CUSTOMS

1. This Ordinance may be cited as the Customs Ordinance.

2. There may be appointed a Principal Collector of Customs and other officers and servants for the management and collection of the customs, and the performance of all duties connected therewith; on such salaries and allowances as may be provided in that securities. behalf, and there may be required of every person now employed or who shall hereafter be employed in the service of the customs, such securities for his good conduct as the Minister may deem necessary, and the Principal Collector of Customs shall, Principal throughout Sri Lanka, have the general Collector. superintendence of all matters relating to the customs.

3. Every person employed on any duty or service relating to the customs within Sri Lanka, by the orders or with the concurrence of the Minister or the Collector, whether previously or subsequently expressed, shall be deemed to be the officer for that duty or service, and every act, matter, or thing required by any law at any time in force to be done or performed by, to, or with any particular officer nominated in such law for such purpose, being done or performed by, to, or with any person appointed by the Minister or the Collector to act for or in the behalf of such particular officer, shall be deemed to be done or performed by, to, or with such particular officer; and every act, matter, or thing required by any law at any time in force to be done or performed at any particular place within any port, being done or performed at any place within such port appointed by the Minister for such purpose, shall be deemed to be done or performed at the particular place so required.

4. If any officer or other person acting in any office or employment in or belonging to the customs shall take or receive any fee, perquisite, gratuity, or reward, whether pecuniary or of any other sort or description whatsoever, directly or indirectly from any person (not being a person duly appointed to some office in the customs) on account of anything done, to be done, or omitted to be done by him in any way relating to his said office or employment, except such as he shall receive under any order or permission of the Minister or Collector, such officer or other person so offending shall, on proof thereof, be dismissed from his office, and he shall be deemed guilty of an offence, and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding ten thousand rupees; and if any person, not being a person duly appointed to some office in the customs, shall give, offer, or promise to give any such fee, perquisite, gratuity, or reward, such person shall for every such offence forfeit a sum not exceeding ten thousand rupees.

5. No officer of customs, nor person employed in the collection or management of or accounting for the revenue of customs, or any part thereof, nor any other person acting under him, shall, during the time of his acting as such officer, or of his being so employed as aforesaid, be compelled to serve in any other public office or employment or to serve on any jury or inquest, any law, usage, or custom to the contrary notwithstanding.

6.

6A. Where any person requires-

payment shall be made for such service or attendance, as the case may be, to the Principal Collector by such person at such rates as may be specified by the Principal Collector.

6B. Notwithstanding anything in any other law, it shall be the duty of every authority of any Port or of every person in charge of any place or warehouse which requires the attendance or services of officers of customs or any person employed in the service of custom’s, to provide suitable shelter and accommodation in such Port, warehouse or place, as the case may be, for the use of the customs. “.

7. In all cases wherein proof on oath shall be required by any law, or shall be necessary in any matter relating to the customs, the same may be made before the Collector or other principal officer of customs, or before the persons acting for them respectively, who are hereby authorized and empowered to administer the same.

8.

8A.

9.

9A. Any notice, order or other document required to be served on any person under this Ordinance or any regulations made thereunder may be served by post under registered cover, and if so served, shall be (deemed) to have been served at the time when the letter containing the same would be delivered in the ordinary course of post, and in proving such service, it shall be sufficient to prove that the notice, order or other document was properly addressed and put into the post.

9B. When a document which appears to have been made in the ordinary course of business having regard to the nature of such business and is not otherwise open to suspicion by reason of alterations or other circumstances

and such document is tendered in evidence, the court shall, unless the contrary is proved

9C.

10.

(*Schedule omitted-See List of Enactments omitted from the Revised Edition.)

10A.

11 .

12.

(*Schedule omitted-See List of Enactments omitted from the Revised Edition. This section shall not apply within any ” specified port”-See section 86 (2) of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority Act. )

13. All goods whatsoever which shall have been warehoused without payment of duty upon the first importation thereof, and which shall be in the warehouse when this Ordinance comes into force, shall become liable to the duties imposed by this Ordinance, in lieu of all former duties.

14. When any variation is made in any of the provisions of Schedule A*, whether by the amendment of this Ordinance or by the exercise of any power given by this Ordinance or any other enactment, any goods that shall have been warehoused without payment of duty upon the first importation thereof, and which shall be in the warehouse at the time when the said variation comes into force, shall be subject to duty or exempt from duty, as the case may be, in accordance with the said variation.

15. On all goods lodged in any warehouse of the Republic, warehouse, or place of deposit provided by Government, it shall be lawful for the Collector to charge, demand, and receive warehouse rent for all such time as the same shall remain in such warehouse, at such rates and under such regulations as may from time to time be fixed by the Minister, as warehouse rent payable on goods so lodged, and no goods upon which warehouse rent may be due shall be removed until the same be paid.

16. If upon the first levying or repealing of any duty, or upon the first permitting or prohibiting of any importation or whether inwards, outwards, or exportation; coastwise in Sri Lanka, it shall become necessary to determine the precise time at which an importation or exportation of any goods made and completed shall be deemed to have had effect, such time, in respect of importation, shall be deemed to be the time at which the ship importing such goods had actually come within the limits of the port at which such ship shall in due course be reported and such goods be discharged ; and such time, in respect of exportation, shall be deemed to be the time at which the goods had been shipped on board the ship in which they had been exported; and if such question shall arise upon the arrival or departure of any ship, in respect of any charge or allowance upon such ship, exclusive of any cargo, the time of such arrival shall be deemed to be the time at which the report of such ship shall have been or ought to have been made; and the time of such departure shall be deemed to be the time of the last clearance of such ship with the Collector for the voyage upon which she had departed.

17.

18.

18A.

19.

19A.

20. 20. Articles of every description imported or bearded from bond for the official use of the President of the Republic of Sri Lanka shall not be liable to the payment of import duties.

21.

22.

22A.

23.

(*Application modified within a ” specified port ” by sections 86 (2) and 86 (3) of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority Act. Schedule omitted-See List of Enactments omitted from the Revised Edition. )

24. If the master, owner, or agent of any vessel in respect of which any dues, rates, buoy rent, charges, or penalties have heretofore become payable, or have been incurred, or shall hereafter become payable or be incurred, whether under this Ordinance, or under any regulations or orders made in pursuance thereof, or under any other enactment or regulations, refuses or neglects to pay them or any part of them on demand, the Collector of Customs of the port may of his own authority distrain or arrest such vessel and the tackle, apparel, and furniture belonging thereto or any part thereof, and detain the same until the amount so due is paid to him. And, in case any part of the said dues, rates, buoy rent, charges, or penalties, or of the costs of the distress or arrestment, or of the keeping of the same remains unpaid for the space of five days next after any such distress or arrestment has been so made, the Collector of Customs may cause the vessel or other thing so distrained or arrested to be sold, and the amount due to the State shall be deemed to be a first charge on the proceeds of such sale. The balance, if any, of the proceeds of the sale, after satisfying the amount due to the State together with all costs, shall be rendered by the Collector of Customs to the master, owner, or agent of such vessel on demand.

25. Any coastwise ship shall be allowed to compound for port dues for twelve months at such rate per ton of the registered tonnage as may be fixed by the Minister by Notification published in the Gazette, and on payment thereof the Collector or other principal officer shall grant a certificate which shall exempt such vessel while so employed from any further demand for port dues during the period stated in such certificate.

26. The tonnage or burthen of every British ship, within the meaning of this Ordinance, shall be the tonnage set forth in the certificate of registry of such ship, and the tonnage or burthen of every other ship shall for the purposes of this Ordinance be ascertained in the same manner as the tonnage of British ship is ascertained 4

27. And whereas it is expedient that the officers of customs should have full cognizance of ail ships coming into any port or place in Sri Lanka, or approaching the coast thereof, and of all goods on board or which may have been on board such ships, and also of all goods unladen from any ships in any port or place in Sri Lanka:

It is enacted that no goods shall be unladen from any ship arriving from parts beyond the seas at any port or place in Sri Lanka, nor shall bulk be broken after the arrival of such ship within the territorial waters of Sri Lanka, before due report of such ship and sufferance granted, in manner hereinafter directed; and that no goods shall be so unladen except at such times and places and in such manner and by such persons and under the care of such officers as hereinafter directed; and that all goods not duly reported, or which shall be unladen contrary hereto, shall be forfeited ; and if bulk be broken contrary hereto the master of such ship shall forfeit a sum not exceeding one hundred thousand rupees ; and if after the arrival of any ship within the territorial waters of Sri Lanka any alteration be made in the stowage of the cargo of such ship so as to facilitate the unlading of any part of such cargo, or if any part be staved, destroyed, or thrown overboard, or any package be opened, such ship shall be deemed to have broken bulk;

Provided always that coin, bullion, cattle, and other livestock, and passengers with their baggage, may be landed previous to report, entry or sufferance.

28. The master of every ship arriving at any port or place in Sri Lanka, whether laden or in ballast, shall come within twenty-four hours after such arrival, and before bulk be broken, to the custom-house, and there make a report in writing, and such report shall be in duplicate, and shall make and subscribe a declaration to the truth of the same before the Collector or other officer of customs of the arrival and voyage of such ship, stating the name, country, and tonnage, and if British, the port of registry, the name and country of master, the country of the owners, the number of the crew, and how many are of the country of such ship, the number of passengers, if any, and whether such ship be laden or in ballast, and if laden, the marks, numbers, and contents of every package or parcel of goods on board, and the particulars of such goods as are stored loose, and where any such goods were laden, and where and to whom consigned, and where and what goods, if any, had been unladen during the voyage, and what part of the cargo, if any, is intended for exportation in such ship to parts beyond the seas, and what stores or stock remain on board such ship, as far as any of such particulars can be known to him; and further, the master shall answer all such questions concerning the ship and the cargo, and the crew and the voyage, as shall be demanded of him by such officer; and if any goods shall be unladen from any ship before such report be made, or if the master shall fail to make such report, or if after such report any package shall have been opened, or if he shall make an untrue report, or shall not truly answer the questions demanded of him, he shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding one hundred thousand rupees .

