to the departure of the vessel, he shall retain the duplicate and return the original manifest, dated and signed by him, together with its accompaniments; and such manifest shall be the port-clearance of the vessel, unless, under the general orders of the Chief Customs-authority, a separate port-clearance be prescribed.

Section 159. Delivery of manifest, etc., on arrival

159. Delivery of manifest, etc., on arrival.-Within twenty-four hours after the arrival of any coasting-vessel at any customs-port, whether intermediate or final, and before any goods are there discharged, the manifest, together with the other documents referred to in Section 158, shall be delivered to the Customs-collector, who shall note on the manifest the date of delivery.

If the vessel has touched at any foreign port between such port of arrival and her last preceding customs-port of departure, the master shall append to the manifest a declaration to that effect, and shall also indicate on the manifest the portions (if any) of the cargo therein described which have been discharged, and subjoin thereto a true specification of all goods shipped at such port.

If the customs-port of arrival be an intermediate port, and a portion only of the cargo is to be discharged thereat, the master shall likewise so deliver an extract from manifest signed by him, relating to such portion, and the Customs-collector shall, after verifying such extract, return to him the original manifest and all documents accompanying it except those relating to such portion.

If in any case the cargo actually on board any coasting-vessel on her arrival at any customs-port does not, owing to short-shipment, re-landing or other cause, correspond with the specification thereof in the manifest returned to the master under the second clause of Section 158, such master shall, before delivery of such manifest under this section, note thereon the particulars of the difference.

The Customs-collector, when satisfied without the manifest and other documents, shall grant an order to break bulk.

Section 160. Departure from intermediate port

160. Departure from intermediate port.-Before any coasting-vessel departs from any customs-port at which she has touched during her voyage, the master shall re-deliver the original manifest to the Customs-collector, after indicating thereon the portions (if any) of the cargo therein described which have been discharged, and subjoining thereto a true specification of all goods shipped at such port. He shall also deliver a duplicate, signed by him, of the specification so subjoined.

If the Customs-collector sees no objection to the departure of the vessel, he shall proceed as prescribed in the second clause of Section 158.

Section 161. Power to require bond before port clearance is granted

161. Power to require bond before port clearance is granted.-The Customs-collector may, for sufficient reason, refuse port-clearance to any coasting-vessel declared to be bound to, or about to touch at, any customs-port, unless the owner or master gives a bond, with such security as the Customs-collector deems sufficient, for the production to the Customs-collector of a certificate from the proper officer of the port to which such vessel is said to be bound, of her arrival at such port within a reasonable time to be prescribed in each case by the Customs-collector.

Section 162. Discharge of cargo

162. Discharge of cargo.-When permission has been granted by the Customs-collector for the discharge of cargo from any coasting-vessel-

(a) if the vessel has not touched at any intermediate foreign port in the course of her voyage, and has not on board any dutiable goods, the cargo may be forthwith landed and removed by the owner without entry thereof at the custom-house and clearance for home consumption, but subject to such general check and control as the ¹ [Chief Customs-officer] may from time to time by rules prescribe;

(b) if the vessel has so touched at any such port, or has on board any such goods, such vessel shall be subject to all the provisions of Chapter VII of this Act relating to vessels arriving and such goods, and until such goods have been duly discharged all other goods on board shall be subject to the provisions of Chapter IX of this Act relating to goods imported.

Section 163. Goods on coasting-vessel, if excisable, not to be unladen without permission

163. Goods on coasting-vessel, if excisable, not to be unladen without permission.-If any of the goods on board of any coasting-vessel be subject to any excise-duty they shall not be unladen without the permission of the proper officer of Excise.

Section 164. Grant and revocation of general pass

164. Grant and revocation of general pass.-Notwithstanding anything hereinbefore contained, ¹ [the Chief Customs-officer may grant or] authorize the Customs-collector to grant a general pass, on any conditions which ² [the Chief Customs-officer] thinks expedient for the lading and clearance, and for the entry and unlading, of any coasting steam-vessel at any ports of despatch or destination, or at any intermediate ports at which she touches for the purpose of receiving goods or passengers.

Such pass shall be valid throughout ³ [India], or for such ports only as may be specified therein.

Any such general pass may be revoked by order of ⁴ [the Chief Customs-officer] by whom the grant thereof ⁵ [was made or authorized], by notice in writing under the hand of ⁶ [the Chief Customs-officer], delivered to the master or to the owner of such steam-vessel, or to any of the crew on board.

