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(1) A person who contravenes a provision of this Act for which a specific punishment or penalty is not provided, commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more than two thousand five hundred penalty units or to a term of imprisonment of not more than five years, or to both.

(2) Where a person

(a) imports or is involved in importing any prohibited or restricted goods contrary to the prohibition or restriction, whether the goods are unloaded or not;

(b) unloads or is involved in unloading any prohibited goods or any restricted goods imported contrary to the prohibition or restriction;

(c) exports or is involved in exporting any prohibited or restricted goods contrary to the prohibition or restriction;

(d) with the intent to defraud the Republic of duty, harbours, keeps or conceals or permits, suffers, causes or procures to be harboured, kept or concealed any prohibited, restricted, or un-customed goods;

(e) with intent to defraud the Republic of any duty, acquires possession of or is in any way concerned in the carrying, removing, depositing or concealing of  prohibited, restricted, or un-customed goods; or

(f) is in any way involved in fraudulent evasion or attempted evasion of customs duties or taxes under the provisions of this Act, or any other enactment,

that person commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more than three hundred percent of the duty or tax evaded or to a term of imprisonment of not less than five years and not more than ten years and in addition all goods in respect of which the offence was committed is liable to forfeiture to the State.

(3) A person who commits any of the acts referred to in subsection (2) shall, whether or not that person is prosecuted, incur a penalty of not more than three hundred percent the duty or tax evaded and all goods in respect of which the offence was committed is liable to forfeiture to the State.

(4) The Commissioner-General shall not demand a penalty under subsection (2), where a fine imposed under subsection (3) is equal to or exceeds three hundred percent of the duty on the goods in respect of which the offence was committed.

(5) Where a contravention of this Act has occurred in respect of which the conveyance is liable to forfeiture, the Commissioner-General may, impose an administrative penalty of not more than three thousand five hundred penalty units and if the person does not pay the penalty imposed immediately, the Commissioner-General shall resort to court proceedings to retrieve the penalty.

(6) Despite a provision in this Act for the recovery of specified penalties or goods, the Commissioner-General may

(a) sue for a lesser penalty or forfeiture, or both;

(b) consent to judgment for a penalty or forfeiture, or both, less than that actually sued for; or

(c) mitigate or remit a penalty or restore goods seized under this Act at any time before the commencement of proceedings in a court against a person for a contravention of this Act or for the forfeiture of goods.

(7) Where under this Act a civil penalty, forfeiture, fees or charges are jointly and severally incurred by a number of persons, the Commissioner-General may proceed against those persons jointly by one writ of summons or severally by separate writs of summons.

(8) A person who releases confidential risk management information without the authority of the Commissioner-General commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than two thousand five hundred penalty units or to a term of imprisonment of five years or to both.

(9) Despite subsection (8) an officer who releases a risk register, risk profile, and other risk assessment data to a person without the authority of the Commissioner-General is subject to disciplinary action.

(10) A penalty equivalent to fifty penalty units per day shall be imposed for refusal to cooperate with a customs audit and after thirty days, continued refusal to cooperate may result in the suspension of the right to import and export goods and conduct any other business with the Authority.

(11) If goods required to be previously entered are taken out of a customs-controlled area without being duly entered except as permitted by this Act, the person who deposited the goods shall immediately pay the duties on the goods and shall pay a penalty of not more than three hundred percent of the duty payable.

(12) If the depositor of goods in a customs-controlled area fails to produce to an officer on request goods that have not been duly entered and delivered from the customs-controlled area, that person shall incur a penalty of three hundred percent of the duty payable on the goods not so produced and in addition pay the duties due.

(13) A person who, without proper authority, opens a transit shed or, except in the presence of the proper officer acting in the execution of duty, gains access to the goods in the transit shed, shall incur a penalty of not less than two thousand penalty units and not more than six thousand penalty units.

(14) A person who enters a part of a customs-controlled area when forbidden by an officer, or refuses to leave a part of a customs-controlled area when requested to do so by an officer, shall incur a penalty of not less than two hundred penalty units.

(15) A person who aids or assists in taking goods from a customs-controlled area before they have been duly entered commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a term of imprisonment of not more than five years, in addition to paying a penalty of not more than three hundred percent of the duties due on the goods.

(16) A person who destroys or steals goods deposited in a customs-controlled area commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a term of imprisonment of not more than ten years, and shall pay a fine equal to the value of the goods in addition to the duty due on the goods.

(17) The Authority is not liable to any legal action in respect of the goods described in this section.

(18) A person who files a fraudulent drawback or refund claim shall incur a penalty of fifty percent of the amount claimed and shall be prosecuted.