29. The master of every ship shall, at the time of making such report, deliver to the Collector the manifest of the cargo of such ship, when a manifest is required, and, if required by the Collector, shall produce to him any bill or bills of lading, or a true copy thereof, for any and every part of the cargo laden on board ; and in case of failure or refusal to produce such manifest or to produce such bill of lading or copy, or if such manifest or bill of lading or copy shall be false, or if any bill of lading be uttered or produced by any master, and the goods expressed therein shall not have been bona fide shipped on board such ship, or if any bill of lading uttered or produced by any master shall not have been signed by him or other duly authorized person, or any such copy shall not have been received or made by him previously to his leaving the place where the goods expressed in such bill of lading or copy were shipped, then in every such case such master shall be liable to forfeit a sum not exceeding one hundred thousand rupees .

30. Officers of the customs may board any ship arriving at any port in Sri Lanka, and freely stay on board until all the goods laden therein shall have been duly delivered from the same, and such officers shall have free access to every part of the ship, with To have free power to fasten down hatchways, and to access to all mark any goods before landing, and to lock ,up, seal, mark, or otherwise secure any goods on board such ship ; and if any place or any box or chest be locked and the keys be withheld, such officers, if they be of a degree superior to tidewaiters or boatmen, may open any such place, box, or chest in the best manner in their power, and if they be tidewaiters, or boatmen, or only of that degree, they shall send for their superior officer who may open or cause to be opened any such place, box, or chest in the best manner in his power; and if any goods be found concealed on board any such ship they shall be forfeited; and if the officers shall place any lock, mark, or seal upon any goods on board, and such lock, mark, or seal be wilfully opened, altered, or broken before the delivery of such goods, or if any of such goods be secretly conveyed away, or if the hatchways after being fastened down by the officer be opened, the master of such ship shall be liable to forfeit a sum not exceeding one hundred thousand rupees .

31. Officers of the customs may be stationed on board any ship while within the limits of any port or place in Sri Lanka, and the master of every ship on board of which any officer is so stationed shall provide every such officer with suitable shelter and accommodation while on board, and in case of neglect or refusal so to do shall be liable to forfeit a sum not exceeding ten thousand rupees.

32. If any ship shall arrive at any port in Sri Lanka without, clearance or other paper which it is usual to grant at the place or places from which such ship shall have come, the master shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding twenty-five thousand rupees or if any goods entered on any clearance, or other paper granted at the place from which any ship shall have come, shall not be found on board such ship, or if the quantity found be short, and the deficiency be not duly accounted for, or if goods sent out of the ship be not landed at the appointed places, the master shall, in respect of any goods which are missing or deficient and not accounted for, be liable, if such goods are chargeable with duty, and if such duty can be ascertained, to a penalty of twenty five thousand rupees or a sum not exceeding the amount of the duty chargeable thereon, whichever is the greater amount, or if such duty cannot be ascertained or if such goods are not chargeable with duty, to a penalty not exceeding ten thousand rupees for each missing or deficient package, and the Collector is authorized to require the payment of such penalty, and to decline the granting of clearance outwards to the master of any vessel so liable, and refusing the pay such penalty :

Provided always that nothing herein contained shall be construed to prevent the Collector from accepting an explanation in the absence of clearance, or permitting at his discretion the master of any ship to amend obvious errors or to supply omissions from accidents or inadvertence, by furnishing an amended report, or accepting at his discretion an estimated single duty in respect of any class of goods.

33. No goods shall be unshipped or carried from the importing ship to any wharf or other place, except under such rules, regulations, and restrictions as the Collector may from time to time direct and appoint; and all goods unshipped or carried contrary to such rules, regulations, and restrictions, or any of them, shall be forfeited, together with the boat or other means used for the conveyance of such goods ; and every person knowingly concerned in the unshipping or carrying of such goods, or into whose hands and possession such goods shall knowingly come, contrary to such rules, regulations, and restrictions, shall forfeit and pay a sum not exceeding one hundred thousand rupees, or treble the value of such goods, at the election of the said Collector.

34.

(*Application modified by section 86 (2) of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority Act.)

35. The master of any ship from which goods or cargo shall be unladen outside such hours as the Principal Collector with the sanction of the Minister may from time to time prescribe, or on any day when the custom-house is closed for business, without permission from the Collector, shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one thousand rupees, and the boat and other means used for the conveyance of such goods shall be liable to be forfeited.

36. Except in special cases sanctioned by the Collector of Customs, ten days, exclusive of public holidays, shall be allowed for the discharge of the import cargoes of vessels not exceeding 150 tons burthen; and twenty-five days for vessels exceeding that burthen ; and the said period shall be calculated from the date on which the vessel was admitted to entry and sufferance granted ; and if any goods remain on board after the periods above fixed the Collector may order such goods to be at once landed, and in case of neglect of such directions or of unnecessary delay or other unwarranted cause the Collector may authorize the landing of the cargo and its conveyance to the warehouse of the Republic; and if the duties, warehouse rent, and charges of landing and freight due upon any goods so landed shall not be paid within one month after such landing, the same shall be sold and the produce thereof applied, first to the payment of freight and landing charges, next of duties and warehouse rent, and the overplus, if any, shall be paid to the owner of the goods, if claimed within twelve months from the date of such sale, otherwise such surplus shall be brought to account as revenue :

Provided that it shall be lawful for the Collector to have any small package or parcel of goods landed and conveyed to the warehouse of the Republic out of any ship whatever, although the periods above specified shall not have expired.

37.

38. With all goods unladen from any ship there shall be sent with each boat load a boat-note, specifying the number or packages and the marks and numbers or other description thereof, and such boat-note shall be furnished and signed by an officer of the ship, and if there be a customhouse officer on board the boat-notes shall be signed by such officer also ; and the tindal and owner of the boat into which the goods have been laden shall be held responsible for the due landing and delivery at the custom-house of all the goods so laden and specified in the boat-note, and shall be liable to treble the duties due on any deficiency; and if any goods be found in a boat without a boat-note, as above provided for, or in excess of the quantity specified in the boat-note, or if the boat be found deviating from the proper course to the proper place of landing, the boat containing such goods may be detained by any officer of the customs, and unless the cause of deviation or excess be explained to the satisfaction of the Collector, such boat and such goods shall be liable to forfeiture.

The owner of each such boat shall provide the Collector within such period as may be specified in that behalf by the Collector a statement setting out the quantity and description of the goods so laden, the person to whom and the place at which he has delivered those goods, and such other particulars as the Collector may, by written order issued to him not less than seven days before the expiration of the aforesaid period, require him to furnish. Any such owner who fails to provide such statement within such period shall be liable to a penalty of ten thousand rupees.

39. The stores of every ship shall be subject to the same duties and the same prohibitions, restrictions, regulations, fines, and penalties, as goods and merchandise on importation, and may in like manner be entered for payment of proper duties or to be warehoused.

40. The unshipping, carrying, and landing of all goods, and the bringing of the same to the proper place for examination or for weighing, and the putting of the same into and out of the scales, and the measuring, counting, unpacking, and repacking, and the opening and closing of the same, and removing to and placing them in the proper place of deposit shall be performed by and at the expense and risk of the importer, consignee, or agent.

41. All goods placed in the warehouse of the Republic or other warehouses by any person shall be stowed by such person so as to afford easy access thereto, and in such parts or divisions of the warehouse and in such manner as the Collector shall direct; and if the stowage be broken the goods shall be re-piled by the person breaking such stowage, in such manner as the Collector may require.(*Application modified by section 86 (2) of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority Act. Schedule omitted-See List of Enactments omitted from the Revised Edition.)

42. If any person placing such goods or breaking the stowage shall neglect or refuse to stow or re-pile them as hereinbefore directed, he shall for such neglect or refusal be guilty of an offence, and be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred rupees :

Expenses to be Provided that it shall be lawful for the person so offending to avoid prosecution for the offence by tendering double the sum incurred in properly stowing or re-piling the goods; and if such sum be duly tendered before the institution of the prosecution, no further proceedings shall be had against such person for the offence aforesaid.

In case of prosecution, the Magistrate shall paid to direct so much to the fine as shall be Collector sufficient to cover the expense of properly stowing and re-piling the goods to be paid to the Collector. (* Application modified by section 86 (2) of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority Act. Schedule omitted-See List of Enactments omitted from the Revised Edition.)

43. If any goods enumerated in the table of prohibitions and restrictions in Schedule Bf shall be imported or brought into Sri Lanka contrary to the prohibitions and restrictions contained in such table in respect thereof, such goods shall be forfeited, and shall be destroyed or disposed of as the Principal Collector of Customs may direct:

Provided that if any dangerous substance be imported or brought into Sri Lanka without the licence of the Minister, or contrary to any of the regulations which may be made from time to time by the Minister, for the safe landing and deposit of such substance, the person importing or bringing the same to Sri Lanka, and any person concerned in such importation or bringing of the same, shall, in addition to the forfeiture above provided, be guilty of an offence and be liable to a fine not exceeding two thousand rupees.

44. If any person exports or attempts to export or take out of Sri Lanka any goods enumerated in the table of prohibitions and restrictions in Schedule B, in contravention of the prohibitions and restrictions contained in such table in respect thereof, such goods shall be forfeited, and shall be destroyed or disposed of as the Principal Collector of Customs may direct.

45. Repealed By Act [§26,83 of 1988]

46.

47. The person entering any goods inwards, whether for payment of duty or to be warehoused, or for payment of duty upon the taking out of the warehouse, or whether such goods be free of duty, shall deliver to the Collector a bill of entry of such goods, on a form of such size and colour as may be specified in that behalf by the Collector by Notification published in the Gazette, and be fairly written in words at length, expressing the name of the ship, and of the master of the ship in which the goods were imported, and of the place from which they were brought, and the description and situation of the warehouse, if they are to be warehoused, and the name of the person in whose name the goods are to be entered, and the quantity, value and description of the goods, and the number , dimensions, and denomination or description of the respective packages containing the goods, and such other particulars as the Collector by that or a subsequent Notification may require him to furnish, and in the margin of such bill shall delineate the respective marks and numbers of such packages. The particulars furnished in the bill of entry shall be supported by such documents containing such particulars as the Collector may, by Notification published in the Gazette, require If such person fails to deliver a bill of entry prepared, and supported by such documents, as aforesaid, he shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding one thousand rupees. Such person shall pay any duties and dues which may be payable upon the goods mentioned in such entry ; and such person shall also deliver at the same time two or more duplicates of such bill, in which bill all sums and numbers shall be expressed in figures, and the particulars to be contained in such bill shall be legibly written and arranged in such form and manner, and the number of such duplicates shall be such, as the Collector shall require, and such bill of entry when signed by the Collector, or person authorized by him, and transmitted to the proper officer, shall be the warrant to him for the examination and delivery of such goods ; but if such goods shall not agree with the particulars in the bill of entry the same shall be forfeited, and such forfeiture shall include all other goods which shall be entered or packed with them as well as the packages in which they are contained.