Section 165. Rules respecting cargo-books to be kept by masters of coasting-vessels

165. Rules respecting cargo-books to be kept by masters of coasting-vessels.-The Chief Customs-authority may direct that the master of any coasting-vessel which is square-rigged or propelled by steam shall keep, or cause to be kept, a cargo-book, stating the name of the master, the vessel, the port to which she belongs, and the port to which on each voyage she is bound.

At every port of lading such master shall enter, or cause to be entered, in such book the name of such port and an account of all goods there taken on board of such vessel, with a description of the packages, and the quantities and descriptions of the goods, contained therein or stowed loose, and the names of the respective shippers and consignees, in so far as such particulars are known to him.

At every port of discharge of any such goods such master shall enter, or cause to be entered, in such book the respective days on which such goods or any of them are delivered out of such vessel.

The respective times of departure from every port of lading, and of arrival at every port of discharge, shall in like manner by duly entered.

Every such master shall, on demand, produce his cargo-book for the inspection of any officer of Customs, and such officer shall be at liberty to make any note or remark therein.

The Chief Customs-authority may, in the case of any vessel the master whereof has been directed to keep a cargo-book under this section, dispense with the manifest required under Sections 158, 159 and 160.

Section 166. Power to board and examine coasting-vessels

166. Power to board and examine coasting-vessels.-Any duly empowered officer of Customs may go on board of any coasting-vessel in any port or place in ¹ [India], and may at any period of a voyage search any such vessel and examine all goods on board, and all goods then lading or unlading, and may demand the production of any document which ought to be on board of any such vessel.

The Customs-collector may further require that any such document belonging to any coasting-vessel then in port shall be brought to him for inspection.

Section 167. Punishments for offences

Chapter 16 - Offences and Penalties

167. Punishments for offences.-The offences mentioned in the first column of the following schedule shall be punishable to the extent mentioned in the third column of the same with reference to such offences respectively:-

Nothing in the second column of the above schedule shall be deemed to have the force of law.

Section 168. Packages and contents included in confiscation of goods

168. Packages and contents included in confiscation of goods.-The confiscation of any goods under this Act includes any package in which they are found, and all the other contents thereof.

Also conveyances and animals used in removal.-Every vessel, cart or other means of conveyance, and every horse or other animal, used in the removal of any goods liable to confiscation under this Act shall in like manner be liable to confiscation.

Tackle, etc., included in confiscation of vessels.-The confiscation of any vessel under this Act includes her tackle, apparel and furniture.

Section 169. Powers to search on reasonable suspicion

Chapter 171 - Procedure Relating to Offences, Appeals, etc.

Chapter 17¹ - Procedure Relating to Offences, Appeals, etc.

169. Powers to search on reasonable suspicion.-Any officer of Customs duly employed in the prevention of smuggling may search any person on board of any vessel in any port in ² [India] ³ [or within the Indian customs waters] or any person who has landed from any vessel:

Provided that such officer has reason to believe that such person has dutiable or prohibited goods secreted about his person.

Section 170. Persons may, before search require to be taken before Magistrate or Customs-collector

Chapter 17 - Procedure Relating to Offences, Appeals, etc.

170. Persons may, before search require to be taken before Magistrate or Customs-collector.-When any officer of Customs is about to search any person under the provisions of Section 169, such person may require the said officer to take him, previous to search, before the nearest Magistrate or Customs-collector.

If such requisition be made, the officer of Customs may detain the person making it until he can bring him before the nearest Magistrate or Customs-collector.

The Magistrate or Customs-collector before whom any person is so brought shall, if he sees no reasonable ground for search, forthwith discharge such person; but if otherwise, shall direct that the search be made.

A female shall not be searched by any but a female.

Section 170-A. Power to screen or X-ray bodies of persons for detecting secreted goods

¹[170-A. Power to screen or X-ray bodies of persons for detecting secreted goods.-(1) Where any officer of Customs duly employed in the prevention of smuggling has reason to believe that any person on board of any vessel in any port in India ² [or within the Indian customs waters] or any person who has landed from any vessel has any dutiable, or prohibited goods secreted inside his body, such officer of Customs may detain such person and produce him without unnecessary delay before the nearest Magistrate.

(2) A Magistrate before whom any person is brought under sub-section (1) shall, if he sees no reasonable ground for believing that such person has any such goods secreted inside his body, forthwith discharge such person.

(3) Where any such Magistrate has reasonable ground for believing that such person has any such goods secreted inside his body and the Magistrate is satisfied that the purpose of discovering such goods it is necessary to have the body of such person screened or X-rayed, he may make an order to that effect.

