s.9Powers of officers
9
Section 9Part 2THE DIRECTOR, CUSTOMS AND BORDER CONTROL OFFICERS AND THEIR DUTIES AND POWERS

Powers of officers

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Subject to subsections (2) and (3), without prejudice to any other powers conferred upon them by this or any other law, every officer or any person acting under the direction of an officer may —
when acting within the jurisdiction in the course of the officer's duty prevent the evasion or suspected evasion of any provision of this Act relating to the movement of goods and in particular may —
with or without any warrant in that behalf, detain, board and enter any vessel wherever it may be and any place or thing within any Customs and Border Control area, search any thing or person found thereon or therein and break open any fastened thing or device capable of being used for the concealment of goods;
when an officer has reasonable grounds to suspect that an offence has been committed under this Act, exercise like powers to those provided by paragraph (i) for the purpose of searching any place, premises, person or thing;
require any person to furnish orally or in such form as such officer may require any information relating to any goods, and to produce and to allow the officer to inspect and take extracts from or make copies of any invoice, bill of lading or other book or document relating to such goods or the movement or custody thereof; and
require evidence to be produced to that person's satisfaction in support of any information required by or under this Act to be provided in respect of goods imported or exported;
examine and take account of any goods which are for any purpose in the charge of the Customs and Border Control or subject to scrutiny of the Customs and Border Control or in respect of which any drawback or relief is claimed, and may, for that purpose, require any container to be opened or unpacked;
take samples of any goods which the Director is, by paragraph (b), empowered to examine and to retain such samples on payment on behalf of the Director of such sum as reasonably represents the wholesale value thereof, if so required by the person in possession of the goods;
allow remission of duty for losses as provided by section 39;
arrest with or without a warrant any person contravening or suspected of contravening section 54, 55, 56, 57 or 58:
in cases of emergency, permit the discharge of goods and the disembarkation of passengers in places other than those prescribed;
permit the delivery of goods from a vessel's side; and
seize and detain any vessel or goods which the person believes to be liable to forfeiture under this Act and hold the vessel or goods in the King's Warehouse subject to the right of appeal conferred by section 76(4) or, in default of such appeal, for disposal under section 31(1) or (4).
Any person arrested under subsection (1)(e) shall, as soon as practicable, be handed over by the arresting person to a constable or taken by that arresting person to a police station.
An officer's power of search conferred by subsection (1)(a)(i) and (ii) may be exercised only by an officer of the same sex as the person searched and such search may only be exercised after the officer has sought the permission of a justice of the peace or a superior officer; and the justice or superior has considered the grounds for suspicion and has directed whether or not the search is to take place.