Customs Act 1901

PART XII - OFFICERS  

Division 1 - Powers of officers  

Subdivision G - Dealing with goods seized as forfeited goods  

SECTION 205   REQUIREMENT TO SERVE SEIZURE NOTICES  

205(1)   [Service of seizure notices]  

After goods have been seized under a seizure warrant or under subsection 203B(2) or (2A), 203C(2), 203CA(3) or 203CB(2), the responsible person must serve, within 7 days after the seizure, a seizure notice on the owner of the goods or, if the owner cannot be identified after reasonable inquiry, on the person in whose possession or under whose control the goods were when they were seized.

205(2)   [Application of requirement]  

Subsection (1) applies whether or not a claim for the return of the goods seized has been made under section 205B.

205(3)   [Form and manner of service]  

The notice must be in writing and must be served:

(a) personally or by post; or

(b) if no person of the kind referred to in subsection (1) can be identified after reasonable inquiry - by publishing a copy of the notice in a newspaper circulating in the location in which the goods were seized.

205(4)   [Service outside Australia]  

A seizure notice may be served on a person who is outside Australia.

205(5)   [``responsible person'']  

In this section:

"responsible person"
means:

(a) in relation to goods other than narcotic-related goods - the officer of Customs who seized the goods or to whom the goods were delivered under subsection 204(3); or

(b) in relation to narcotic-related goods - the member of the Australian Federal Police who seized the goods or to whom the goods were delivered under subsection 204(4).