(4) Where a Magistrate has made any order under sub-section (3) in relation to any person, any officer of Customs duly employed in the prevention of smuggling shall, as soon as practicable, take such person before a radiologist possessing qualifications recognized by the Central Government for the purpose of this section, and such person shall allow the radiologist to screen or X-ray his body.

(5) A radiologist before whom any person is brought under sub-section (4) shall, after screening or X-raying the body of such person, forward his report, together with any X-ray pictures taken by him, to the Magistrate without any unnecessary delay.

(6) Where on receipt of a report from a radiologist under sub-section (5) or otherwise, the Magistrate is satisfied that any person has any dutiable or prohibited goods secreted inside his body, he may direct that suitable action for bringing out such goods be taken on the advice and under the supervision of a registered medical practitioner and such person shall be bound to comply with such direction:

Provided that in the case of a female no such action shall be taken except on the advice and under the supervision of a female registered medical practitioner.

(7) Where any person is brought before a Magistrate under this section, such Magistrate may for the purpose of enforcing the provisions of this section order such person to be kept in such custody and for such time as he may direct.

(8) Any expenditure incurred for the purpose of enforcing the provisions of this section (including any fees payable to a radiologist or a registered medical practitioner) shall be defrayed out of moneys provided by Parliament.

(9) Nothing in this section shall apply to any person referred to in sub-section (1), who admits that dutiable or prohibited goods are secreted inside his body, and who voluntarily submits himself for suitable action being taken for bringing out such goods.

Explanation.-For the purposes of this section, the expression "registered medical practitioner" means any person who holds a qualification granted by an authority specified in the Schedule to the Indian Medical Degrees Act, 1916 (7 of 1916), or notified under Section 3 of that Act, or by an authority specified in any of the Schedules to the Indian Medical Council Act, 1933 (17 of 1933).

Section 171. Powers of Customs-officer for boarding and searching such vessels

¹[171. Powers of Customs-officer for boarding and searching such vessels.-(1) Any duly empowered officer of customs or other person duly employed for the prevention of smuggling may, for the purpose of ascertaining whether any breach of this Act or any other law relating to customs has been, is being or is likely to be committed,-

(a) stop and board any vessel in India or within the Indian customs waters and examine and search such vessel and every part thereof and every trunk, package or cargo on board an may inspect and examine the manifest and other documents and papers;

(b) stop and search any cart or other means of conveyance at any place in India.

(2) Where in exercise of the powers conferred by clause (a) of sub-section (1), it becomes necessary to stop any vessel, it shall be lawful for any ship in the service of the Central Government while flying her proper ensign, to summon such vessel, under the direction of any such officer or person as is referred to in that sub-section, by means of an international signal code or other recognised means, and thereupon such vessel shall forthwith bring-to, and if it fails to do so, chase may be given to the vessel by any such ship as aforesaid, and if after a gun is fired, the vessel still fails to bring-to, the vessel may be fired upon by such ship.]

Section 171-A. Power of officers of Customs to summon persons to give evidence and produce documents

¹[171-A. Power of officers of Customs to summon persons to give evidence and produce documents.-(1) Any officer of Customs duly employed in the prevention of smuggling shall have power to summon any person whose attendance he considers necessary either to give evidence or to produce a document or any other thing in any inquiry which such officer is making in connection with the smuggling of any goods.

(2) A summons to produce documents or other things may be for the production of certain specified documents or things or for the production of all documents or things of a certain description in the possession or under the control of the person summoned.

(3) All persons so summoned shall be bound to attend either in person or by an authorized agent, as such officer may direct; and all persons so summoned shall be bound to state the truth upon any subject respecting which they are examined or make statements and to produce such documents and other things as may be required:

Provided that the exemption under Section 132 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908) shall be applicable to any requisition for attendance under this section.

(4) Every such inquiry as aforesaid shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of Section 193 and Section 228 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).]

Section 172. Power to issue search warrants

172. Power to issue search warrants.-Any Magistrate may, on application by a Customs-collector, stating his belief that dutiable or prohibited goods ¹ [or any documents relating to such goods] are secreted in any place within the local limits of the jurisdiction of such Magistrate, issue a warrant to search for such goods ² [or documents].

Such warrant shall be executed in the same way, and shall have the same effect, as a search-warrant issued under the law relating to Criminal Procedure³.

Section 173. Persons reasonably suspected may be arrested

173. Persons reasonably suspected may be arrested.-Any person against whom a reasonable suspicion exists that he has been guilty of an offence under this Act may be arrested in any place ¹ [in India either upon land or water, or within the Indian customs waters], by any officer of Customs or other person duly employed for the prevention of smuggling.