48. Notwithstanding anything contained in section 47, it shall be lawful for the Collector, on application made and subject to such regulations as the Principal Collector of Customs may from time to time issue, to allow the delivery of goods with or without examination, prior to the presentation of the bill of entry ; Provided that-

49. The importer of any goods, or his agent, if unable, for want of full information, to make perfect entry of such goods, may on making and subscribing a declaration to that effect before the Collector, or other proper officer of customs, make an entry by bill of sight for the packages or parcels of such goods, in order that the same may be seen and examined by the proper officer, and within three days after the goods shall have been so examined the importer shall make a perfect entry thereof, either for payment of duty or for warehousing, as the case may be; but if the importer shall neglect to pass such perfect entry within one month after the date of the examination, such goods shall be sold for the payment of duties, warehouse rent, and other charges due thereon, and the overplus, if any, shall be paid to the proprietor of the goods.

50. No entry nor any warrant for the delivery of any goods, or for the taking of any goods out of any warehouse, shall be valid unless the particulars of the goods and packages in such entry shall correspond with the particulars of the goods and packages purporting to be the same in the report of the ship, and in the manifest, where a manifest is required, and in the certificate or document, where any is required, by which the importation or entry of such goods is authorized, nor unless the goods shall have been properly described in such entry by the denominations, and with the characters and circumstances according to which such goods are charged with duty, or may be imported, either to be used in Sri Lanka, or to be warehoused for exportation only; and any goods taken or delivered out of any ship, or out of any warehouse, or for the delivery of which, or for any order for the delivery of which, from any warehouse, demand shall have been made, not having been duly entered, shall be forfeited.

50A.

51. In all cases when the duties imposed upon the importation of articles are charged according to the value thereof, the respective value of each such article shall be stated in the entry together with the description and quantity of the same, and duly affirmed by a declaration made by the importer or his agent on a form of such size and colour as may be specified by the Director-General by notification published in the Gazette, and such value shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of Schedule E, and duties shall be paid on a value so determined .

51A.

51B.

51C. All information which are confidential in nature or are provided in confidence for the purpose of customs valuation shall be so treated by the officer of customs and shall not be disclosed without the written permission of the persons or government providing such information, except to the extent that it may lie required to be disclosed in the course of judicial proceedings.

52. Where it shall appear to the officers of the customs that the value declared in respect of any goods according to section 51 is a false declaration, the goods in respect of which such declaration has been made shall be forfeited together with the package in which they are contained. Where such goods are not recoverable, the person making such false declaration shall forfeit either treble the value of such goods or be liable to a penalty of one hundred thousand rupees, at the election of the Collector of Customs.

52A. Every person who in contravention of the provisions of the Ordinance, fails to keep . records which are required to be kept under section 51 is or destroys, alters or conceals am book register, record or other document required to be kept under this Ordinance or sends or attempts to send out of Sri Lanka any such book register, record or document commits an offence and shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding five hundred thousand rupees.

53. All goods, the produce or manufacture of Sri Lanka, shall reimported be deemed and taken to be, and be entered as foreign produce or manufacture, and shall be liable to the same duties, rules, regulations, and restrictions as such goods of foreign produce and manufacture would be liable to on importation thereof, unless the same shall be reimported within two years after the exportation thereof, and unless it be proved to the satisfaction of the proper officers that the property in such goods has continued and still remains in the person by whom or on whose account the same have been exported, in which case the same may be entered as goods, the produce or manufacture of Sri Lanka, by bill of store containing such particulars, and in such form and manner as the Collector may direct.

54. The person in whose name any goods re-imported were entered for exportation shall deliver to the proper officer of customs an exact account signed by him of the particulars of such goods referring to the entry and clearance outwards, and to the return inwards of the same, with the marks and numbers of the packages, both inwards and outwards ; and thereupon the officer finding that such goods had been legally exported shall grant a bill of store for the same and if the person in whose name such goods were entered for exportation was not the proprietor thereof, but his agent, he shall declare in such bill of store the name of the person by whom he was employed as such agent, and if the person to whom such returned goods are consigned shall not be such proprietor and exporter, he shall make and subscribe a declaration in such bill of store of the name of the person for whose use such goods have been consigned to him, and the real proprietor ascertained to be such shall make and subscribe a declaration upon such bill of store to the identity of the goods so exported and so returned, and that he was at the time of exportation and of re-importation the proprietor of such goods, and that the same had not during such time been sold or disposed of to any other person, and such declaration shall be made before the Collector and thereupon the Collector, shall admit such goods to entry by bill of store, and grant his warrant accordingly :

Provided that in any case where at the time of exportation of the goods, drawback or rebate of any customs duty levied was allowed or where the goods were exported from bond without payment of the customs duty upon first entry, the customs duty equal to the amount of such drawback or rebate and the duty if any that would have been payable on such goods or such part of the goods as may have been used in the manufacture of the article imported shall have to be paid. “.

55. Goods may be removed or carried from one port of Sri Lanka to any other port there in by sea or inland carriage previous to payment of duties, on the owner or his agent duly entering the same, and giving bond to the satisfaction of the Collector for the due delivery thereof at the custom-house of the port to which such goods are to be removed ; and if the seals of office attached to such packages be broken, or if the contents shall not be found to agree with the particulars of entry and advice from the port of removal, such packages, with their contents, shall be forfeited, and the bond given for the safe and due delivery of the goods enforced. The Minister may from time to time direct and appoint rules, regulations, and restrictions in respect of the said removal of goods, and all goods carried or removed contrary thereto shall be forfeited.

56. And whereas it is expedient that the officers of customs should have full cognizance of all ships departing from any port or place in Sri Lanka and of all goods taken out of Sri Lanka; it is enacted that the master of every ship shall, before any goods be laden therein, deliver to the Collector a certificate from the proper officer of the due landing of the inward cargo of such ship, of her last voyage, and also an entry outwards under his hand, stating her name, country, and tonnage, the port of registry, the name of the master and of the owners, and the number of the crew and passengers, and the destination of such ship. If any goods be laden on board any ship before such entry be made, the master of such ship shall forfeit a sum not exceeding ten thousand rupees.

57. The person exporting any goods whether liable to the payment of duty or free of duty shall deliver to the Collector a bill of entry of such goods, on a form of such size and colour as may be specified in that behalf by the Collector by notification published in the Gazette, and fairly written in words at length expressing the name of the ship in which the goods are to be exported and of the port to which they are to be taken, and containing an accurate specification of the quantity, quality, and value of such goods, and the number, denomination, dimensions, and description of the respective packages containing the goods and such other particulars as the Collector by that or a subsequent notification may require him to furnish, and in the margin of such bill of entry shall delineate the respective marks and numbers of such packages.

If such person fails to deliver a bill of entry prepared as aforesaid, he shall be liable to a penalty of one thousand rupees. Such person shall pay any duties and dues which may be payable on the goods mentioned in such entry, and such person shall also deliver at the same time two or more duplicates of such bill in which all sums and numbers shall be expressed in figures, and the particulars to be contained in such bill shall be legibly written and arranged in such form and manner and the number of such duplicates shall be such as the Collector shall require, and such bill of entry when signed by the Collector or person authorized by him and transmitted to the proper officer shall be the warrant to him for the examination of and delivery for shipment of such goods, and if such goods shall not agree with the particulars in the bill of entry, or if such goods are removed from the warehouse or other place appointed for shipment before such entry is passed and all duties and dues paid, and in the absence of any explanation to the satisfaction of the Collector the same shall be forfeited, and such forfeiture shall include all other goods which shall be entered or packed with them as well as the packages in which they are contained.

58. Notwithstanding anything contained in section 57, it shall be lawful for the Collector, on application made in that behalf by an exporter of goods and subject to such conditions as may be imposed by the Principal Collector and notified in the Gazette, to permit the exportation of such goods prior to the presentation of the bill of entry for such goods:

Provided that-

59. No goods shall be laden, put off, or waterborne to be shipped for exportation or coastwise, or shipped on board any ship, boat, or lighter, outside such hours as the Principal Collector with the sanction of the Minister may, from time to time, prescribe, or on any day when the custom-house is closed for business, without permission from the Collector, nor from any place except some legal quay or other place duly appointed by the Collector, nor without the presence or authority of the proper officer of customs, nor before due entry outwards of the vessel on which the goods are to be shipped, nor before such goods shall have been duly entered and duly cleared for shipment by such officer, who may open all packages and fully examine all goods brought and intended for shipment; and all goods laden, put off, or water-borne, in any ship, boat, or lighter shall be accompanied by a boat-note signed by the locker or other officer of customs and specifying the number of packages and the marks and numbers and other descriptions of the goods, and all goods shut out for any reason shall be immediately reconveyed to the place of lading; and the Collector shall have power, with the approval of the Minister, to make regulations from time to time relating to the shipping of goods and to the re-landing of shut-out cargo, and all goods which are laden, put off, water-borne, or shipped contrary to the provisions of this section or of any regulations made hereunder, or which are found in a boat without a boat-note, or in excess of the quantity specified in the boat-note, or in excess of the quantity shut out, or which are shipped on board any vessel not duly entered outwards may be re-landed by the proper officer of customs, and, in the absence of any explanation to the satisfaction of the Collector, shall be forfeited together with the means of conveyance.

Every person knowingly concerned in the lading, putting off or carrying of such goods, or into whose hands and possession such goods shall knowingly come, contrary to the provisions of this section or of any such regulation, shall forfeit and pay a sum not exceeding one hundred thousand rupees, or treble the value of such goods, at the election of the Collector.

59A. All such steps as are deemed necessary by the Collector or proper officer of customs for the purpose of the examination of any goods brought and intended for shipment shall be performed by and at the expense and risk of the exporter or his agent.

60. When it shall become necessary to lade heavy goods on board any ship before the whole of the inward cargo is discharged, the Collector may, previous to the entry outwards of the ship, issue a stiffening order, sanctioning the shipment of the goods. (* Application modified by section 86 (2) of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority Act.)

