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

Marginal note:Passenger information

• 107.1 (1) The Minister may, under prescribed circumstances and conditions, require any prescribed person or prescribed class of persons to provide, or to provide access to, within the prescribed time and in the prescribed manner, prescribed information about any person on board or expected to be on board a conveyance.

• Marginal note:Disclosure

  (2) Any person who is required under subsection (1) to provide, or provide access to, prescribed information shall do so despite any restriction under the Aeronautics Act on the disclosure of such information.

108 [Repealed, 2001, c. 25, s. 61]

Inquiries

Marginal note:Inquiry

• 109 (1) The Minister may, for any purpose related to the administration or enforcement of this Act, authorize any person to make an inquiry into any matter specified by the Minister.

• Marginal note:Powers of person authorized

  (2) A person authorized pursuant to subsection (1) has all of the powers of a person appointed as a commissioner under Part I of the Inquiries Act.

• Marginal note:Travel and living expenses

  (3) Reasonable travel and living expenses shall be paid to any person summoned by a person authorized under subsection (1) at the time of the service of the summons.

Penalties and Interest

Marginal note:Designated provisions

• 109.1 (1) Every person who fails to comply with any provision of an Act or a regulation designated by the regulations made under subsection (3) is liable to a penalty of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars, as the Minister may direct.

• Marginal note:Failure to comply

  (2) Every person who fails to comply with any term or condition of a licence issued under this Act or the Customs Tariff or any obligation undertaken under section 4.1 is liable to a penalty of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars, as the Minister may direct.

• Marginal note:Designation by regulation

  (3) The Governor in Council may make regulations

  • (a) designating any provisions of this Act, the Customs Tariff or the Special Import Measures Act or of any regulation made under any of those Acts; and

  • (b) establishing short-form descriptions of the provisions designated under paragraph (a) and providing for the use of those descriptions.

109.11 [Repealed, 2001, c. 25, s. 62]

Marginal note:Definition of designated goods

• 109.2 (1) In this section, designated goods includes firearms, weapons, ammunition and any other goods classified under Chapter 93 of the List of Tariff Provisions set out in the schedule to the Customs Tariff or under tariff item No. 9898.00.00 of that List.

• Marginal note:Contravention relating to tobacco, cannabis and vaping products and to designated goods

  (2) Every person that

  • (a) removes tobacco products, cannabis products, vaping products or designated goods or causes tobacco products, cannabis products, vaping products or designated goods to be removed from a customs office, sufferance warehouse, bonded warehouse or duty free shop in contravention of this Act or the Customs Tariff or the regulations made under those Acts, or

  • (b) sells or uses tobacco products or designated goods designated as ships’ stores in contravention of this Act or the Customs Tariff or the regulations made under those Acts,

  is liable to a penalty equal to double the total of the duties that would be payable on like tobacco products, cannabis products, vaping products or designated goods released in like condition at the rates of duties applicable to like tobacco products, cannabis products, vaping products or designated goods at the time the penalty is assessed, or to such lesser amount as the Minister may direct.

Marginal note:Assessment

• 109.3 (1) A penalty to which a person is liable under section 109.1 or 109.2 may be assessed by an officer and, if an assessment is made, an officer shall serve on the person a written notice of that assessment by sending it by registered or certified mail or delivering it to the person.

• Marginal note:Limitation on assessment

  (2) A person shall not be assessed penalties under both sections 109.1 and 109.2 in respect of the same contravention of this Act, the Customs Tariff or the Special Import Measures Act or the regulations made under those Acts.

• Marginal note:Penalty in addition to other sanction

  (3) An assessment under subsection (1) may be made in addition to a seizure under this Act or a demand for payment under section 124, in respect of the same contravention of this Act or the regulations.

• Marginal note:Sufficiency of short-form description

  (4) The use on a notice of assessment of a short-form description established under paragraph 109.1(3)(b) or of a description that deviates from that description without affecting its substance is sufficient for all purposes to describe the contravention.

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.

Seizures

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.

Marginal note:Powers of entry

112 For the purpose of exercising his authority under section 111, an officer may, with such assistance as he deems necessary, break open any door, window, lock, fastener, floor, wall, ceiling, compartment, plumbing fixture, box, container or any other thing.

Marginal note:Limitation for seizures and ascertained forfeitures

113 No seizure may be made under this Act or notice sent under section 124 more than six years after the contravention or use in respect of which such seizure is made or notice is sent.

Marginal note:Custody of things seized

• 114 (1) Anything that is seized under this Act shall forthwith be placed in the custody of an officer.

• Marginal note:Report where evidence seized

  (2) Where an officer seizes anything as evidence under this Act, the officer shall forthwith report the circumstances of the case to the President.

• Marginal note:Return of evidence

  (3) Anything that is seized under this Act as evidence alone shall be returned forthwith on completion of all proceedings in which the thing seized may be required.

Marginal note:Copies of records

• 115 (1) If any record is examined or seized under this Act, the Minister, or the officer by whom it is examined or seized, may make or cause to be made one or more copies of it, and a copy purporting to be certified by the Minister or a person authorized by the Minister is admissible in evidence and has the same probative force as the original would have if it had been proved in the ordinary way.

• Marginal note:Detention of records seized

  (2) No record that has been seized as evidence under this Act shall be detained for a period of more than three months unless, before the expiration of that period,

  • (a) the person from whom it was seized agrees to its further detention for a specified period;

  • (b) a justice of the peace is satisfied on application that, having regard to the circumstances, its further detention for a specified period is warranted and he or she so orders; or

  • (c) judicial proceedings are instituted in which the seized record may be required.

Marginal note:Goods stopped or taken by peace officer

116 Where a peace officer detains or seizes anything that he suspects is subject to seizure under this Act, he shall forthwith notify an officer thereof and describe the thing detained or seized to the officer.

Return of Goods Seized

Marginal note:Return of goods seized

• 117 (1) An officer may, subject to this or any other Act of Parliament, return any goods that have been seized under this Act to the person from whom they were seized or to any person authorized by the person from whom they were seized on receipt of

  • (a) an amount of money of a value equal to

    • (i) the aggregate of the value for duty of the goods and the amount of duties levied thereon, if any, calculated at the rates applicable thereto

      • (A) at the time of seizure, if the goods have not been accounted for under subsection 32(1), (2) or (5) or if duties or additional duties have become due on the goods under paragraph 32.2(2)(b) in circumstances to which subsection 32.2(6) applies, or

      • (B) at the time the goods were accounted for under subsection 32(1), (2) or (5), in any other case, or

    • (ii) such lesser amount as the Minister may direct; or

  • (b) where the Minister so authorizes, security satisfactory to the Minister.

• Marginal note:No return of certain goods

  (2) Despite subsection (1), if spirits, wine, specially denatured alcohol, restricted formulations, cannabis, raw leaf tobacco, excise stamps, tobacco products or vaping products are seized under this Act, they shall not be returned to the person from whom they were seized or any other person unless they were seized in error.