(7) An offence against subsection (6) is an offence of strict liability.
76 Goods landed at ship’s risk etc.
Goods unshipped shall be placed by and at the expense of the master or owner of the ship or the pilot or owner of the aircraft from which they were unshipped in a place of security approved by the Collector, and shall until lawfully removed therefrom be at the risk of the master or owner of the ship or the pilot or owner of the aircraft as if they had not been unshipped.
77 Repacking on wharf
Any goods may by authority be repacked or skipped on the wharf.
77AA Disclosure of information to cargo reporter or owner of goods
(1) If a cargo reporter in relation to goods that are on a ship or aircraft on a voyage or flight to a place in Australia requests a Collector to inform the cargo reporter:
(a) whether a report of the impending arrival of the ship or aircraft has been made and, if so, the estimated time of arrival specified in the report; or
(b) whether a report of the arrival of the ship or aircraft has been made and, if so, the time of arrival;
a Collector may comply with the request.
(2) If goods have been entered for home consumption or warehousing, a Collector may, at the request of the owner of the goods, inform the owner of the stage reached by a Collector in deciding whether or not to give an authority to deal with the goods.
(3) If a movement application has been made in respect of goods, a Collector may, at the request of the owner of the goods, inform the owner of the stage reached by a Collector in its consideration of the application.
(4) If goods have been entered for export by the making of an export declaration, a Collector may, at the request of the owner of the goods, inform the owner of the stage reached by a Collector in deciding whether or not to give an authority to deal with the goods.
(5) If a submanifest in respect of goods has been sent to the Department under section 117A, a Collector may, at the request of the owner of the goods, inform the owner of the stage reached by a Collector in preparing to give a submanifest number in respect of the submanifest.
Division 5—Detention of goods in the public interest
77EA Minister may order goods to be detained
(1) The Minister may, if the Minister considers that it is in the public interest to do so, order a Collector to detain the goods specified in the Minister’s order.
(2) At the time an order is made to detain goods:
(a) the goods must be goods the importation of which is restricted by the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956; and
(b) the goods must have been imported into Australia; and
(c) the importation of the goods must not breach this Act; and
(d) the goods must not have been:
(i) delivered into home consumption in accordance with an authority to deal with the goods; or
(ii) exported from Australia.
(3) An order to detain goods has effect despite any provision of this Act to the contrary.
77EB Notice to person whose goods are detained
If the Minister orders goods to be detained, the Minister must, as soon as practicable after making the order, give written notice of the order to:
(a) the owner of the goods; or
(b) if the owner of the goods cannot be identified after reasonable inquiry—the person in whose possession or under whose control the goods were at the time the order was given.
77EC Detention of goods by Collector
If the Minister orders a Collector to detain goods under section 77EA, a Collector must:
(a) move the goods to a place that is approved by a Collector for the purpose of detaining goods under this Subdivision (unless the goods are already in such a place); and
(b) detain the goods in that place until the goods are dealt with under section 77ED, 77EE or 77EF.
77ED Minister may authorise delivery of detained goods into home consumption
(1) On application by the owner of goods detained under section 77EC, the Minister may authorise the delivery of the goods, or so much of the goods as the Minister specifies in the authority, into home consumption.
(2) An authority is subject to any conditions, or other requirements, specified in the authority in relation to the goods.
(3) An application under subsection (1) must be made before the end of the period of 12 months after the date of the order.
(4) The owner of goods authorised to be taken into home consumption under subsection (1) must comply with any other provision of this Act in relation to taking goods into home consumption.
77EE Minister may authorise export of detained goods
(1) On application by the owner of goods detained under section 77EC, the Minister may authorise the exportation of the goods, or so much of the goods as the Minister specifies in the authority, from Australia.
(2) An authority is subject to any conditions, or other requirements, specified in the authority in relation to the goods.
(3) An application under subsection (1) must be made before the end of the period of 12 months after the date of the order.
(4) The owner of goods authorised to be exported under subsection (1) must comply with any other provision of this Act in relation to exporting goods.
77EF When goods have been detained for 12 months
Goods to be exported or disposed of
(1) This section applies if, at the end of the period of 12 months after an order to detain goods is given, some or all of the goods (the remaining goods) have not been:
(a) delivered into home consumption in accordance with an authority given under section 77ED; or
(b) exported in accordance with an authority given under section 77EE.
(2) The Minister may grant an authority to export the remaining goods from Australia.
(3) The owner of goods authorised to be exported under subsection (2) must comply with any other provision of this Act in relation to exporting goods.