Section 174. Persons arrested to be taken to nearest Magistrate or Customs-collector

174. Persons arrested to be taken to nearest Magistrate or Customs-collector.-Every person arrested on the ground that he has been guilty of an offence under this Act shall forthwith be taken before the nearest Magistrate or Customs-collector.

Section 175. Persons taken before Magistrate may be detained or admitted to bail

175. Persons taken before Magistrate may be detained or admitted to bail.-When any such person is taken before a Magistrate, such Magistrate may, if he thinks fit, either commit him to gaol or order him to be kept in the custody of the Police for such time as is necessary to enable such Magistrate to communicate with the proper officers of Customs:

Provided that any person so arrested, committed or kept shall be released on giving security to the satisfaction of the Magistrate to appear at such time and place as such Magistrate appoints in this behalf.

Section 176. Person escaping may be afterwards arrested

176. Person escaping may be afterwards arrested.-If any person liable to be arrested under this Act is not arrested at the time of committing the offence for which he is so liable, or after arrest make his escape, he may at any time afterwards be arrested and taken before a Magistrate, to be dealt with as if he had been arrested at the time of committing such offence.

Section 177. Person in Her Majesty's Navy or the Indian Navy, when arrested, to be secured on board until warrant procured

177. Person in Her Majesty's Navy or the Indian Navy, when arrested, to be secured on board until warrant procured.-When any person employed on the crew of any of the ships of Her Majesty's Navy ¹ [or ² [the Indian Navy]] is arrested under this Act, the arresting officer shall forthwith give notice thereof to the commanding officer of the ship, who shall thereupon place such person in security on board of such ship, until the arresting officer has obtained a warrant from a Magistrate for bringing up such person to be dealt with according to law.

The Magistrate shall grant such warrant upon complaint made to him by the arresting officer, stating the offence for which the person is detained.

Section 178. Seizure of things liable to confiscation

178. Seizure of things liable to confiscation.-Any thing liable to confiscation under this Act may be seized in any place ¹ [in India either upon land or water, or within the Indian customs waters] by any officer of Customs or other person duly employed for the prevention of smuggling.

Section 178-A. Burden of Proof

¹[178-A. Burden of Proof.-(1) Where any goods to which this section applies are seized under this Act in the reasonable belief that they are smuggled goods, the burden of proving that they are not smuggled goods shall be on the person from whose possession the goods were seized.

(2) This section shall apply to gold, manufactures, diamonds and other precious stones, cigarettes and cosmetics and any other goods which the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify in this behalf.

(3) Every notification issued under sub-section (2) shall be laid before both Houses of Parliament as soon as may be after it is issued.]

S. 178-A (as it applies to gold) declared void in Nathella Sampathu Chetty v. Collector of Customs, 1958 SCC OnLine Mad 227.

Section 179. Things seized how dealt with

179. Things seized how dealt with.-All things seized on the ground that they are liable to confiscation under this Act shall, as soon as conveniently may be, be delivered into the care of any Customs-officer authorized the same.

If there be no such officer at hand, all such things shall be carried to and deposited at the custom-house nearest to the place of seizure.

If there be no custom-house within a convenient distance, such things shall be deposited at the nearest place appointed by the ¹ [Chief Customs-officer] for the deposit of things so seized.

Section 180. Procedure in respect of things seized on suspicion

180. Procedure in respect of things seized on suspicion.-When any things liable to confiscation under this Act are seized by any Police-officer on suspicion that they have been stolen, he may carry them to any police-station or Court at which a complaint connected with the stealing or receiving of such things has been made, or an enquiry connected with such stealing or receiving is in progress, and there detain such things until the dismissal of such complaint or the conclusion of such enquiry or of any trial thence resulting.

In every such case the Police-officer seizing the things shall send written notice of their seizure and detention to the nearest custom-house; and immediately after the dismissal of the complaint or the conclusion of the enquiry or trial, he shall cause such things to be conveyed to, and deposited at, the nearest custom-house, to be there proceeded against according to law.

Section 181. When seizure or arrest is made, reason in writing to be given

181. When seizure or arrest is made, reason in writing to be given.-When anything is seized, or any person is arrested, under this Act, the officer or other person making such seizure or arrest shall, on demand of the person in charge of the thing so seized, or of the person so arrested, give him a statement in writing of the reason for such seizure or arrest.

