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The Customs Act, 1969

( ACT NO. IV OF 1969 )

[ 8th March, 1969 ]

Chapter I

PRELIMINARY

Definitions
 

2. In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,-

 
 

1[ (a) “agent” means any person, including a shipping agent, clearing and forwarding agent, cargo agent, 2[ and freight forwarding agent], licensed under section 207, or any person permitted to transact any business under section 208;]

 

3[ (aa) “Appellate Tribunal” means the Customs, Excise and মূল্য সংযোজন কর Appellate Tribunal constituted under section 196;]

 
 

(b) “appropriate officer”, in relation to any functions to be performed under this Act, means the officer of Customs to whom such functions have been assigned by or under this Act;

 
 

4[ (bb) “Bangladesh customs-waters” means the waters extending into the sea to a distance of 5[twenty four nautical miles] measured from the appropriate base line on the coast of Bangladesh;]

 
 

6[ (c) “ bill of entry” means a bill of entry delivered under section 79 or section 104, and includes, an electronically transmitted bill of entry in such cases and in such manner containing such particulars as the Board may specify;]

 
 

7[ (d) “bill of export” means a bill of export delivered under section 131, and includes an electronically transmitted bill of export in such cases and in such manner containing such particulars as the Board may specify;]

 
 

8[ (e) “Board” means the National Board of Revenue constituted under the National Board of Revenue Order, 1972 (President's Order No. 76 of 1972);]

 
 

(f) “coastal goods” means goods transported in a vessel from one port in Bangladesh to another, but does not include imported goods on which customs-duty has not been paid;

 
 

9[ (ff) “container” means a receptacle of permanent nature, having an internal volume of one metre or more, fully or partially enclosed to constitute a compartment for containing goods and specially designed to facilitate carriage of goods by one or more modes of transport, without intermediate reloading, and ready handling, particularly when transferred from one mode of transport to another and strong enough for repeated use;

 
 

(fff) “controlling authority”, in relation to any customs-airport, customs-port, customs-inland container depot or customs-station, means the owner or legal occupier thereof or any person having legal control thereof;]

 
 

(g) “conveyance” means any means of transport used for carrying goods or passengers such as a vessel, aircraft, vehicle or animal;

 
 

(h) “customs-airport” means any airport declared under section 9 to be a customs-airport;

 
 

(i) “customs-area” means the limits of the customs-station specified under section 10 and includes any area in which imported goods or goods for export are ordinarily kept before clearance by the customs authorities;

 
 

10[ (ii) “Customs computer system” means the customs computerised entry processing system established by the Board for the purposes of this Act;]

 
 

11[ (iii) “customs-inland container depot” means any place declared under section 9 to be a customs-inland container depot;]

 
 

12[ (iiii) “customs inland-water container terminal” means any place declared under section 9 as a customs inland-water container terminal;]

 
 
 

(j) “customs-port” means any place declared under section 9 to be a port for the shipment and landing of goods;

 
 

13[ (k) “customs station” means any customs port, customs airport, land customs stations, customs inland-water container terminal or such other place as may be declared, from time to time, under section 9; ]

 

14[ (kk) “export manifest” means an export manifest delivered or transmitted under section 53, to customs computer system or, in manual form where use of customs computer system is not available, by the registered user and includes an export cargo manifest; transit cargo and cargo for transhipment; and advance passenger and crew information, in such manner and with such particulars as the Board may specify;]

 
 

(l) “goods” means all movable goods and includes-

 
 

(i) conveyances,

 
 

(ii) stores and materials,

 
 

15[ (iii) baggage,

 
 

(iv) currency and negotiable instruments,

 
 

(v) electronic data.]

 
 

16[ (ll) “import manifest” means an import manifest delivered or transmitted under sections 43 & 44, to customs computer system or, in manual form where use of customs computer system is not available, by the registered user and includes an import cargo manifest; transit cargo and cargo for transhipment; and advance passenger and crew information, in such manner and with such particulars as the Board may specify;]

 
 

(m) “land customs-station” means any place including an inland river port declared under section 9 to be a land customs-station;

 
 

(n) “master” when used in relation to any vessel, means any person, except a pilot or harbour master, having command or charge of such vessel;

 
 

(o) “officer of Customs” means an officer appointed under section 3;

 
 

17[ * * *]

 
 

18[ (pp) “person” includes a company, partnership, association, firm or a body of persons;]

 

(q) “person-in-charge” means-

 
 

(i) in relation to a vessel, the master of the vessel;

 
 

(ii) in relation to an aircraft, the commander or pilot in charge of the aircraft;

 
 

(iii) in relation to a railway train, the conductor, guard or other person having the chief direction of the train;

 
 

(iv) in relation to any other conveyance, the driver or any other person having control of the conveyance;

 
 

19[ (qq) “pre-shipment inspection agency” means any person appointed under section 25A as a pre-shipment inspection agency and includes a representative of that person;]

 
 

20[ (qqa) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules or order, as the case may be;]

 
 

21[ (qqq) “registered user”, in relation to a Customs computer system, means a user of that system and registered for the purposes of this Act;]

 
 

(r) “rules” means the rules made under this Act;

 
 

22[ (s) “smuggle” means to bring into or take out of Bangladesh in breach of any prohibition or restriction for the time being in force; or evading payment of customs-duties or taxes leviable thereon,-

 
 

(a) narcotics, narcotic drugs or psychotropic substance; or

 
 

(b) gold bullion, silver bullion, platinum, palladium, radium, precious stones, currency, manufactures of gold or silver or platinum or palladium or precious stones, or any other goods notified by the Government in the official Gazette, in each case exceeding 23[ Taka ten lakhs] in value; or

 

24[(bb) any goods in breach of payment guidelines of Bangladesh Bank; or]

 

(c) any goods concealed in any manner in any place on board any ship, vessel or aircraft or in any other vehicle or in any baggage or cargo or on person; or

 
 

(d) any other goods by any route other than a route declared under section 9 or 10 from any place other than a customs-station; and includes an attempt, abetment or connivance of so bringing in or taking out of such goods; and all cognate words and expressions shall be construed accordingly;]

 
 

25[ 26[ (t) “special bonded warehouse” means a private warehouse licensed under section 13 and which is a hundred percent export oriented industry to be determined as such by the Board for the purpose of exemption from the provision of sub-section (2) of section 91;]

 
 

(tt) “warehouse” means of place appointed under section 12 or a place licensed under section 13;]

 
 

(u) “warehousing station” means a place declared as a warehousing station under section 11;

 
 

(v) “wharf ” means any place in customs-port approved under clause (b) of section 10 for the loading and unloading of goods or any class of goods.

  • 1
    Clause (a) was substituted by section 8 of অর্থ আইন, ২০০০ (২০০০ সনের ১৫ নং আইন)
  • 2
    The words “and freight forwarding agent” were substituted for the comma and words “, freight forwarding agent and stevedore” by section 2 of অর্থ আইন, ২০০১ (২০০১ সনের ৩০ নং আইন)
  • 3
    Clause (aa) was inserted by section 5 of অর্থ আইন, ১৯৯৫ (১৯৯৫ সনের ১২ নং আইন)
  • 4
    Clause (bb) was inserted by section 2 of অর্থ আইন, ২০০১ (২০০১ সনের ৩০ নং আইন)
  • 5
    The words “twenty four nautical miles” were substituted for the words “twelve nautical miles ” by section 2(a) of অর্থ আইন, ২০২১ (২০২১ সনের ১১ নং আইন).
  • 6
    Clause (c) was substituted by section 2 of অর্থ আইন, ২০২৩ (২০২৩ সনের ১৪ নং আইন) (With effect from 1st July 2023).
  • 7
    Clause (d) was substituted by section 8 of অর্থ আইন, ২০০০ (২০০০ সনের ১৫ নং আইন)
  • 8
    Clause (e) was substituted by section 11 of the Finance Act, 1980 (Act No. XXIII of 1980)
  • 9
    Clauses (ff) and (fff) were inserted by section 6 of অর্থ আইন, ১৯৯২ (১৯৯২ সনের ২১ নং আইন)
  • 10
    Clause (ii) was inserted by section 2 of অর্থ আইন, ২০০১ (২০০১ সনের ৩০ নং আইন)
  • 11
    The former clause (ii) which was inserted by section 6 of অর্থ আইন, ১৯৯২ (১৯৯২ সনের ২১ নং আইন), was renumbered as clause (iii) by section 2 of অর্থ আইন, ২০০১ (২০০১ সনের ৩০ নং আইন)
  • 12
    Clause (iiii) was inserted by section 2(a) of অর্থ আইন, ২০১৬ (২০১৬ সনের ২৮ নং আইন)।
  • 13
    Clause (k) was substituted by section 2(b) of অর্থ আইন, ২০১৬ (২০১৬ সনের ২৮ নং আইন)।
  • 14
    Clause (kk) was substituted by section 2 (a) of অর্থ আইন, ২০১৯ (২০১৯ সনের ১০ নং আইন) (With effect from 1st July 2019).
  • 15
    Sub-clauses (iii), (iv) and (v) were substituted for previous sub-clauses (iii) and (iv) by section 2 of অর্থ আইন, ২০০১ (২০০১ সনের ৩০ নং আইন)
  • 16
    Clause (ll) was substituted by section 2 (b) of অর্থ আইন, ২০১৯ (২০১৯ সনের ১০ নং আইন)(With effect from 1st July 2019).
  • 17
    Clause (p) was omitted by section 2 of অর্থ আইন, ২০০১ (২০০১ সনের ৩০ নং আইন)
  • 18
    Clause (pp) was inserted by section 4 of the অর্থ আইন, ১৯৯৯ (১৯৯৯ সনের ১৬ নং আইন)
  • 19
    Clause (qq) was inserted by section 4 of অর্থ আইন, ১৯৯৯ (১৯৯৯ সনের ১৬ নং আইন)
  • 20
    Clause (qqa) was inserted by section 3 of অর্থ আইন, ২০০৩ (২০০৩ সনের ১৭ নং আইন)
  • 21
    Clause (qqq) was inserted by section 2 of অর্থ আইন, ২০০১ (২০০১ সনের ৩০ নং আইন)
  • 22
    Clause (s) was substituted by section 5 of অর্থ আইন, ১৯৯৫ (১৯৯৫ সনের ১২ নং আইন)
  • 23
    The words “Taka ten lakhs” were substituted for the words “Taka two lakhs” by section 3 of অর্থ আইন, ১৯৯৬ (১৯৯৬ সনের ১৮ নং আইন)
  • 24
    Sub-clause (bb) was substituted by section 2(b) of অর্থ আইন, ২০২১ (২০২১ সনের ১১ নং আইন).
  • 25
    Clauses (t) and (tt) were substituted for former clause (t) by section 8 of অর্থ আইন, ২০০০ (২০০০ সনের ১৫ নং আইন)
  • 26
    Clauses (t) was substituted by section 10 of অর্থ আইন, ২০০২ (২০০২ সনের ১৪ নং আইন)
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