(4) If:
(a) the Minister does not grant an authority to export the remaining goods from Australia within 1 month of the end of the period of 12 months after the date of the order; or
(b) the remaining goods have not been exported from Australia within 2 months after the date of an authority to export the goods under subsection (2);
the Minister must authorise a Collector to dispose of the goods in the manner the Minister considers appropriate.
Compensation for detained goods
(5) Nothing in this section prevents a person from seeking compensation in relation to the remaining goods, or other goods ordered to be detained under this Subdivision, in accordance with section 4AB.
Part IVA—Depots
77F Interpretation
(1) In this Part:
Australia Post means the Australian Postal Corporation.
depot, in relation to a depot licence, means the place to which the licence relates.
depot licence means a licence granted under section 77G and includes such a licence that has been renewed under section 77T.
depot licence application charge means the depot licence application charge imposed by the Customs Licensing Charges Act 1997 and payable as set out in section 77H.
depot licence charge means the depot licence charge imposed by the Customs Licensing Charges Act 1997 and payable as set out in section 77U.
depot licence variation charge means the depot licence variation charge imposed by the Customs Licensing Charges Act 1997 and payable as set out in section 77LA of this Act.
International Mail Centre means a place approved in an instrument under subsection (1A) as a place for the examination of international mail.
place includes an area, a building and a part of a building.
receptacle means a shipping or airline container, a pallet or other similar article.
(1A) For the purposes of the definition of International Mail Centre in subsection (1), the Comptroller‑General of Customs may, by writing, approve a place as a place for the examination of international mail.
(2) A reference in this Part to a conviction of a person of an offence includes a reference to the making of an order under section 19B of the Crimes Act 1914, or under a corresponding provision of a law of a State, a Territory or a foreign country, in relation to a person in respect of an offence.
Note: Section 19B of the Crimes Act 1914 empowers a court that has found a person to have committed an offence to take action without proceeding to record a conviction.
(3) Nothing in this Part affects the operation of Part VIIC of the Crimes Act 1914 (which includes provisions relieving persons from requirements to disclose spent convictions).
(4) For the purposes of this Part, a person is taken to participate in the management or control of a depot if:
(a) the person has authority:
(i) to direct the operations, or an important or substantial part of the operations, of the depot; or
(ii) to direct activities in the depot; or
(iii) to remove goods from the depot; or
(b) the person has authority to direct a person who has authority referred to in paragraph (a) in the exercise of that authority.
77G Depot licences
(1) Subject to this Part, the Comptroller‑General of Customs may, on an application made by a person or partnership in accordance with section 77H, grant the person or partnership a licence in writing, to be known as a depot licence, to use a place described in the licence for any one or more of the following purposes:
(a) the holding of imported goods that are subject to customs control under section 30;
(b) the unpacking of goods referred to in paragraph (a) from receptacles;
(c) the holding of goods for export that are subject to customs control under section 30;
(d) the packing of goods referred to in paragraph (c) into receptacles;
(e) the examination of goods referred to in paragraph (a) or (c) by officers of Customs.
(2) A depot licence may be granted:
(a) in relation to all the purposes referred to in subsection (1) or only to a particular purpose or purposes referred to in subsection (1) as specified in the licence; and
(b) in relation to goods generally or to goods of a specified class or classes as specified in the licence.
77H Application for a depot licence
(1) An application for a depot licence to cover a place must be made by a person or partnership who would occupy and control the place as a depot if the licence were granted.
(1A) An application under subsection (1) may be made by document or electronically.
(2) A documentary application must:
(a) be in writing; and
(b) be in an approved form; and
(c) contain such information as the form requires; and
(ca) be accompanied by any documents required by the form; and
(d) be signed in the manner indicated in the form; and
(e) subject to subsection (3), be accompanied by a depot licence application charge.
(2A) An electronic application must:
(a) communicate such information as is set out in an approved statement; and
(b) be accompanied by any documents required by the approved statement; and
(c) subject to subsection (3), be accompanied by the depot licence application charge.
(3) If Australia Post makes an application under this section for the whole or a part of an International Mail Centre to be covered by a depot licence, it is not liable to pay the depot licence application charge under subsection (2) or (2A).
77J Comptroller‑General of Customs may require applicant to supply further information or documents
(1) The Comptroller‑General of Customs may, by written notice given to an applicant for a depot licence, require the applicant to supply further information or documents in relation to the application within the period that is specified in the notice.
Note: See section 77ZA for the ways in which the notice may be given to the applicant.