Section 181-A. Power to detain packages containing certain publications imported into India

¹[181-A. Power to detain packages containing certain publications imported into India.-(1) The Chief Customs-officer or other officer authorized by the State Government in this behalf may detain any package, brought whether by land or sea into ² [India] which he suspects to contain-

(a) any newspaper or book as defined in the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867 (25 of 1867), or

(b) any document,

containing any seditious matter, that is to say, any matter the publication of which is punishable under Section 124-A of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860), and shall forward such package to such officer as the State Government may appoint in this behalf.

(2) Any officer detaining a package under the provisions of sub-section (1) shall, where practicable, forthwith send by post to the addressee or consignee of such package notice of the fact of such detention.

(3) The State Government shall cause the contents of such package to be examined, and if it appears to the State Government that the package contains any such newspaper, book or other document, containing any such seditious matter, may pass such orders as to the disposal of the package and its contents as it may deem proper, and, if it does not so appear, shall release the package and its contents unless the same be otherwise liable to seizure under any law for the time being in force:

Provided that any person interested in any package detained under the provisions of this section may, within two months from the date of such detention, apply to the State Government for release of the same, and the State Government shall consider such application and pass such orders thereon as it may deem to be proper:

Provided further, that, if such application is rejected, the applicant may, within two months from the date of the order rejecting the application, apply to the High Court for release of the package or its contents on the ground that the package did not contain any such newspaper, book or other document containing any such seditious matter.

(4) In this section, "document" includes also any painting, drawing or photograph, or other visible representation.

Section 181-B. Procedure for disposal by High Court of applications for release of packages so detained

181-B. Procedure for disposal by High Court of applications for release of packages so detained.-Every application under the second proviso to sub-section (3) of Section 181-A shall be heard and determined, in the manner provided by Sections 99-D to 99-F of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (5 of 1898), by a Special Bench of the High Court constituted in the manner provided by Section 99-C of that Code.

Section 181-C. Jurisdiction barred

181-C. Jurisdiction barred.-No order passed or action taken under Section 181-A shall be called in question in any Court otherwise than in accordance with the second proviso to sub-section (3) of that section.]

Section 182. Adjudication of confiscations and penalties

182. Adjudication of confiscations and penalties.-In every case, except the cases mentioned in Section 167, Nos. 26, 72 and 74 to 76, both inclusive, in which, under this Act anything is liable to confiscation or to increased rates of duty;

or any person is liable to a penalty,

such confiscation, increased rate of duty or penalty may be adjudged-

(a) without limit, by a Deputy Commissioner or Deputy Collector of Customs, or a Customs-collector;

(b) up to confiscation of goods not exceeding two hundred and fifty rupees in value, and imposition of penalty or increased duty, not exceeding one hundred rupees, by an Assistant Commissioner or Assistant Collector of Customs;

(c) up to confiscation of goods not exceeding fifty rupees in value, and imposition of penalty or increased duty not exceeding ten rupees, by such other subordinate officers of Customs as the ¹ [Chief Customs-authority] may, from time to time, empower in that behalf in virtue of their office:

Provided that the ² [Chief Customs-authority] may, in the case of any officer performing the duties of a Customs-collector, limit his powers to those indicated in clause (b) or in clause (c) of this section, and may confer on any officer by name, or in virtue of his office, the powers indicated in clauses (a), (b) or (c) of this section.

Section 183. Option to pay fine in lieu of confiscation

183. Option to pay fine in lieu of confiscation.-Whenever confiscation is authorized by this Act, the officer adjudging it shall give the owner of the goods an option to pay in lieu of confiscation such fine as the officer thinks fit.

Section 184. On confiscation, property to vest in Government

184. On confiscation, property to vest in Government.-When anything is confiscated under Section 182 such thing shall thereupon vest in Government.

The officer adjudging confiscation shall take and hold possession of the thing confiscated, and every officer of Police, on the requisition of such officer, shall assist him in taking and holding such possession.

Section 185. Levy of penalty for failure to bring-to

185. Levy of penalty for failure to bring-to.-If any vessel actually departs without a port-clearance or after failing to bring-to when required at any station appointed under Section 17, the penalty to which the master of such vessel is liable may be adjudged by the Chief Customs-officer of any customs-port to which such vessel proceeds, or in which she is ¹ [* * *].

A certificate of such departure or failure to bring-to when required, purporting to be signed by the Chief Customs-officer of the port from which the vessel is stated to have so departed, shall be prima-facie proof of the fact so certified.

Section 186. Penalty under Act not to interfere with punishment under other law

186. Penalty under Act not to interfere with punishment under other law.-The award of any confiscation, penalty or increased rate of duty under this Act by an officer of Customs shall not prevent the infliction of any punishment to which the person affected thereby is liable under any other law.

