Customs Act 1901

PART XIII - PENAL PROVISIONS  

Division 1 - Forfeitures  

SECTION 229A   PROCEEDS OF DRUG TRAFFICKING LIABLE TO FORFEITURE  

229A(1)   [Interpretation]  

In this section, unless the contrary intention appears -

"cheque"
includes a bill, promissory note or other security for money;

"goods"
includes cheques, but does not include moneys in the form of cash;

"moneys"
means moneys in the form of cash.

229A(2)   [Application]  

This section applies to -

(a) moneys or goods in the possession or under the control of a person, being moneys or goods that came into his or her possession or under his or her control by reason of -

(i) the person selling or otherwise dealing in, or agreeing to sell or otherwise deal in, narcotic goods imported into Australia in contravention of this Act; or

(ii) the person importing, or agreeing to import, narcotic goods into Australia in contravention of this Act; or

(iii) the person exporting, or agreeing to export, narcotic goods from Australia in contravention of this Act; or

(iv) the person keeping or having kept, or agreeing to keep, in his or her possession narcotic goods imported into Australia in contravention of this Act; or

(v) the person conspiring with another person or other persons to import any narcotic goods into Australia in contravention of this Act or to export any narcotic goods from Australia in contravention of this Act; or

(vi) the person aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring, or being in any way knowingly concerned in, the sale of, or other dealing in, narcotic goods imported into Australia in contravention of this Act, the importation of narcotic goods into Australia in contravention of this Act, the exportation of narcotic goods from Australia in contravention of this Act or the keeping in the possession of any person of narcotic goods imported into Australia in contravention of this Act;

(b) moneys in the possession or under the control of a person that were paid to him or her for the sale of goods that were, immediately before the sale, goods to which this section applied; and

(c) goods in the possession or under the control of a person that were purchased or otherwise acquired by him or her with or out of moneys to which this section applied.

Note: Goods are imported or exported in contravention of this Act if they are imported or exported in breach of a prohibition under this Act: see subsection 4(4A) .

229A(3)   [Receipt of moneys]  

Where a person who obtained possession or control of a cheque, or was paid moneys by a cheque, in any of the circumstances set out in paragraph (2)(a) or (b) receives, in respect of the cheque, moneys in the form of cash, the moneys so received shall, for the purposes of subsection (2), be deemed to be moneys that came into his or her possession or under his or her control, or were paid to him or her, in the circumstances in which he or she obtained possession or control of the cheque, or was paid the moneys by the cheque.

229A(4)   [Payment by cheque]  

Where a person who purchases or otherwise acquires goods pays the whole or substantially the whole of the amount paid by him or her for the goods by means of a cheque that came into his or her possession or under his or her control as set out in paragraph (2)(a), the goods shall, for the purposes of subsection (2), be deemed to have come into his or her possession or under his or her control in the circumstances in which the cheque came into his or her possession or under his or her control.

229A(5)   [Goods purchased out of money]  

For the purposes of paragraph (2)(c), goods shall not be taken to have been purchased with or out of moneys to which this section applied unless the whole, or substantially the whole, of the moneys paid for the goods were moneys to which this section applied.

229A(6)   [Forfeited goods]  

For the purposes of section 203, moneys or goods to which this section applies shall be deemed to be forfeited goods and, upon moneys or goods to which this section applies being seized under a seizure warrant, they shall, for the purposes of sections 204 to 208E (inclusive) and Part XIV, be deemed to be forfeited goods, and those provisions apply accordingly.

229A(7)   [Power of courts]  

Where, in any proceedings for the condemnation or recovery of moneys or goods to which this section applies and which have been seized under a seizure warrant, the Court is satisfied that the relevant narcotic goods are goods reasonably suspected of having been imported into Australia in contravention of this Act, the Court shall, for the purposes of the proceedings, treat the narcotic goods as narcotic goods which have been imported into Australia in contravention of this Act unless it is established to the satisfaction of the Court that the narcotic goods were not imported into Australia or were not imported into Australia in contravention of this Act.

229A(8)   [Where goods seized under seizure warrant]  

Without limiting any powers that are conferred on a Court by the provisions of this Act specified in subsection (6) and notwithstanding any other provision of this Act -

(a) where moneys or goods in the possession or under the control of a person are seized under a seizure warrant, a Court in which proceedings are brought for the condemnation or recovery of the moneys or goods shall, if it is satisfied that the moneys or goods were, at the time when they were so seized, owned by another person who, when he or she became the owner of the moneys or goods, did not know and had no reason to suspect, that the moneys or goods had come into the possession or under the control of the first-mentioned person in circumstances referred to in subsection (2), direct that the moneys or goods be delivered to that other person; and

(b) where moneys or goods in the possession or under the control of the licensee of a warehouse are seized under a seizure warrant, a Court in which proceedings are brought for the condemnation or recovery of the moneys or goods shall direct that the moneys or goods be delivered to the licensee if it is satisfied that -

(i) the moneys came into the possession or under the control of the licensee by reason of his or her storing in the warehouse narcotic goods imported into Australia in contravention of this Act or by reason of his or her selling goods that were acquired by him or her with or out of any such moneys; or

(ii) the goods were purchased or otherwise acquired by him or her out of moneys that so came into his or her possession or under his or her control,

as the case may be, and is also satisfied that the licensee did not know that the goods stored in the warehouse were narcotic goods or that they had been imported into Australia in contravention of this Act.