(2) The Comptroller‑General of Customs may extend the specified period if the applicant, in writing, requests the Comptroller‑General of Customs to do so.
(3) If the applicant:
(a) fails to supply the further information or documents within the specified period, or that period as extended under subsection (2); but
(b) supplies the information or documents at a subsequent time;
the Comptroller‑General of Customs must not take the information or documents into account in determining whether to grant the depot licence.
77K Requirements for grant of depot licence
(1) The Comptroller‑General of Customs must not grant a depot licence if, in his or her opinion:
(a) if the applicant is a natural person:
(i) the applicant is not a fit and proper person to hold a depot licence; or
(ii) the applicant would not be in a position to occupy and control the proposed depot if the licence were granted; or
(iii) a person who would participate in the management or control of, or in the operations carried out at, the proposed depot (whether or not the person would be present at the proposed depot) is not a fit and proper person to so participate; or
(b) if the applicant is a partnership:
(i) any of the partners is not a fit and proper person to be a member of a partnership holding a depot licence; or
(ii) none of the partners in the partnership would be in a position to occupy and control the proposed depot if the licence were granted; or
(iii) a person who would participate in the management or control of, or in the operations carried out at, the proposed depot (whether or not the person would be present at the proposed depot) is not a fit and proper person to so participate; or
(c) if the applicant is a company:
(i) any of the directors of the company is not a fit and proper person to be a director of a company holding a depot licence; or
(ii) the company would not be in a position to occupy and control the proposed depot if the licence were granted; or
(iii) a person who would participate in the management or control of, or in the operations carried out at, the proposed depot (whether or not the person would be present at the proposed depot) is not a fit and proper person to so participate; or
(iv) the company is not a fit and proper company to hold a depot licence; or
(h) the physical security of the proposed depot is not adequate having regard to:
(i) the nature of the place; or
(ii) the procedures and methods that would be adopted by the applicant to ensure the security of goods in the proposed depot if the licence were granted; or
(i) the records that would be kept in relation to the proposed depot would not be suitable to enable an officer of Customs adequately to audit those records; or
(j) it is inappropriate in all the circumstances to grant the licence, having regard to the matters covered by subsection (3A).
(2) The Comptroller‑General of Customs must, in deciding whether a person is a fit and proper person for the purposes of paragraph (1)(a), (b) or (c) (other than subparagraph (1)(c)(iv)), have regard to:
(a) any conviction of the person of an offence against this Act committed within the 10 years immediately before that decision; and
(b) any conviction of the person of an offence against another law of the Commonwealth, or a law of a State or of a Territory, that is punishable by imprisonment for one year or longer, being an offence committed within the 10 years immediately before that decision; and
(c) whether the person is an insolvent under administration; and
(d) any misleading statement made under section 77H or 77J in relation to the application for the licence by or in relation to the person; and
(e) if any such statement made by the person was false—whether the person knew that the statement was false; and
(f) whether the person has been refused a transport security identification card, or has had such a card suspended or cancelled, within the 10 years immediately before the decision.
(3) The Comptroller‑General of Customs must, in deciding whether a company is a fit and proper company for the purposes of subparagraph (1)(c)(iv), have regard to:
(a) any conviction of the company of an offence against this Act committed within the 10 years immediately before that decision and at a time when any person who is presently a director, officer or shareholder of the company was a director, officer or shareholder of the company; and
(b) any conviction of the company of an offence against another law of the Commonwealth, or a law of a State or of a Territory, that is punishable by a fine of $5,000 or more, being an offence committed within the 10 years immediately before that decision and at a time when a person who is presently a director, officer or shareholder of the company was a director, officer or shareholder of the company; and
(c) whether a receiver of the property, or part of the property, of the company has been appointed; and
(d) whether the company is under administration within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001; and
(e) whether the company has executed under Part 5.3A of that Act a deed of company arrangement that has not yet terminated; and
(f) whether the company is under restructuring within the meaning of that Act; and
(fa) whether the company has made, under Division 3 of Part 5.3B of that Act, a restructuring plan that has not yet terminated; and
(g) whether the company is being wound up.
(3A) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(j), the matters covered by this subsection are the following:
(a) if the applicant is a natural person—the experience of the following in operations that would be performed upon, or in relation to, goods at the proposed depot:
(i) the applicant;
(ii) each person, known to the Comptroller‑General of Customs, who would participate in the management or control of, or in the operations carried out at, the proposed depot (whether or not the person would be present at the proposed depot);
(b) if the applicant is a partnership—the experience of the following in operations that would be performed upon, or in relation to, goods at the proposed depot: