277. (1) All expenses incurred under section 276 by a Bangladesh Consular Officer in respect of the forwarding of a passenger to his destination, including the cost of maintaining the passenger until he is forwarded to his destination, shall be a debt due to the Government jointly and severally from the owner, charterer, agent and master of the ship on board which the passenger had embarked. (2) In any proceeding for the recovery of that debt, a certificate purporting to be under the hand of the Bangladesh Consular Officer and stating the circumstances of the case and the total amount of the expenses shall be prima facie evidence of the amount of the expenses and of the fact that the same were duly incurred.