61. On due requisition by the master the Collector may allow for the use of such ship such stores as may appear necessary according to the voyage upon which she is about to depart, but no articles taken on board any ship shall be deemed to be stores unless duly shipped as such by entry or by permit of the Collector or other proper officer.

62. On the entry outwards of any ship the Collector shall grant a general sufferance for the shipment and lading of any sort of goods, the produce or manufacture of Sri Lanka, except such as shall be expressly excepted therein: Provided always that before the clearing outwards of such ship, the exporter of any goods on board the same shall deliver to the Collector an entry, containing an accurate specification of the quantity, quality, and value of such goods ; and if such declaration be false, or if he fails to make such entry before the content of the ship is delivered in by the master, he shall forfeit a sum not exceeding five thousand rupees; and the Collector may refuse to certify such shipment on the clearance of such ship. (* Application modified by section 86 (2) of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority Act.)

63. Before any ship, whether laden or in ballast, shall be cleared outwards at any port in Sri Lanka, the master shall deliver a content of such ship, setting forth the name and tonnage of such ship and the place or places of her destination, and the name of the master, the number of passengers, also, if laden, an account of the goods shipped on board, and of the packages containing such goods, and of the marks and numbers upon such packages, and a like account of the goods on board, if any, which had been reported inwards for exportation in such ship, so far as any of such particulars can be known by him, and the master of the ship shall furnish such content in duplicate, and shall make and sign a declaration before the Collector to the truth of such content, and shall also answer such questions concerning the ship, the cargo and the intended voyage, as the Collector shall demand of him, and, if required by the Collector, shall produce to him any bill or bills of lading, or a true copy thereof, for any and every part of the cargo laden on board, and thereupon the Collector or other proper officer shall make out and give to the master a certificate of the clearance of such ship for her intended voyage, containing an account of the total quantities of the several sorts of goods laden therein, or a certificate of her clearance in ballast, as the case may be; and if the ship shall depart without such clearance, or if the master shall deliver a false content, he shall forfeit a sum not exceeding one hundred thousand rupees.

64. It shall be lawful for the officers of the customs to go on board any ship before and after clearance outwards within the limits of any port in Sri Lanka, or within of 1974] the territorial waters of Sri Lanka, and to demand the certificate of clearance and the victualling bill, and if there be any goods on board subject to duty and not duly entered outwards, such goods shall be re-landed and forfeited ; and if any goods contained in such clearance or victualling bill be not on board, the master shall forfeit a sum not exceeding five thousand rupees for every package or parcel of goods contained in such clearance or victualling bill and not on board.

65. No goods shall be imported into exported from Sri Lanka from or to parts beyond the seas in any ship of less burthen than fifteen tons, and any goods SO imported or exported shall be forfeited :

Provided that it shall be lawful for the Minister, by any Order to be by him issued and published in the Gazette, to allow ships or boats under fifteen tons burthen to import or export any goods from or to parts beyond the seas, at such ports or places, and during such periods or times and in such manner as may be deemed expedient, upon any pearl fishery or other occasion appearing to require the same.

66. All ships conveying goods coastwise, and all goods imported or exported coastwise, shall be liable to the like cognizance of the customs, and be subject to the same prohibitions, restrictions, regulations, fines, forfeitures, and penalties as goods imported from or exported to parts beyond the seas, and it shall be lawful for the Minister to make and appoint such other regulations, by any Order to be by him issued and published in the Gazette, for the carrying coastwise of any goods, as to him shall appear expedient, and such Order shall have the same effect in law as if it had formed part of this Ordinance,

67. No goods shall be carried in any coasting ship except such as shall be laden to be so carried at some port or place in Sri Lanka, and if any goods shall be taken into or put out of any coasting ship at sea, or over the sea, or if any coasting ship shall touch at any place over the sea, or deviate from her voyage, unless forced by unavoidable circumstances, or if the master of any coasting ship which shall have touched at any place over the seas shall not declare the same in writing under his hand to the Collector at the port in Sri Lanka where such ship shall afterwards first arrive, the master of such ship shall be liable to forfeit a sum not exceeding one hundred thousand rupees.

68.

69. The Principal Collector may, from time to time by notice in writing under his hand, appoint warehouses or places of security for the purposes of this Ordinance and direct in what different parts or divisions of such warehouse or places, and in what manner, and under what regulations, any and what short of goods may be warehoused, kept, and secured without payment of duty upon the first entry thereof, and may having regard to the nature and the value of the goods to be warehoused also direct in what cases, and with what sureties, and to what amount, security by bond or such other security shall be required in respect of any warehouse so appointed as aforesaid, or in respect of any goods deposited therein, or for the security of the duties due thereon ; and the Principal Collector, may having regard to the safety and the security of the goods to be warehoused therein, by a like notice revoke or alter any such appointments or declarations; but every such notice of the appointment of warehouses, or of the revocation thereof, shall be subject to the Minister’s approval and shall be published in such manner as he may direct:

Provided however that the appointment of any warehouse or place of security within a specified port as defined in the Sri Lanka Ports Authority Act, No. 51 of 1979, or within an airport shall be With the concurrence of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority established by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority Act or of the authority in charge of such airport, as the case may be. “.

70. The proprietor or occupier of every warehouse approved of and appointed as aforesaid, or someone on his behalf, shall give or procure to be given security by bond with or without sureties, or such other security as the Collector may approve, for the payment of the full duties of importation on or for the due entry for exportation or for exportation after any process of manufacture or assembly as provided for in section 84 of all such goods as shall at any time be warehoused therein and no goods shall be warehoused in any such warehouse until such security shall have been given.

71. The importer of any goods into any warehousing port may warehouse the same in warehouses appointed as aforesaid, or in any public warehouse, without payment of any duty on the first entry thereof, subject to the regulations, restrictions, and conditions hereinafter mentioned and from time to time directed by the Collector; but nothing herein contained shall be construed to render it incumbent on Government to provide accommodation for the warehousing of goods, or for the deposit of salt, which shall be warehoused only in private warehouses.

72. The importer of any goods intended to be warehoused without payment of duty on the first entry thereof, or his agent, shall deliver to the Collector a bill of entry of such goods in the same manner and form and containing the same particulars as are hereinbefore required on the entry of goods to be delivered for home use, as far as the same shall be applicable, and the name and description of the warehouse in which such goods are intended to be warehoused, and the name of the person in whose name they are to be so warehoused, and such bill of entry when signed by the Collector or other authorized officer shall be transmitted to the proper officer of customs and be the warrant for the examination and due warehousing of such goods, and all goods not duly entered shall be liable to forfeiture ; but the Collector may, if he see fit in any case so to do, require bond to be given by the importer or consignee in treble the amount of duties due thereon for the safe deposit and due clearance of such goods.

73. If at any time a portion of the customs premises has been or shall be leased for the purpose of landing, shipping, and warehousing goods to any company constituted for these purposes, it shall be lawful for such company, if the owners of any goods landed within such premises shall fail to make entry thereof and remove the same within ten clear days, to cause a warehousing entry to be passed for such goods under the general description of merchandise without the particulars required by section 72 and to remove the same to their warehouse, and the reasonable expenses of such entry, removal, and warehousing shall be reimbursed to such company by the owner or consignee of the goods so entered as aforesaid, and shall be recoverable by the said company: Provided that no goods entered by such company as aforesaid shall be liable to seizure by reason of any inaccuracy in the passing of any such entry, if it shall appear to the Principal Collector of Customs that such inaccuracy was not intentional or occasioned by willful or culpable negligence ; Provided, further, that in the case of any goods removed under this section no warehouse warrant shall issue, and that, if after the expiry of three months, such goods shall not have been cleared, they shall be sold in accordance with the provisions of section 109 of this Ordinance.

74. All goods so entered to be warehoused shall before deposit in any warehouse be properly marked and numbered by the importer in legible characters with the initials of the owner, importer or consignee or other distinguishing marks, and the goods shall be stowed so as to afford easy access thereto, and to every package or parcel in such parts or division of the warehouse, and in such manner as the Collector or the proper officer shall direct, and if the stowage be broken the goods shall be re-piled by the person breaking such stowage in such manner as the Collector may require, and the neglect or refusal to stow or re-pile them as hereinbefore directed shall subject the occupier of the warehouse, or the person so contravening, to a penalty not exceeding ten thousand rupees. The warehouse shall be locked and secured in such manner, and shall be opened on such days and during such hours as the Collector may from time to time prescribe, and visited only at such times and in the presence of such officers, and under such regulations as the Collector shall direct and all such goods shall, after being landed upon importation, be carried to the warehouse, or shall after being taken out of the warehouse for exportation or for stores, be carried to be shipped, under such regulations as the Collector shall direct.

75. If any goods entered to be warehoused shall not be duly warehoused in pursuance of such entry, or being duly warehoused shall be fraudulently concealed in or removed from the warehouse, or abstracted from any package, or transferred from one package to another, or otherwise, for the purpose of illegal removal or concealment, they shall be forfeited, together with the goods with which they shall have been so packed, and the packages in which they shall have been concealed.

76. If the warehouse keeper of any warehouse shall not produce to any authorized officer of customs on his request any goods deposited in such warehouse which shall not have been duly cleared and delivered therefrom, such warehouse keeper shall for every such neglect forfeit the sum of five thousand rupees in respect of every package or parcel not so produced.

77. If the warehouse keeper of any warehouse, or the importer or proprietor of any goods warehoused therein, or any person in his employ, shall clandestinely open the warehouse or gain access to the goods except in the presence of the proper officer of customs acting in the execution of his duty, such warehouse keeper, importer, or proprietor shall for every such offence forfeit a sum not exceeding one hundred thousand rupees.

78. If any goods shall be taken out of any warehouse without due entry of the same with the proper officer of customs, the warehouse keeper of such warehouse shall forthwith pay the duties due upon such goods, and every person so taking out any goods without payment of duty, or who shall aid, assist, or be concerned therein, and every person who shall willfully destroy or commit criminal breach of trust of any goods duly warehoused, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand rupees or to imprisonment of either description for a term not exceeding two years, or to both such fine and imprisonment; but if such person shall be an officer of customs not acting in the due execution of his duty, and shall be prosecuted to conviction by the importer, consignee, or proprietor of such goods, no duty shall be payable for or in respect of such goods, and the damage occasioned by such waste, spoil or criminal breach of trust shall, with the sanction of the Minister, be repaid or made good to such importer, consignee, or proprietor by the Collector of Customs.

