The Customs Act, 1969

( ACT NO. IV OF 1969 )

An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to customs.♠♣

 
 
 
WHEREAS it is expedient to consolidate and amend the law relating to the levy and collection of customs-duties and to provide for other allied matters;
 
 
 
 
It is hereby enacted as follows:-
 
 
 

CONTENTS

SECTIONS

1. Short title, extent and commencement

2. Definitions

2A. Act to override other laws

3. Appointment of officers of Customs

4. Powers and duties of officers of Customs

5. Delegation of powers

6. Entrustment of functions of customs officers to certain other officers

7. Assistance to the officers of Customs

8. Exemption from service on jury or inquest or as assessors

9. Declaration of customs-ports, customs-airports, etc.

10. Power to approve landing places and specify limits of customs-stations

11. Power to declare warehousing stations

12. Power to appoint public warehouses

13. Licensing of Private warehouses

14. Stations for officers of Customs to board and land

15. Prohibitions

16. Power to prohibit or restrict importation and exportation of goods

17. Detention and confiscation of goods imported in breach of section 15 or section 16

18. Goods dutiable

18A. Imposition of countervailing duty

18B. Imposition of anti-dumping duty

18C. No imposition under section 18A or 18B in certain cases

18D. Appeal against imposition of countervailing or anti-dumping duty

18E. Imposition of safeguard duty

19. General power to exempt from customs-duties

20. [Government’s power] to grant exemption from duty in exceptional circumstances

21. Power to deliver certain goods without payment of duty and to repay duty on certain goods

22. Re-importation of goods produced or manufactured in Bangladesh

23. Goods, derelict, wreck, etc.

24. Provisions and stores may be exported free of duty

25. [Value of goods for assessment purposes]

25A. Pre-shipment inspection agencies and assessment on the basis of their certificates

25B. Optional pre-shipment Inspection.

25C. Pre-shipment inspection service charge

26. Requisition to produce documents

26A. Further powers in relation to documents

26B. A Customs officer may take possession of and retain documents and records

26C. Copying of documents obtained during search

26D. Retention of documents and goods obtained during search

27. Abatement of duty on damaged, deteriorated, lost, or destroyed goods

28. Power to test and denature imported spirit

29. Restriction on amendment of bill of entry or bill of export

30. [Date for determination of rate of duty, value and exchange rate for imported goods]

30A. Value and effective rate of duty

31. Date for determination of export duty

32. Untrue statement, error, etc.

33. Refund to be claimed within [six months]

34. Power to give credit for, and keep account current of, duties and charges

35. Drawback of the export on imported goods

36. Drawback on goods taken into use between importation and exportation

37. Drawback on goods used in the manufacture of goods which are exported

38. Power to declare what goods are identifiable and to prohibit drawback in case of specified foreign territory

39. When no drawback allowed

40. Time of payment of drawback

41. Declaration by parties claiming drawback

42. Arrival of conveyance

43. Delivery of import manifest in respect of a vessel

44. Delivery of import manifest in respect of a conveyance other than a vessel

45. Signature and contents of import manifest and amendment thereof

46. Duty of person receiving import manifest

47. Bulk not to be broken until manifest, etc., delivered and vessel entered inwards

48. Power to require production of documents and ask questions

49. Special pass for breaking bulk

50. Order for entry outwards or loading of goods to be obtained before export goods are loaded

51. No vessel to depart without port-clearance

52. No conveyance other than vessel to leave without permission

53. Application for port-clearance of vessels

54. Conveyances other than vessels to deliver documents and answer questions before departure

55. Power to refuse port-clearance to vessels or permission for departure to other conveyance

56. Grant of port-clearance or permission for departure

57. Grant of port-clearance or permission for departure on security of agent

58. Power to cancel port-clearance or permission for departure

58A. Advance Passenger Information (API) or Passenger Name Record (PNR)

59. Exemption of certain classes of conveyance from certain provisions of this Chapter

60. Power to depute officers of Customs to board conveyances

61. Officer to be received and accommodation to be provided

62. Officers’ powers of access, etc.

63. Sealing of conveyance

64. Goods not to be loaded or unloaded or water-borne except in presence of officer

65. Goods not to be loaded or unloaded or passed on certain days or at certain times

66. Goods not to be loaded or unloaded except at approved places

67. Power to exempt from sections 64 and 66

68. Boat-note

69. Goods water-borne to be forthwith landed or shipped

70. Goods not to be transhipped without permission

71. Power to prohibit plying of unlicensed cargo-boats

72. Playing of ships of less than one hundred tons

73. Discharge of cargo by vessels may commence on receipt of due permission

74. Discharge of goods by conveyances other than vessels

75. Imported goods not to be unloaded unless entered in the import manifest

76. Procedure in respect of goods not unloaded by vessels within time allowed

77. Power to land small parcels and hold unclaimed parcels

78. Power to permit immediate discharge

79. Entry for home-consumption or warehousing

79A. Acceptance of electronically transmitted bills of entry and documents

79B. Access to Customs computerised entry processing systems

79C. Registered users

79D. Registered users to be allocated unique user identifier

79E. Use of unique user identifier

79F. Cancellation of registration of registered user

79G. Customs to keep records of transmission

80. Assessment of duty

81. Provisional assessment of duty

82. Procedure in case of goods not cleared or warehoused or transhipped after unloading within a specified period

82A. Procedure in case of goods not assessed or out-passed by Customs after presentation of the related bill of entry within a specified period

83. Clearance for home-consumption

83A. Amendment of assessment

83B. Limitation of time for amendment of assessments

83C. Audit or examination of records

83D. Power to appoint auditor, etc.

83E. Authorized Economic Operator

84. Application to warehouse

85. Form of application

86. Warehousing bond

86A. Warehousing bank guarantee

87. Forwarding of goods to warehouse

88. Receipt of goods at warehouse

89. Goods how warehoused

90. Warrant to be given when goods are warehoused

91. Control over warehoused goods

92. Power to cause packages lodged in warehouse to be opened and examined

93. Access of owners to warehoused goods

94. Owner’s power to deal with warehoused goods

95. Manufacture and other operations in relation to goods in a warehouse

96. Payment of rent and warehouse-dues

97. Goods not to be taken out of warehouse except as provided by this Act

98. Period for which goods may remain warehoused

98A. Goods to be removed if license is cancelled

99. Power to remove goods from one warehouse to another in the same customs-station

100. Power to remove goods from one warehousing station to another

101. Transmission of account of goods to officers at warehousing station of destination

102. Remover may enter into a general bond

103. Goods on arrival at customs-station of destination to be subject to same laws as goods on first importation

104. Clearance of bonded goods for home-consumption

105. Clearance of warehoused goods for export

106. Clearance of warehoused goods for export as provisions, on a conveyance proceeding to foreign destination

107. Application for clearance of goods

108. Re-assessment of warehoused goods when damaged or deteriorated

109. [Omitted.]

110. Allowance in case of volatile goods

111. Duty on goods improperly removed from warehouse or allowed to remain beyond fixed time or lost or destroyed or taken as sample

112. Procedure on failure to pay duty, etc.

113. Noting removal of goods

114. Register of bonds

115. Power to remit duties on warehoused goods lost or destroyed

116. Responsibility of warehouse-keeper

117. [Omitted.]

117A. [Omitted.]

118. Power to decide where goods may be deposited in [warehouse], and on what terms

119. Expenses of carriage, packing, etc., to be borne by owner

119A. Power to add, alter or relax the condition, etc.

119B. Performing the operation of bonded warehouse electronically

120. Chapter not to apply to baggage or postal articles

121. Transhipment of goods without payment of duty

122. Superintendence of transhipment

123. Entry, etc., of transhipped goods

124. Transhipment of provisions and stores from one conveyance to another of the same owner without payment of duty

125. Levy of transhipment fees

126. Chapter not to apply to baggage and postal articles

127. Transit of goods in the same conveyance

128. Transport of certain classes of goods subject to prescribed conditions

129. Transit of goods across Bangladesh to a foreign territory

129A.Cost of Transit

130. No goods to be loaded on a conveyance, till entry outwards or permission granted

131. Clearance for exportation

132. Bond required in certain cases before exportation

133. Additional charge on goods cleared for export after port-clearance granted

134. Notice of non-loading or re-landing and return of duty thereon

135. Goods re-landed or transhipped from a conveyance returning to a customs-station or putting into another customs-station

136. Conveyance returning to customs-station may enter and land goods

137. Landing of goods during repairs

138. Frustrated cargo [and other than Frustrated cargo] how dealt with

139. Declaration by passenger or crew of baggage

140. Determination of rate of duty in respect of baggage

141. Bona fide baggage exempt from duty

142. Temporary detention of baggage

143. Treatment of baggage of passengers or crew in transit

144. Label or declaration in respect of goods imported or exported by post to be treated as entry

145. Rate of duty in respect of goods imported or exported by post

146. Chapter not to apply to baggage

147. Entry of coastal goods

148. Coastal goods not to be loaded until bill relating thereto is passed

149. Clearance of coastal goods at destination

150. Declaration concerning coasting vessel which has touched foreign port

151. Cargo book

152. Coastal goods not to be loaded or unloaded except at customs-port or coastal port

153. Coasting vessel to obtain written orders before departure

154. Application of certain provisions of this Act to coastal goods

155. Prohibition of the coastal trade of certain goods

156. Punishment for offences

157. Extent of confiscation

158. Power to search on reasonable ground

158A. Conferring certain Powers of Magistrate 1st Class on Customs officers

159. Persons to be searched may desire to be taken before gazetted officer of Customs or Magistrate

160. Power to screen or X-Ray bodies of suspected persons for detecting secreted goods

161. Power to arrest

162. Power to issue search warrant

163. Power to search and arrest without warrant

164. Power to stop and search conveyances

165. Power to examine persons

166. Power to summon persons to give evidence and produce documents or things

167. Persons escaping may be afterwards arrested

168. Seizure of things liable to confiscation

169. Things seized how dealt with

170. Procedure in respect of things seized on suspicion by the police

171. When seizure or arrest is made, reason in writing including inventory to be given

172. Power to detain packages containing certain publications imported into Bangladesh

173. Procedure for disposal by [High Court Division] of applications for release of package so detained

174. Power to require production of order permitting clearance of goods imported or exported by land

175. Power to prevent making or transmission of certain signals or messages

176. Power to station officers in certain factories

177. Restriction or the possession of goods in certain areas

178. Punishment of persons accompanying a person possessing goods liable to confiscation

179. Power of adjudication

180. Issue of show-cause notice before confiscation of goods or imposition of penalty

181. Option to pay fine in lieu of confiscated goods

182. Vesting of confiscated property in the Government

183. Levy of penalty for departure without authority or failure to bring-to

184. Power to try summarily

185. Special powers for Magistrates

186. Detention of goods pending payment of fine or penalty

187. Burden of proof as to lawful authority, etc.

188. Presumption as to documents in certain cases

189. Notice of conviction to be displayed

190. Power to publish conviction

191. Imprisonment may be of either description

192. Duty of certain person to give information

1Chapter XVIIIA

ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

192A. Alternative Dispute Resolution

192B. Commencement of ADR process

192F. Processing and Disposal of Applications for ADR

192K. Bar on suit or prosecution

192C. Definition and scope of disputes for ADR

192D. Appointment of Facilitator and duties of the parties concerned

192E. Application for ADR

192G. Duration of Negotiation and Resolution

192H. Decision of the ADR

192I. Effects of Agreement or Resolution

192J. Limitation for Appeal where Agreement is not concluded

193B. Power of the Board to rectify any mistake, error, etc.

193. Appeals to Commissioner (Appeal)

193A. Procedure in appeal

193C. Review Committee

194. Deposit, pending appeal, of duty demanded or penalty levied

195. Power of the Board to call for and examine records, etc.

196D. Appeal to the High Court Division

196E. [Omitted]

196G. Decision of the High Court Division on appeals

196H. Sums due to be paid notwithstanding reference, etc.

196I. Exclusion of the time taken for copy

196M. Bar to the jurisdiction of the Courts

196N. Definitions

196. Appellate Tribunal

196A. Appeals to the Appellate Tribunal

196B. Orders of Appellate Tribunal

196C. Procedure of Appellate Tribunal

196F. Case before High Court Division to be heard by not less than two Judges

196J. Transfer of certain pending proceedings and transitional provisions

196K. Appearance by authorised representative

196L. Power of the Government to call for and examine records

197. Customs control over conveyances and goods

197A. Customs Control and Risk Management

197B. Non intrusive inspection

197C. Specialized functional unit

197D. Establishment of Bangladesh Single Window

198. Power to open packages and examine, weight or measure goods

199. Power to take samples of goods

200. Owner to make all arrangements and bear all expenses

201. Procedure for sale of goods and application of sale proceeds

202A. Power to write-off sums due to Government

202. Recovery of Government dues

203. Wharfage or storage fees

204. Issue of certificate and duplicates of customs’ document

204A. Supply of information pertaining to customs law, etc.

204B. Confidentiality and arrangement for exchange of information facilitating trade

205. Amendment of documents

206. Correction of clerical errors, etc.

207. Custom-house agents to be licensed

208. Agent to produce authority if required

209. Liability of principal and agent

210. Liability of agent appointment by the person-in-charge of a conveyance

211. Keeping of business record

212. Regulation of business in gold, etc.

213. Recovery of money upon certain documents

214. Remission of duty and payment of compensation to the owner in certain cases

215. Service of order, decision, etc.

215A. Supply of information and copy of decisions

215B. Enquiries and Enquiry Points

216. No compensation for loss or injury exception proof of neglect or wilful act

216A. Bar to filing of cases in civil Courts

217. Protection of action taken under the Act

217A. Reward for detection etc. of evasion of duties or violation of laws

217B. Award of financial incentives to Customs Officers and employees

218. Notice of proceedings

219B.Power to issue Orders, Notices, Explanations or Circulars

219. Power to make rules

219A. Power to make customs rulings

220.Repeals and amendments

221.Savings

222.Removal of difficulties

223. Authentic Bangla Text

Schedule

SCHEDULE