Section 187. Offences not specially provided for how tried

187. Offences not specially provided for how tried.-All offences against this Act, other than those cognizable under Section 182 by officers of Customs, may be tried summarily by a Magistrate.

Section 187-A. Cognizance of offences

¹[187-A. Cognizance of offences.-No Court shall take cognizance of any offence relating to smuggling of goods punishable under item 81 of the schedule to Section 167, except upon complaint in writing, made by the Chief Customs-officer or any other officer of Customs not lower in rank than an Assistant Collector of Customs authorized in this behalf by the Chief Customs-officer.]

Section 188. Appeal from subordinate to Chief Customs-authority

188. Appeal from subordinate to Chief Customs-authority.-Any person deeming himself aggrieved by any decision or order passed by an officer of Customs under this Act may, within three months from the date of such decision or order, appeal therefrom to the Chief Customs-authority, or in such cases as the Central Government directs, to any officer of Customs not inferior in rank to a Customs-collector and empowered in that behalf by name or in virtue of his office by the Central Government.

Such authority or officer may thereupon make such further inquiry and pass such order as he thinks fit, confirming, altering or annulling the decision or order appealed against:

Provided that no such order in appeal shall have the effect of subjecting any person to any greater confiscation, penalty or rate of duty than has been adjudged against him in the original decision or order.

Every order passed in appeal under this section shall, subject to the power of revision conferred by Section 191, be final.

Section 189. Deposit, pending appeal, of duty demanded

189. Deposit, pending appeal, of duty demanded.-Where the decision or order appealed against relates to any duty or penalty leviable in respect of any goods, the owner of such goods, if desirous of appealing against such decision or order, shall, pending the appeal, deposit in the hands of the Customs-collector at the port where the dispute arises the amount demanded by the officer passing such decision or order.

When delivery of such goods to the owner thereof is withheld merely be reason of such amount not being paid, the Customs-collector shall, upon such deposit being made, cause such goods to be delivered to such owner.

If upon any such appeal it is decided that the whole or any portion of such amount was not leviable in respect of such goods, the Customs-collector shall return such amount or portion (as the case may be) to the owner of such goods on demand by such owner.

Section 190. Power to remit penalty or confiscation

190. Power to remit penalty or confiscation.-If, upon consideration of the circumstances under which any penalty, increased rate of duty or confiscation has been adjudged under this Act by an officer of Customs, the Chief Customs-authority is of opinion that such penalty, increased rate or confiscation ought to be remitted in whole or in part, or commuted, such authority may remit the same or any portion thereof, or may, with the consent of the owner of any goods ordered to be confiscated, commute the order of confiscation to a penalty not exceeding the value of such goods.

Section 190-A. Powers of revision of Chief Customs-authority and Chief Customs-officer

¹[190-A. Powers of revision of Chief Customs-authority and Chief Customs-officer.-(1) The Chief Customs-authority may of its own motion or otherwise call for and examine the record of any proceeding in which an officer of Customs has passed any decision or order under this Act for the purpose of satisfying itself as to the legality or propriety of any such decision or order and may pass such order thereon as it thinks fit:

Provided that no order prejudicial to any person shall be passed under this section unless such person has been given a reasonable opportunity of making a representation against the proposed order.

(2) The powers conferred upon the Chief Customs-authority under sub-section (1) may also, in the like manner and subject to the like conditions, be exercised by the Chief Customs-officer in respect of any decision or order passed under this Act by any officer of Customs subordinate to him.

(3) No decision or order passed by an officer of Customs shall be revised under this section by the Chief Customs-authority or a Chief Customs-officer, as the case may be, after the expiry of two years from the date of the decision or order.]

Section 191. Revision by Central Government

191. Revision by Central Government.-The Central Government may, on the application of any person aggrieved by any decision or order passed under this Act by any officer of Customs or Chief Customs-authority, and from which no appeal lies reverse or modify such decision or order.

Section 192. Goods on which penalty incurred not to be removed till payment

192. Goods on which penalty incurred not to be removed till payment.-When any fine, penalty or increased rate of duty is leviable under this Act the goods in respect of which such fine, penalty or rate is leviable shall not be removed by the owner until such fine, penalty or rate is paid.

Other goods of person liable to fine or penalty may be detained.-If any person has become liable to any such fine, penalty or rate in respect of any goods, the Customs-collector may detain any other goods belonging to such person passing through the custom-house until such fine, penalty or rate is paid.

Section 193. Enforcement of payment of penalty

193. Enforcement of payment of penalty.-When a penalty or increased rate of duty is adjudged against any person under this Act by any officer of Customs, such officer, if such penalty or increased rate be not paid, may levy the same by sale of any goods of the said person which may be in his charge or in the charge of any other officer of Customs.

