Customs Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. 1 (2nd Supp.))

Marginal note:When penalty becomes payable

109.4 A penalty assessed against a person under section 109.3 shall become payable on the day the notice of assessment of the penalty is served on the person.

Marginal note:Interest on penalties

• 109.5 (1) Subject to subsection (2), a person on whom a notice of assessment of a penalty has been served under section 109.3 shall pay, in addition to the penalty, interest at the prescribed rate for the period beginning on the day after the notice was served on the person and ending on the day the penalty has been paid in full, calculated on the outstanding balance of the penalty.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (2) Interest is not payable if the penalty is paid in full by the person within thirty days after the date of the notice of assessment.

Marginal note:Seizure of goods or conveyances

• 110. (1) An officer may, where he believes on reasonable grounds that this Act or the regulations have been contravened in respect of goods, seize as forfeit

  • (a) the goods; or

  • (b) any conveyance that the officer believes on reasonable grounds was made use of in respect of the goods, whether at or after the time of the contravention.

• Marginal note:Seizure of conveyances

  (2) An officer may, where he believes on reasonable grounds that this Act or the regulations have been contravened in respect of a conveyance or in respect of persons transported by a conveyance, seize as forfeit the conveyance.

• Marginal note:Seizure of evidence

  (3) An officer may, where he believes on reasonable grounds that this Act or the regulations have been contravened, seize anything that he believes on reasonable grounds will afford evidence in respect of the contravention.

• Marginal note:Notice of seizure

  (4) An officer who seizes goods or a conveyance as forfeit under subsection (1) or (2) shall take such measures as are reasonable in the circumstances to give notice of the seizure to any person who the officer believes on reasonable grounds is entitled to make an application under section 138 in respect of the goods or conveyance.

Marginal note:Information for search warrant

• 111. (1) A justice of the peace who is satisfied by information on oath in the form set out as Form 1 in Part XXVIII of the Criminal Code, varied to suit the case, that there are reasonable grounds to believe that there will be found in a building, receptacle or place

  • (a) any goods or conveyance in respect of which this Act or the regulations have been contravened or are suspected of having been contravened,

  • (b) any conveyance that has been made use of in respect of such goods, whether at or after the time of the contravention, or

  • (c) anything that there are reasonable grounds to believe will afford evidence in respect of a contravention of this Act or the regulations,

  may at any time issue a warrant under his hand authorizing an officer to search the building, receptacle or place for any such thing and to seize it.

• Marginal note:Execution in another territorial jurisdiction

  (2) A justice of the peace may, where a building, receptacle or place referred to in subsection (1) is in a territorial division other than that in which the justice of the peace has jurisdiction, issue his warrant in a form similar to the form referred to in subsection (1), modified according to the circumstances, and the warrant may be executed in the other territorial division after it has been endorsed, in the manner set out in Form 28 of Part XXVIII of the Criminal Code, by a justice of the peace having jurisdiction in that territorial division.

• Marginal note:Seizure of things not specified

  (3) An officer who executes a warrant issued under subsection (1) may seize, in addition to the things mentioned in the warrant,

  • (a) any goods or conveyance in respect of which the officer believes on reasonable grounds that this Act or the regulations have been contravened;

  • (b) any conveyance that the officer believes on reasonable grounds was made use of in respect of such goods, whether at or after the time of the contravention; or

  • (c) anything that the officer believes on reasonable grounds will afford evidence in respect of a contravention of this Act or the regulations.

• Marginal note:Execution of search warrant

  (4) A warrant issued under subsection (1) shall be executed by day, unless the justice of the peace, by the warrant, authorizes execution of it by night.

• Marginal note:Form of search warrant

  (5) A warrant issued under subsection (1) may be in the form set out as Form 5 in Part XXVIII of the Criminal Code, varied to suit the case.

• Marginal note:Where warrant not necessary

  (6) An officer may exercise any of the powers referred to in subsection (1) without a warrant if the conditions for obtaining the warrant exist but by reason of exigent circumstances it would not be practical to obtain the warrant.

• Marginal note:Exigent circumstances

  (7) For the purposes of subsection (6), exigent circumstances include circumstances in which the delay necessary to obtain a warrant under subsection (1) would result in danger to human life or safety or the loss or destruction of anything liable to seizure.