Customs Offences, Penalties and Appeals
Offences
A violation of the Customs Law or regulations is an offence and may be subject to penalties or legal proceedings.
There are two types of offences:
-
Minor offences which, in turn, can be of the first degree, second degree or third degree
- Serious offences which can be of the first degree or second degree
Minor offences include, among others, declaring incorrect or incomplete information (e.g. quantities, description of goods, etc.), incorrect values or classification with a view to avoiding duty, storing or possessing duitiable goods without proper Customs documents to account for them.
Serious offences relate to importing or exporting controlled goods without proper auhtorization by Customs or the relevant authority.
A detailed definition of what constitutes one of the offences above and the penatlies that these will attract can be found in the Customs Law, Part XIV, Chapter 1.
Appeals
A declarant may appeal against a decision made by Customs that he considers to be unfair treatment. The procedures and rules governing appeals and settlement are described in the Customs Law, Part X, Chapter 2.
Summary of Penalties
The following is a summary of the penalties attracted by these offences.
Penalties for minor offences of the first degree
Any person committing a minor offence of the first degree will be fined according to the value of the goods.
| Value lower than Kip 5,000,000 | The offender shall receive a warning |
| Value from Kip 5,000,000 to 10,000,000 | The offender shall be fined 5% of the value of the goods |
| Value above Kip 10,000,000 | The offender shall be fined 10% of the value of the goods |
Penalties for minor offences of the second degree
Any person committing a minor offence of the second degree will be considered to have evaded duty and shall be fined as follows.
| The offender must pay the full Customs duty and a fine of: | 30% of the value of the goods |
| If the offence occurs a second time the offender must pay the full Customs duty and a fine of: | 50% of the value of the goods |
Penalties for minor offences of the third degree
Any person committing a minor offence of the third degree will be considered to have evaded duty and shall be fined as follows.
| The offender must pay the full Customs duty and a fine of: | 70% of the value of the goods |
| If the offence occurs a second time the offender must pay the full Customs duty and a fine of: | 100% of the value of the goods |
Penalties for serious offences of the first degree
These offences relate to attempting to import or export controlled goods without proper authorization but also apply if a minor offence of the third degree is committed repeatedly. In all cases, the goods will be seized and, in addition, the following penalties will apply.
| Any offence of the first degree | 30% of the value of the goods |
Penalties for serious offences of the second degree
These penalties will apply if a person commits a serious offence of the first degree more than once as well as for violation of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) or falsification of Customs documents.
| Any offence of the second degree | 50% of the value of the goods |
Where the offence relates to illegal goods such as weapons, narcotics or other prohibited substances Customs will seize the goods as evidence and will refer the matter to the Police to invesigate further and take such action as may be prescribed by law.
When an offence is committed Customs may seize the goods or the vehicles used to commit the offence as evidence and initiate legal proceedings. The procedures governing legal proceedings for Customs related offences are described in the Customs Law, Part XIV, Chapter 2.
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