When an officer of Customs who has adjudged a penalty or increased rate of duty against any person under this Act is unable to realize the unpaid amount thereof from such goods, such officer may notify in writing to any Magistrate within the local limits of whose jurisdiction such person or any goods belonging to him may be, the name and residence of the said person and the amount of penalty or increased rate of duty unrecovered; and such Magistrate shall thereupon proceed to enforce payment of the said amount in like manner as if such penalty or increased rate had been a fine inflicted by himself.

Section 194. Power to open packages and examine goods

Chapter 18 - Miscellaneous

194. Power to open packages and examine goods.-Any officer of Customs may open any package, and examine any goods brought by sea to, or shipped or brought for shipment at, any customs-port.

Section 195. Power to take samples of goods

195. Power to take samples of goods.-¹ [(1)] The Customs-collector may, on the entry or clearance of any goods, or at any time while such goods are being passed through the custom-house, take samples of such goods, for examination or for ascertaining the value thereof on which duties are payable, or for any other necessary purpose.

Every such sample shall, if practicable, be at the option of the owner either restored to him, or sold and the proceeds accounted for to him.

²[(2) In the case of goods which consist of drugs or articles intended for consumption as food, and in respect of which the taking of samples for the purposes of this sub-section may have been authorised by general or special order of the State Government, the Customs-collector may also in like circumstances take samples thereof for submission to, and examination by, such officer of Government or of a local authority as may be specified in such order. The real value of all such samples shall be paid to the owner by the Customs-collector.]

Section 195-A. Power to make rules for determining whether mineral oil is suitable for use as an illuminant

¹[195-A. Power to make rules for determining whether mineral oil is suitable for use as an illuminant.-(1) When by any law for the time being in force a duty of customs is imposed on mineral oil which is specified as being suitable or as not being suitable for use as an illuminant is wick lamps, the Chief Customs-authority may make rules for determining in disputed cases whether any mineral oil is or is not suitable for such use.

(2) In particular such rules may-

(a) specify the design, construction and materials of test lamps to be used for testing the burning properties of mineral oil in wick lamps and provide for the standardisation of such test lamps; and

(b) prescribe the manner in which and the persons by whom tests are to be carried out and the standards to be accepted for deciding whether any mineral oil is or is not suitable for use as an illuminant in wick lamps.]

Section 195-B. Power to allow import or export on execution of bonds in certain cases

¹[195-B. Power to allow import or export on execution of bonds in certain cases.-(1) Where this Act or any other law requires anything to be done before a person can import or export any goods or currency or clear any goods or currency from the control of officers of Customs and the Customs-collector is satisfied that having regard to the circumstances of the case, such thing cannot be done before such import, export or clearance without detriment to that person, the Customs-collector may, notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or such other law, grant leave for such import, export or clearance on the person executing a bond in such amount, with such surety or security and subject to such conditions as the Customs-collector approves, for the doing of that thing within such time after the import, export or clearance as may be specified in the bond.

(2) If the thing is done within the time specified in the bond, the Customs-collector shall cancel the bond as discharged in full and shall, on demand, deliver it, so cancelled, to the person who has executed or who is entitled to receive it; and in such a case that person shall not be liable to any penalty provided in this Act or, as the case may be, in such other law for the contravention of the provisions thereof relating to the doing of that thing.

(3) If the thing is not done within the time specified in the bond, the Customs-collector shall be entitled to proceed upon the bond in accordance with law; and in such a case the person concerned shall also be liable to the penalty provided in this Act or, as the case may be, in such other law for such contravention as aforesaid.]

Section 196. Owner to pay expense incidental to compliance with Customs-law

196. Owner to pay expense incidental to compliance with Customs-law.-The unshipping, carrying, shipping and landing of all goods, and the bringing of them to the proper place for examination or weighing, and the putting of them into and out of the scales, and the opening, unpacking, bulking, sorting, lotting, marking and numbering of goods, where such operations are necessary or permitted,

and the removing of goods to, and the placing of them in, the proper place of deposit,

shall be performed by or at the expense of the owner of such goods.

Section 197. No compensation for loss or injury except on proof of neglect or wilful act

197. No compensation for loss or injury except on proof of neglect or wilful act.-No owner of goods shall be entitled to claim from any officer of Customs compensation for any loss or damage occurring to such goods at any time while they remain or are lawfully detained in any custom-house, or on any custom-house wharf, or under charge of any officer of Customs, unless it be proved that such loss or damage was occasioned by the neglect or wilful act of such officer of Customs.