79. If any goods entered to be warehoused, warehoused, or entered to be delivered from the warehouse, shall be lost, damaged, or destroyed by unavoidable accident, either in receiving into the warehouse or in the warehouse, the Collector may remit the duties due thereon.

80. Upon the entry and landing of any goods to be warehoused, the proper officer of customs shall take a particular account of such goods at the quay, wharf, or warehouse at which they shall be so landed, and shall enter in a book prepared for that purpose the name of the importing ship, and of the person in whose name they are entered, the marks, numbers, and contents of every such package, the description of the goods, and the warehouse in which the same shall be deposited, and when the same shall have been so deposited with the authority of such officer, he shall certify that the entry and warehousing of such goods is complete, and such goods shall from that time be considered goods warehoused ; and if any such goods shall be delivered, withheld, or removed from the proper place of examination before the same shall have been duly examined and certified by such officer, such goods shall be deemed to be goods not duly entered or warehoused, and shall be liable to be forfeited.

81. The account of goods so taken as aforesaid shall be the account upon which the duties payable upon such goods shall be ascertained, when the same shall ultimately come to be delivered upon due entry for that purpose, and the same shall be entered and the full duties due thereon be paid, according to the quantity taken in such account, without any abatement for any deficiency except as hereinafter provided.

82. All warehoused goods shall be cleared either for home use or exportation within two years from the date on which the same were warehoused, or within such further period as the Collector shall allow, in which case the goods shall be examined by the proper officers, and the duties due upon any deficiency or difference between the quantity ascertained on landing, and the quantity found to exist on such examination, together with the warehouse rent and necessary expenses attendant thereon shall, subject to such allowances as are by law permitted in respect thereof, be paid down, and the quantity so found shall be re-warehoused in the name of the then owner or proprietor thereof, in the same manner as on first importation: Provided that the Collector may require any goods to be cleared at any time within the period of two years, if he considers that the goods are likely to deteriorate, or for any other reason.

83. If any warehoused goods shall not be duly cleared, exported, or re-warehoused, and the duties ascertained to be due on the deficiencies as aforesaid shall not be paid at the expiration of two years from the previous entry and warehousing thereof, or within such further period as shall be permitted by the Collector, the same, if worth the duty due thereon, shall after one month’s notice to the warehouse keeper, importer or consignee, be sold either for home use or exportation with or without the consent of the warehouse keeper, importer, or consignee ; and the proceeds thereof shall be applied to the payment of the duties, warehouse rent, and charges, and the surplus, if any, shall be paid to the owner or proprietor of such goods, if known; but if such owner or proprietor cannot be found, such surplus shall be carried to the account of Government to abide the claim of such owner or proprietor on his appearing and making good his claim thereto within one year from the date of sale; and if such goods shall not be worth the duty, then the after such one month’s notice as aforesaid may be exported or may be destroyed, with or without the concurrence of the owner thereof, or the warehouse keeper of the warehouse in which the same were so warehoused, as the Collector shall see fit; and the duties due upon any deficiency thereof, not allowed by law, shall, if required by the Collector, be forthwith paid by the warehouse keeper.

84. With the sanction of the Collector, and after such notice given by the respective importers or proprietors and at such times and under such regulations and restrictions as the Collector shall from time to time require and direct, it shall be lawful in the warehouse to sort, separate, pack, and repack any goods, and to make such alterations therein as may be necessary for the preservation, sale, shipment, or disposal thereof; provided that such goods be repacked in the packages in which they were imported, or in such other packages as the Collector shall permit; and also to draw off any wine or any spirits into reputed quart or pint bottles for exportation only; and also to fill up any cask of wine, beer, or spirits from any other casks of the same, respectively secured in the same warehouse, and also to take such moderate samples of goods as may be allowed by the Collector with or without entry, and with or without payment of duty, except as the same may eventually become payable as on a deficiency of the original quantity; and the duty on the surplus, if any, of such goods as may be delivered for home use shall be immediately paid, and such surplus shall thereupon be delivered for home use accordingly; and after such goods have been so separated and repacked in proper or approved packages, the Collector may, at the request of the importer or proprietor of such goods, cause or permit any refuse, damage, or surplus goods occasioned by 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.

84A.

84B.

85. No warehouse goods shall be taken or delivered from the warehouse, except upon due entry, for exportation, or to be shipped as stores, or to be removed from one warehouse to another, or on payment of the full duties thereon for home use subject to such conditions as the Collector may prescribe.

86. Upon the entry of any goods to be cleared from the warehouse for home use, the person entering such goods shall deliver a bill of entry, and duplicates thereof in like manner and form and containing the same particulars as hereinbefore required on the entry of goods to be delivered for home use on the landing thereof, as far as the same may be applicable, and shall at the same time pay down to the proper officer of customs the full duties payable thereon, not being less in amount than according to the account of the quantity taken by the landing waiter or other proper officer on the first entry and landing thereof, except as to the following goods, namely :-rice, wine, beer, spirits, and sugar, the duties whereon when cleared from the warehouse for home use shall be charged upon the quantity of such goods ascertained by weight, measure, or gauge at the time of actual delivery thereof, unless there is reasonable ground to suppose that any portion of the deficiency or difference between the weight, measure, or gauge ascertained on landing and first examination of any such last-mentioned goods and that ascertained at the time of actual delivery has been caused by illegal or improper means, in which case the proper officer of customs shall make such allowance only for loss as he may consider fairly to have arisen from natural evaporation or other legitimate cause.

87. When any deficiency occurs in goods chargeable to pay duty according to the value thereof, the value thereof shall be the value of the like sort of goods, estimated by the officers of customs.

88. No duty shall be charged in respect of any deficiency in goods entered and cleared from the warehouse for exportation, unless the officers of customs have reasonable ground to suppose that such deficiency, or any part thereof, has arisen from illegal abstraction.

89. Before any warehoused goods subject to duties of customs shall be permitted to be exported, the exporter or his agent shall where required by the Collector having regard to the demand for, and the value of, goods to be exported, give security by bond in such sum as may be determined by him subject to such conditions as may be prescribed by such Collector having regard to the nature and the value of the goods to be shipped and exported that such goods shall be duly shipped and exported, and shall be landed at the place for which they are entered outwards or otherwise accounted for, to the satisfaction of the Collector, and shall, if required, produce a certificate under the hands of the proper officers at the port of landing, of the due landing of the goods at such port as aforesaid.

90. The Collector may, in such instances as he shall deem advisable, accept, in lieu of separate bonds as aforesaid, from the known resident exporters and shippers of goods, general bonds with one or two sufficient securities or such other security as the Collector may approve of, to such an amount as shall be necessary for the due shipment, exportation, and landing at the place for which they are entered outwards of all warehoused goods exported by such persons, but such general bonds shall only be in force for two years and may be revoked and cancelled whenever the Collector shall see fit.

91. It shall be lawful for the Minister, after notice published in the Gazette, to direct that after the expiration of twelve months from the date of such notice no goods or merchandise shall be warehoused in any public warehouse or premises, and to convert all or any of such warehouses or premises in use as bonding warehouses at the time of such notice to other purposes of customs accommodation, and any goods not cleared from such public warehouse by removal to other approved bonding warehouse, or by entry for home consumption or exportation, at the expiration of such notice aforesaid, shall be sold by the Collector in like manner as is provided for the sale of unclaimed goods.

92. The Collector of Customs may, upon an application in writing by the owner, importer, or consignee of any goods duly warehoused in any warehouse of the Republic, or other place of deposit provided by Government, issue to such owner, importer, or consignee, warrants, under his hand substantially in the form in Schedule D*.(*Schedule omitted-See List of Enactments omitted from the Revised Edition.)

93. Such warrants shall be transferable once or oftener by the endorsement of the owner, importer, or consignee of the goods or of the holders of the said warrants, and the right and title to the goods enumerated in such warrants shall vest in the possessors thereof without any endorsement save that of the original grantee. The Collector shall, upon production and surrender of such warrants, but not otherwise, deliver the goods to the holders of the warrants, on due entry of the goods for home consumption or exportation, and upon payment of all duties and charges due on the said goods.

94. It shall be lawful for the keeper of any bonded warehouse to issue to the owner, importer, or consignee of any goods duly warehoused in his bonded warehouse, warrants substantially in the form in Schedule D*. Such warrants shall be transferable, once or oftener, by the endorsement of the owner, importer, or consignee of the goods, or of the holders of the said warrants; and the right and title to the goods enumerated in such warrants shall vest in the possessors thereof without any endorsement save that of the original grantee. The keeper of such warehouse shall, upon production and surrender of such warrants but not otherwise, deliver the goods to the holders of the warrants on due entry of the goods for home consumption or exportation, and upon payment of all duties and charges due on the said goods: Provided that it shall not be lawful for the keeper of any bonded warehouse to issue warrants for goods in which he has any share or interest as owner, importer, or consignee.

95. No goods warehoused in any warehouse of the Republic or other place of deposit provided by Government, or in any bonded warehouse, shall be delivered out of such warehouse of the Republic or other place of deposit provided by Government, or bonded warehouse, except upon surrender of the warrant in which such goods are enumerated, to the Collector of Customs or to the keeper of such bonded warehouse, as the case may be; every such warrant after being so surrendered, shall be defaced, and no such warrant after being so surrendered, shall be reissued :

Provided that whenever the holder or holders of any warrant issued under section 92 or section 94 or under this section, shall be desirous of obtaining delivery of a part only of the goods enumerated in such warrant, it shall be lawful for the Collector of Customs or keeper of the bonded warehouse, as the case may be, upon the surrender of such warrant, to issue to the holder or holders by whom the same was surrendered a new warrant in respect of the goods remaining undelivered.

96. Any person who shall deliver any goods warehoused as mentioned in section 95, out of the place in which the same shall have been so warehoused, except upon the surrender, as therein mentioned, of the warrant in which such goods are enumerated, and any person who shall reissue any warrant surrendered as aforesaid, shall be deemed guilty of an offence, and liable on conviction to a .fine not exceeding one hundred thousand rupees.

97. Every warrant, whether issued by a Collector of Customs or by the keeper of a bonded warehouse, shall bear a stamp duty of fifty cents, and such duty shall be denoted by adhesive stamps. Such warrants shall be liable, in all matters relating to stamp duty, to the provisions of the enactments relating to stamp duties, so far as the same shall be applicable thereto.

98. Provided that the holder of any warrant issued by the Collector of Customs shall have no claim on the State to compensation for loss of any goods by fire, theft, damage, or other cause, except such loss be caused by the willful waste, spoil, destruction or criminal breach of trust, on the part of any officer of customs, and such officer shall have been prosecuted to conviction within one year from the date of such willful waste, spoil, destruction or criminal breach of trust. The holder of a State not liable warrant issued by a bonded warehouse for loss in any keeper shall have no claim on the State to warehouse compensation on any ground or pretext whatsoever.

99. Provided, further, that the Collector of Customs shall be in no way answerable for the correctness of the particulars of the contents or value of the goods specified in any warrant issued as aforesaid, and that the said goods shall be in every respect liable to the provisions of the laws and regulations relating to the customs in force at the time such goods shall be in deposit at the warehouse of the Republic or other place of deposit provided by Government.

100. Any keeper of a bonded warehouse who shall fraudulently issue a warrant for goods not in his warehouse, or who shall fraudulently issue two or more warrants for the same goods, or who shall fraudulently issue warrants for goods in which he has any share or interest as owner, importer, or consignee, or who shall aid and assist any other person to do so, and any keeper of such warehouse or other person who shall in any way use any warrant granted under the provisions of this Ordinance for the purposes of defrauding or injuring any person, company, or corporation, shall be guilty of an offence, and be liable to imprisonment with or without hard labour not exceeding three years, and in addition thereto, at the discretion of the Judge, to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand rupees

100A.

101.

102. If the owner, consignee, or person having charge of any tar, pitch, spirituous liquor, turpentine, oil, aqua fortis, lucifer matches, or any other article- of a combustible or dangerous nature whatsoever, shall suffer the same to remain in the customs premises beyond the space of five hours after he shall have been required by any officer of customs to remove the same therefrom, then and in every such case every person so offending shall for every such offence be liable to a fine not exceeding fifty rupees and not less than ten rupees for every hour that any of the said articles or goods shall be or remain in the place aforesaid after the expiration of the said five hours.(* Application modified by section 86 (2) of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority Act. ” Port Commissioner ” shall be deemed to be a reference to the Ports Authority in the application of this provision to any ” specified port “-See section 86 (3) of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority Act. )

103.

103A.

103B.

104.

105.

106. All bonds relating to the customs, required to be given in respect of goods or ships shall be taken by the Collector for the use of the State, and after the expiration of three years from the date thereof, or from the time, if any, limited therein for the performance of the condition thereof, every such bond upon which no prosecution or suit shall have been commenced shall be void, and may be cancelled and destroyed.

107. If any goods, packages, or parcels shall be landed, taken or passed out of any ship, or out of any warehouse, or be laden, taken on board or passed on to any ship, not having been duly entered, the same shall be forfeited : Provided always that no entry shall be required in respect of the baggage of passengers as denned by the regulations made under section 107A.

107A.

108. All goods lodged or deposited in any warehouse of the Republic or other place of deposit provided by Government shall be so deposited at the risk of the owner, importer, or consignee, who shall have no claim on the State to compensation for loss by fire, theft, damage, or other cause, except such loss be proved by the prosecution to conviction (within one year from the date at which such willful waste, spoil, destruction, or criminal breach of trust is alleged to have taken place) of the offending party to have been caused by the willful waste, spoil, destruction, or criminal breach of trust of any officer of customs, and in which case no duty shall be leviable on such goods.

109. All goods left in any warehouse of the Republic or on the customs premises for a longer period than thirty days, unless permitted to remain by the special permission of the Collector, shall, after public advertisement, be sold either by auction or tender to answer the duties, warehouse rent, or other charges due thereon, and any overplus shall be paid, if claimed within twelve months from the date of sale, to the owner of such goods, who shall have no further claim touching the same, but if there be no claimant such overplus shall be brought to account as revenue;

Provided that any goods of a perishable nature which shall be left in the warehouse or customs premises, or in any bonded warehouse, uncleared, may be sold forthwith, or if not saleable may be destroyed, and the proprietor of any goods sold or destroyed as aforesaid shall have no further claim for or on account thereof.

110.

111. The Minister may by Order appoint any place to be a haven, creek, port, or warehousing port in Sri Lanka and declare the limits thereof, and appoint proper places within the same to be legal quays for the lading and unlading of goods, and declare the bounds and extent of any such quays, or annul the limits of any port, haven, creek, or legal quay already appointed, or to be hereafter appointed, and declare the same to be no longer a port, warehousing port, haven, creek, or legal quay; and all ports, warehousing ports, havens, and creeks, and the respective limits thereof, and all legal quays appointed, set out, and existing as such at the time of the passing of this Ordinance shall continue to be such ports, havens, creeks, and quays until annulled or altered as aforesaid.

112. The Collector may from time to time, by any order under his hand, and under such restrictions and regulations as he shall see fit, appoint proper places for the lading and unlading of goods.

113. The officers of customs may refuse to allow any person to do any act as master of any British ship, unless his name is inserted in or endorsed upon the certificate of registry of such ship as being the master thereof.

114. Anything which a master is required or empowered to do under this Ordinance may, with the express or implied consent of such master and with the approval of the Collector of Customs, be done by a ship’s agent.

115.

115A.

116. No ship or boat shall be hauled on shore at any public wharf, quay, beach, or landing place in Sri Lanka, for the purpose of repairs or otherwise, without permission from the Collector, and no boat shall remain alongside of any wharf or landing place after the owner or person in charge shall be directed to remove the same by the proper officer of customs; and any person hauling any ship or boat on shore without such permission as aforesaid, and the owner or person in charge of any boat refusing or neglecting to remove the same when ordered as aforesaid shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred rupees, and such ship or boat may be detained by the Collector until payment of the fine imposed. (*Application modified by section 86 (2) of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority Act)

117. If any timber or other heavy or bulky articles be left on any public quay, jetty, wharf, beach, or landing place in Sri Lanka for more than one day, so as to interrupt or hinder the free use thereof, it shall be lawful for the Collector, after twelve hours* notice in writing given to the owner thereof or to his agent, to remove the same ; and such owner shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding one hundred rupees and such goods shall not be delivered up to the owner thereof until after payment of the said penalty, together with the charges attending the removal of the same ; and if such goods shall not be removed within six days after notice given as aforesaid, it shall be lawful for the Collector to sell the same by public auction, and to deduct from the proceeds the amount of such penalty and all charges which may have been incurred on account of such goods, and the surplus, if any, shall be paid to the owner.

118. It shall be lawful for the officers of customs to go on board any ship in any port or place in Sri Lanka or hovering within the territorial waters of Sri Lanka and to rummage and search all parts of such ship for prohibited and uncustomed goods, and freely to stay on board such ship so long as such ship remains in such port or place or within such territorial waters; and if any such ship is bound elsewhere, and continues so hovering for the space of twenty-four hours after the master has been required to depart, it shall be lawful for the officers of customs to bring such ship into port and to search and examine her cargo, and to examine the master touching the cargo and voyage; and if there are any goods on board prohibited to be imported into Sri Lanka, and if the master does not truly answer the questions which are demanded of him on such examination, he shall forfeit a sum not exceeding one hundred thousand rupees.

119. If any person shall make and subscribe any declaration, certificate, or other instrument required by this Ordinance to be verified by signature only, the name being false in any particular ; or if any person shall make or sign any declaration made for the consideration of the Collector or the proper officer of customs on any application presented to him the same being untrue in any particular ; or if any person required by this Ordinance or any other enactment relating to the customs to answer questions put to him by the officers of customs shall not truly answer such questions ; or if any person shall counterfeit, falsify, or wilfully use when counterfeited or falsified, any document required by this Ordinance or any enactment relating to the customs, or by or under the directions of the Collector or any instrument used in the transaction of any business or matter relating to the customs, or shall fraudulently alter any document or instrument, or counterfeit the stamp, seal, signature, initials, or other mark of, or used by the officers of the customs for the verification of any such document or instrument, or for the security of goods, or any other purpose, in the conduct of business relating to the customs, every person so contravening shall be liable to forfeit a sum not exceeding one hundred thousand rupees, and any goods; including currency in any form, in relation to which the document or statement was made shall be liable to forfeiture :

120. And whereas it frequently occurs that certain indulgences are granted to merchants and others by the Collector of Customs on bond being given for the security of the revenue, and as doubts may arise whether such bonds would in law be valid:

It is therefore enacted and declared that in all cases where bonds shall be entered into with the Collector of Customs for the due performance of any order, matter, or thing relative to the customs, such bonds shall be valid in law, and upon breach of any of the conditions thereof may be sued and proceeded upon in like manner as any other bond entered into by virtue of this Ordinance.

121. The Minister may by Order published in the Gazette prohibit either absolutely or subject to such restrictions and conditions as he may in his discretion determine, the exportation or the carriage coastwise of all or any of the following goods, namely :-

arms, ammunition and gunpowder, naval, military, and air stores and any articles which the Minister shall judge capable of being converted into or made useful in increasing the quantity of naval, military or air stores, provisions, or any sort of victual which may be used as food by man; and if such goods shall be exported from Sri Lanka or carried coastwise in contravention of such prohibition or otherwise than in accordance with such restrictions and conditions, or be water-borne to be so exported or carried, such goods may be seized and shall be forfeited.

122. Every person who shall make or cause to be made an entry inwards or entry outwards of any goods, not being duly authorized thereto by the proprietor or consignee or exporter of such goods, shall for every such offence forfeit a sum not exceeding one hundred thousand rupees.

123. It shall be lawful for the Collector to authorize the officers of customs to take samples of goods for the purpose of ascertaining the duties payable on such goods or for any other purpose relative to the customs, and such samples shall be accounted for in such manner as the Collector may direct.

123A. Where goods imported have been cleared out of Customs, and the Collector deems it necessary for any customs purpose to examine samples of the said goods and authorizes the drawing of samples thereof, the importer or the person for the time being in charge of the place or premises where the goods are kept or stored shall hand over to the Collector or other customs officer authorized in writing by the Collector in that behalf a sample or samples proved to the satisfaction of the Collector as being authentic and representative of the said goods, provided the sample or samples are demanded within thirty days from the date such goods have been cleared from the customs. If the samples are not handed over within three working days of the demand therefor, the Collector or other customs officer authorized in writing by the Collector in that behalf shall have the power to enter, and draw samples from, the premises where the goods may be stored.