Section 198. Notice of proceedings

198. Notice of proceedings.-No proceeding other than a suit shall be commenced against any person for anything purporting to be done in pursuance of this Act without giving to such person a month's previous notice in writing of the intended proceeding and of the cause thereof; or

Limitation.-after the expiration of three months from the accrual of such cause.

Section 199. Wharfage fees

199. Wharfage fees.-The ¹ [Chief Customs-officer] may from time to time fix the period after the expiration of which goods left on any custom-house wharf, or other authorized landing-place or part of the custom-house premises, shall be subject to payment of fees and the amount of such fees.

Section 200. Duplicates of documents may be granted on payment of fee

200. Duplicates of documents may be granted on payment of fee.-A duplicate of any certificate, manifest, bill or other custom-house document may, on payment of a fee not exceeding ten rupees, be furnished, at the discretion of the Customs-collector to any person applying for the same, if the Customs-collector is satisfied that no fraud has been committed or is intended by the applicant.

Section 201. Amendment of documents

201. Amendment of documents.-Except in the cases provided for by Sections 36, 55, 63 and 94, the Customs-collector may in his discretion, upon payment of one rupee, authorize any document, after it has been entered and recorded in the custom-house, to be amended.

Section 202. Custom-house agents to be licensed

¹[202. Custom-house agents to be licensed.-(1) With effect from such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette specify, no person shall act as an agent for the transaction of any business relating to the entrance or clearance of any vessel or the import or export of goods or baggage in any custom-house unless such person holds a license granted in this behalf in accordance with the rules made under sub-section (2).

(2) The Chief Customs-authority may make rules for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this section and in particular, such rules may provide for-

(a) the authority by which a license may be granted under this section and the period of validity of any such license;

(b) the form of the license and the fees payable therefor;

(c) the qualifications of persons who may apply for a license;

(d) the restrictions and conditions (including the furnishing of a security by the licensee for his faithful behaviour as regards the custom-house regulations and officers) subject to which a license may be granted;

(e) the circumstances in which a license may be suspended or revoked; and

(f) the appeals, if any, against an order of suspension or revocation of a license, and the period within which such appeals shall be filed.]

Section 203. Agent to produce authority if required

203. Agent to produce authority if required.-When any person applies to any officer of Customs for permission to transact any specified business with him on behalf of any other person, such officer may require the applicant to produce a written authority from the person on whose behalf such business is to be transacted, and in default of the production of such authority may refuse such permission.

The clerk, servant or agent of any person or mercantile firm may transact business generally at the custom-house on behalf of such person or firm:

Provided that the Customs-collector may refuse to recognize such clerk, servant or agent unless such person or a member of such firm identifies such clerk, servant or agent to the Customs-collector as empowered to transact such business, and deposits with the Customs-collector an authority in writing duly signed, authorizing such clerk, servant or agent to transact such business on behalf of such person or firm.

Section 204. Rules to be notified

204. Rules to be notified.-All rules made under this Act shall be notified in the Official Gazette, and shall thereupon have the force of law.

All such rules for the time being in force shall be collected, arranged and published at intervals not exceeding two years, and shall be sold to the public at a reasonable price.

Section 205. Publication of notification in Official Gazettes

¹[205. Publication of notification in Official Gazettes.-Any notification published in the Official Gazette by the Chief Customs-authority under Section 53, Section 74, Section 76, Section 79, Section 85, Section 96, Section 116, Section 128, Section 133 or Section 147 shall forthwith be re-published ² [with the consent of the State Government] in the Official Gazette of each State to which it relates.]

Section 206. Remission of duty and compensation to owner in certain cases

206. Remission of duty and compensation to owner in certain cases.-If in any case relating to the removal of goods from a warehouse without payment of duty, the person offending be an officer of Customs not acting in execution of his duty, and be prosecuted to conviction by the owner of such goods, no duty shall be payable in respect of such goods. For any damage occasioned by such officer, the ¹ [Chief Customs-officer or, the Customs-collector, with the sanction of the Chief Customs-officer, shall] make due compensation to such owner:

²[Provided that compensation exceeding Rs. 250 shall be paid with the sanction of the Chief Customs-authority.]

Section 207. Saving of Calcutta Port Commissioners' and Bombay Port Trust Acts

207. Saving of Calcutta Port Commissioners' and Bombay Port Trust Acts.-Nothing in this Act shall affect any law for the time being in force relating to the Commissioners for making improvements in the Port of Calcutta or the Trustees of the Port of Bombay ¹ [or any like body hereafter created for any other port].