124. The Collector may refuse to grant clearance to any ship until the owner, agent, or master of that ship, or some other person, shall have paid all port dues, fees, fines, penalties, or charges to which such ship or the owner or master of such ship in respect thereof shall be liable under this Ordinance or any other enactment:

Provided such port dues, fees, fines, penalties, or charges shall have been incurred during her present voyage inwards or outwards.

125. All goods and all ships and boats which by this Ordinance are declared to be forfeited shall and may be seized by any officer of the customs; and such forfeiture of any ship or boat shall include the guns, tackle, apparel, and furniture of the same, and such forfeiture of any goods shall include all other goods which shall be packed with them, as well as the packages in which they are contained ; and all carriages or other means of conveyance, together with all horses and all other animals, and all other things made use of in any way in the concealment or removal of any goods liable to forfeiture under this Ordinance, shall be forfeited.

125A.

125B.

126.

127. Every offence under this Ordinance shall be deemed to be cognizable within the meaning of the Code of Criminal Procedure Act, and any person against whom a reasonable suspicion exists that he has been guilty of any such offence may be arrested in any place either upon land or water by any officer of customs or other person duly employed for the prevention of smuggling. Every person so arrested shall with all convenient despatch, be taken before the nearest Collector of Customs to be dealt with according to law.

127A. Where a Collector is of opinion that a person arrested and produced before him in terms of section 127 for an offence under this Ordinance is a person capable of interfering with the investigation or that the nature of the offence is such that it is desirable to keep that person in custody for the proper investigation of the offence for more than twenty four hours, he shall produce such person before a Magistrate.

127B. Notwithstanding anything in any other law, a customs officer conducting an investigation under this Ordinance in respect of any person arrested under section 127 and kept in custody under section 127A, shall have the right to access to such person and the right to take such person during reasonable hours, to any place for the purpose of investigation.

127C. No person suspected or accused of an offence under this Ordinance in respect of any goods the value of which exceeds one million rupees, shall be released on bail except by the High Court, in exceptional circumstances. The power conferred on the High Court by this section shall be exercised by the Judge of the High Court holden in the Zone within which the accused resides or the Judge of the High Court holden in the Zone within which the offence is alleged to have been committed.

128.

128 A.

129. Every person who shall be concerned in importing or bringing into Sri Lanka any prohibited goods, or any goods the importation of which is restricted, contrary to such prohibition or restriction, and whether the same be unshipped or not, and every person who shall unship or assist, or be otherwise concerned in the unshipping of any goods which are prohibited, or of any goods which are restricted and imported contrary to such restriction, or of any goods liable to duty the duties for which have not been paid or secured, or who shall knowingly harbour, keep, or conceal, or shall knowingly permit, or suffer, or cause, or procure to be harboured, kept, or concealed, any such goods, or any goods which have been illegally removed without payment of duty from any warehouse or place of security in which they may have been deposited, or into whose hands and possession any such goods shall knowingly come, or who shall assist or be concerned in the illegal removal of any goods from any warehouse or place of security in which they shall have been deposited as aforesaid, or who shall be in any way knowingly concerned in conveying, removing, depositing, concealing, or in any manner dealing with any goods liable to duties of customs with intent to defraud the revenue of such duties or any part thereof, or who shall be in any way knowingly concerned in any fraudulent evasion or attempt at evasion of such duties or any part thereof, shall in each and every of the foregoing cases forfeit either treble the value of the goods, or be liable to a penalty of one hundred thousand rupees, at the election of the Collector of Customs.

130. Every person who shall be concerned in exporting or taking out of Sri Lanka or attempting to export or take out of Sri Lanka any prohibited goods or any goods the exportation of which is restricted contrary to such prohibition or restriction, whether the same be laden for shipment or not and every person who shall export or attempt to export any goods liable to duty the duties for which have not been paid or secured, or in any manner deal with any goods liable to duties of customs with intent to defraud the revenue of such duties or any part thereof, or who shall be knowingly concerned in any fraudulent evasion or attempt at evasion of such duties or any part thereof, shall in each and every of the foregoing cases forfeit either treble the value of the goods, or be liable to a penalty of one hundred thousand rupees at the election of the Collector of Customs.

131.

132. Every person who shall remove any goods imported into Sri Lanka from any ship, quay, wharf, or other place previous to the examination thereof by the proper officer of customs, unless under the care or authority of such officer, or who shall remove or withdraw from any quay, wharf, or other place any goods entered to be warehoused after the landing thereof, so that no sufficient account is taken thereof by the proper officer, or so that the same are not duly warehoused, and every person who shall assist or be otherwise concerned in such removal or withdrawal, or shall knowingly harbour, keep or conceal or shall knowingly permit or suffer, or cause or procure to be harboured, kept, or concealed, any such goods, or into whose possession any such goods shall knowingly come, every such person shall forfeit either treble the value thereof, or be liable to a penalty of one hundred thousand rupees, at the election of the Collector of Customs.

133. Every person who shall assist or be otherwise concerned in the unshipping, landing, or removal, or in the harbouring of such goods, or into whose hands or possession the same shall knowingly come, shall forfeit treble the value thereof, or the penalty of one hundred thousand rupees, at the election of the Collector of Customs; and the averment in any information to be exhibited for the recovery of such penalty that the Collector of Customs has elected to sue for the sum mentioned in the information shall be deemed sufficient proof of such election, without any other or further evidence of such fact.

134 In all cases where any penalty, the amount of which is at any time to be determined by the value of any goods, is directed to be sued for under this Ordinance, such value shall be deemed and taken to be according to the rate and price which goods of the like sort or denomination, and of the best quality, bear at such time at the place of importation, and upon which the duties due upon importation have been paid.

135. All goods, and all ships and boats, and all carriages and all cattle, liable to forfeiture under this Ordinance, shall and may be seized in any place, either by land or water, by any officer of the customs or police, or by any grama seva niladhari, or by any person employed for that purpose, by or with the concurrence of the Minister, and every person who shall in any way hinder, oppose, molest, or obstruct any officer of the customs or police, or any grama seva niladhari, or any person so employed as aforesaid in the exercise of his office, or any person acting in his aid or assistance, or shall rescue, or cause to be rescued, any goods which have been seized, or shall attempt or endeavour to do so, or shall before or at or after any seizure stave, break, or otherwise destroy any goods to prevent the seizure thereof, or shall rescue the same, then and in any such case the party so offending shall be guilty of an offence, and shall for every such offence forfeit a sum not exceeding one hundred thousand rupees.

136. If any goods liable to forfeiture under this Ordinance shall be stopped taken by any police officer or grama seva niladhari, such goods shall be conveyed to the custom-house nearest to the place where the goods were stopped or taken, and there delivered to the proper officer appointed to receive the same, within a reasonable time after the said goods were stopped and taken; and in case any police officer or grama seva niladhari stopping such goods shall neglect to have the same conveyed to such custom-house within a reasonable time, such police officer or grama seva niladhari shall forfeit a sum not exceeding two hundred thousand rupees.

137. If any officer of the customs, or any person employed for the protection of the revenue, shall make any collusive seizure, or deliver up, or make any agreement to deliver up, or not to seize any ship, boat, or goods liable to forfeiture under this Ordinance, or shall take any bribe, gratuity, recompense, or reward for the neglect or non-performance of his duty, every such officer or other person shall forfeit for every such offence a sum not exceeding one thousand rupees, and be rendered incapable of serving the Government of Sri Lanka in any office whatever; and every person who shall give or offer, or promise to give or procure to be given any bribe, recompense, or reward to, or shall make any collusive agreement with, any such officer or person as aforesaid, to induce him in any way to neglect his duty, or to do, conceal, or connive at anything whereby the provisions of this Ordinance may be evaded, shall forfeit a sum not exceeding one hundred thousand rupees.

138. It shall be lawful for any officer of customs to go on board any ship which shall be within the limits of any port or air port in Sri Lanka, and search any person on board, and his baggage or other belongings and it shall be lawful for him to search any person who shall have landed from any ship or any person passing or having passed through the custom house and the baggage or other belongings of such person, provided such officer shall have good reason to suppose that such person shall have any uncustomed, restricted or prohibited goods secreted about his person or in his baggage or other belongings ; and if any person shall obstruct any such officer in the performance of any such duty, every such person shall be guilty of an offence, and shall be liable on conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand rupees or to imprisonment of either description for a term not exceeding five years or to both such fine and imprisonment.

139. If any person throws overboard any goods from a ship for the purpose of guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand rupees; and if, in a prosecution for any such offence, it is proved to the satisfaction of the court that goods were thrown overboard while any officer of customs was on board in exercise of the powers conferred by section 64 or section 118 or section 138 of this Ordinance or in the course of an attempt by an officer of customs to seize the goods, it shall be presumed unless the contrary is proved that they were so thrown overboard for the purpose of preventing seizure.

140. Before any person shall be searched by any such officer as aforesaid it shall be lawful for such person to require such officer to take him before a Magistrate, or before the Collector or other superior officer of customs, who shall determine whether there is reasonable ground to suppose that such person has any uncustomed or prohibited goods about his person; and if it shall appear to such Magistrate, Collector, or other superior officer of customs that there is reasonable ground to suppose that such person has any uncustomed or prohibited goods about his person, then such Magistrate, Collector, or other superior officer of customs shall direct such person to be searched in such manner as he shall think fit; but if it shall appear to such Magistrate, Collector, or other superior officer of customs that there is not reasonable ground to suppose that such person has any uncustomed or prohibited goods about his person, then such Magistrate, Collector, or other superior officer of customs shall forthwith discharge such person, who shall not in such case be liable to be searched ; and every such officer as aforesaid is hereby authorized and required to take such person, upon demand, before any such Magistrate, Collector, or other superior officer of customs, detaining him in the meantime :

Provided that no person being a female shall be searched by any other person than a female duly authorized for that purpose by the Collector of Customs.

141. If any such officer shall not take such person with reasonable despatch before such Magistrate, Collector, or other superior officer of customs when so required, or shall require any person to submit to be searched by him, not having reasonable ground to suppose that such person has any uncustomed or prohibited goods about his person, such officer shall forfeit and pay a sum not exceeding two hundred rupees.

142. If any passenger or other person on board any ship or boat, or after landing therefrom, shall upon being questioned by any officer of the customs whether he has any foreign goods upon his person or in his possession, deny the same, and any such goods shall, after such denial, be discovered upon his person or in his possession, such goods shall be forfeited, and such person shall forfeit treble the value of such goods.

143.

144. If any person fails to pay any sum of money which he, under this Ordinance, has forfeited, or becomes liable to forfeit or to pay as a penalty, the officers of customs may refuse to pass any goods which that person imports or brings into or is seeking to export or take out of Sri Lanka until that sum is paid:

Provided that nothing in the preceding provisions of this section shall be deemed to prohibit the recovery of such sum by the Collector under any other provision of law.

145.

146. If any person by reason of any act or commission becomes liable, under the provisions of any section of this Ordinance to forfeit any goods or any sum of money, or to any penalty other than a fine, such person shall, in addition, be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction after summary trial before a Magistrate

147A. Notwithstanding the provisions of any written law to the contrary, a Magistrate shall have jurisdiction to impose on any person guilty of any offence under this Ordinance, any punishment prescribed for such offence.

148. In any information or other proceeding for any offence against this Ordinance the averment that such offence was committed within the limits of any port or of the territorial waters of Sri Lanka shall be sufficient, without proof of such limits, unless the contrary be proved.

149. When any penalty is imposed upon any person committing or concerned in the act by which such penalty is incurred, and such offence shall have been committed by several persons jointly, or several persons shall have been concerned in the same, such several persons shall jointly and severally incur every such penalty; and it shall be lawful to proceed against such persons to recover such penalty jointly by one information or severally by separate informations, as the Attorney-General may deem expedient.

150. Whenever goods not specified in the boat-note mentioned in section 38 have been concealed in any boat during the loading, transit, or unloading of such boat in any harbour or port of Sri Lanka, the discovery of such goods on board such boat shall be received in all courts of Sri Lanka as prima facie evidence that the goods have been either stolen by the tindal and boatmen employed in such boat or that the same have been unlawfully received on board by the tindal and boatmen employed on such boat with knowledge that the same have been stolen; and shall be conclusive thereof unless and until such tindal and boatmen or any of them shall satisfactorily account for the presence of such goods on board such boat.

151. Whenever goods not specified in the boat-note mentioned in section 38 shall be found in the possession of any tindal or boatman when on board the boat in which he is employed, or when on the quays or wharves of any port or harbour of Sri Lanka, such tindal or boatman, in whose possession such goods are found, shall be presumed to have stolen the goods or to have unlawfully received the same knowing them to have been stolen; unless and until such tindal or boatman shall satisfactorily account for his possession thereof.

152.

153. The amount

153A.

154.

155. No claim to anything seized under this Ordinance shall be admitted by such court, unless such claim be entered in the name of the owner, with his residence and occupation, nor unless oath to the property in such thing be made by the owner, or by his attorney or agent, by whom such claim shall be entered, to the best of his knowledge and belief, nor unless the claimant shall at the time of filing his libel or plaint to establish his claim satisfy the court that he has given notice and security as in section 154 enacted.

156. No summons shall be sued out against, nor a copy of any process served upon, any officer of the customs or other person as aforesaid, for anything done in the exercise of his office, until one month after notice in writing shall have been delivered to him, or left at his usual place of abode, by the party who intends to sue out such summons or process, his attorney or agent, in which notice shall be clearly and explicitly stated the cause of the action, the name and place of the abode of the person who is to bring such action, and the name and place of abode of the attorney or agent; and no evidence of the cause of such action shall be produced except of such as shall be stated in such notice ; and no judgment shall be given for the plaintiff unless he shall prove on the trial that such notice was given ; and in default of such proof the defendant shall receive in such action a judgment and costs.

157. Every such action as in section 156 referred to shall be brought within two months after the cause thereof, and shall be laid and tried in the district where the facts were committed ; and if the plaintiff shall become non-suited, or shall discontinue the action, or if judgment shall be given against the plaintiff, the defendant shall receive the costs of suit.

158. It shall be lawful for such officer or other person as aforesaid, within one month after such notice, to tender amends to the party complaining, or to his agent, and to plead such tender in bar to any action, together with other pleas; and if the court shall find the amends sufficient, it shall give judgment for the defendant; and in such case, or in case the plaintiff shall become non-suited, or shall discontinue his action, or judgment shall be given for the defendant, such defendant shall be entitled to costs as in section 157 mentioned :

Provided always that it shall be lawful for such defendant, by leave of the court where such action shall be brought at any time before issue joined, to pay money into court as in other actions.

159. In case any information shall be brought to trial on account of any seizure made under this Ordinance, and a Judgment shall be given for the claimant thereof, and the court before which the cause shall have been tried shall certify on the record that there was probable cause of seizure, the claimant shall not be entitled to any costs of suit, nor shall the person who made such seizure be liable to any action or prosecution on account of such seizure ; and if any action shall be brought to trial against any person on account of such seizure, wherein a judgment shall be given against the defendant, if the court before which such information shall have been tried shall have certified on the said record that there was a probable cause for such seizure, the plaintiff shall only be entitled to a judgment for the things seized, or the value thereof, and not to any damages, nor to any costs of suit.

Repealed by Act [§9,24 of 1991]

161. All persons employed for the protection of the revenue under the direction of the Minister or of the Collector shall be deemed and taken to be duly employed for the protection of the revenue ; and the averment in any information that such person was so duly employed shall be sufficient proof thereof, unless the defendant in such information shall prove to the contrary.

162. All ships and boats, and all goods whatsoever, which shall have been seized and condemned for a breach of this Ordinance, shall be disposed of as soon as conveniently may be after the condemnation thereof, in such manner as the Collector or other proper officer of customs shall direct; Provided that all horses, cattle, or goods of a perishable nature may be sold forthwith.

163. In all cases in which under this Ordinance any ships, boats, conveyances, goods, or other things have become liable to forfeiture, or shall have been forfeited, and in all cases in which any person shall have incurred or become liable to any penalty, it shall be lawful for the Collector, should he deem such forfeiture or penalty unduly severe, to mitigate the same ; but all cases so determined by the Collector shall nevertheless be liable to revision by the Minister-(* Application modified by section 86 (2) of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority Act.)

164. In case any goods, ships, or boats shall be seized as forfeited, or detained as undervalued, by virtue of this Ordinance, it shall be lawful for the Minister to order the same to be restored in such manner and on such terms and conditions as he shall think fit to direct; and if the proprietor of the same shall accept the terms and conditions prescribed by the Minister, he shall not have or maintain any action for recompense or damage on account of such seizure or detention and the person making such seizure shall not proceed in any manner for the purpose of obtaining the condemnation thereof.

165. The Minister may, by any order made for that purpose, direct any ship, boat, goods, or other commodities whatever, seized under this Ordinance, to be delivered to the proprietor thereof, whether condemnation shall have taken place or not, and may also mitigate or remit any penalty or fine or any part of any penalty or fine incurred under this Ordinance, or may release from confinement any person committed under this Ordinance, on such terms and conditions as to him shall appear to be proper:

Provided always that no person shall be entitled to the benefit of any order for such delivery, mitigation, remission, or release, unless such terms and conditions are fully and effectually complied with.

166.

166A. Where a person is suspected to be concerned with an offence under section 129 or section 130 of this Ordinance and the value of the goods in respect of which the offence is alleged to have been committed exceeds five hundred thousand rupees, then notwithstanding anything in this Ordinance or in any other written law such offence shall be deemed to be a non-bailable offence.

166B. In imposing a penalty or ordering a forfeiture under sections 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 38, 47, 52, 56, 57, 59, 62, 63, 64, 67, 68, 74, 76, 77, 110,119, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 135, 136 and 137, the Principal Collector shall have regard to the following :

167. Whenever the several terms or expressions following shall occur in this Ordinance, or in any other enactment relating to the customs, the same shall be construed respectively in the manner hereinafter directed, unless there is anything in the context repugnant to such construction, that is to say:-

” bonded warehouse” shall mean any place approved of by the Minister in which goods entered to be warehoused may be lodged, kept, and secured without payment of duty, although prohibited to be used in Sri Lanka;

” coastwise ” shall mean the trade by sea from any one part of Sri Lanka to any other part thereof;

” Collector” shall mean the Principal Collector, Collector, deputy, assistant, sub-collector, or other principal acting officer of customs of any port or place;

” Container freight station ” or ” Inland clearance depot” shall mean a place designated by the Collector

‘” customs house” shall mean any place for the transaction of customs business ;

“document” includes any information contained in an electronic record ,printed on a paper stored recorded of copied on optical or magnetic media and produced by whatever means;

” flashing point” shall mean ” flashing point” as defined in the Petroleum Ordinance, or in any enactment that may hereafter be substituted therefor;

” foreign ” shall mean the trade by sea to or from any part or place beyond the limits of Sri Lanka;

” kerosene oil” shall include the liquids commonly known by the names of rock oil, Rangoon oil, Burma oil, kerosene, petroleum, paraffin oil, mineral oil, petroline, gasoline, benzol, benzoline, benzine, and any liquid that is made from petroleum, coal, schist, peat, or any other bituminous substance, or from any products of petroleum with a flashing point of less than 150° F., and any inflammable hydrocarbon (including any mixture of hydrocarbon, and any liquid containing hydrocarbon) which is capable of being used for providing reasonably efficient motive power for a motor car; ” warehouse of the Republic

” shall mean any place provided by the Government for lodging goods therein for the security of the customs;

” mail steamers” shall mean steamers running under contract with the United Kingdom, Indian, or Burmese, or any colonial or foreign Government;

” master” of any ship shall mean the person having or taking the charge or command of such ship ;

” officer of customs” shall mean any person acting as such for the time being;

” owner” shall alike mean one owner if there be only one, and any or all the owners if there be more than one;

” port or harbour ” shall include a customs aerodrome ;

” seamen ” shall include mate, mariner, sailor, or landsman, being one of the crew of the ship ;

” ship or vessel” shall mean ship or vessel of every description and shall include an aircraft;

” shipment” with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions shall include loading into an aircraft ;

” value “, in relation to imported goods, whether such goods were imported lawfully, or otherwise means the price of such goods as determined in accordance with Schedule E.

” warehouse” shall mean any place provided for the deposit of goods on the landing or for the shipment thereof for the security of the customs.