s 51 Licensed warehouses
51. —(1) The Director‑General may, in his or her discretion, on payment of such fees as may be prescribed, grant a licence to any person (called in this section the licensee) and when granted suspend or withdraw any licence for warehousing goods liable to duty in a place or places specified in that licence. (2) Any such licence is for such period and subject to such conditions as the Director‑General may in each case specify in the licence. (3) A senior officer of customs, or any officer of customs deputed by a senior officer of customs for the purpose, has at all times access to any licensed warehouse. (4) If it appears at any time that in any licensed warehouse there is a deficiency in the quantity of dutiable goods which ought to be found therein, the licensee of the warehouse is — ( a ) in the absence of proof to the contrary, presumed to have illegally removed the goods; and ( b ) without affecting any proceedings under this Act, liable to pay immediately to the proper officer of customs the duty leviable on the goods found deficient. (5) If, it is shown to the Director‑General’s satisfaction that the deficiency has been caused by theft or by unavoidable leakage, breakage or other accident, or by evaporation, the Director‑General may remit the whole or any part of the duty leviable on the goods found deficient. (6) The licensee of a licensed warehouse must remove all dutiable goods from the warehouse before — ( a ) the expiry of the period of the licence; or ( b ) if the Director‑General serves on the licensee a notice of withdrawal of the licence, the date of withdrawal specified in the notice. [Act 6 of 2025 wef 01/04/2025] (7) A licensee who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with subsection (6) shall be guilty of an offence. [Act 6 of 2025 wef 01/04/2025] (8) If a licensee fails to comply with subsection (6), the Director‑General may do all or any of the following: ( a ) remove all dutiable goods from the warehouse; ( b ) store the dutiable goods in a Government warehouse or licensed warehouse; ( c ) forfeit the dutiable goods after one month from the date of the expiry or withdrawal (as the case may be) of the licence; ( d ) dispose of all dutiable goods forfeited under paragraph ( c ) in accordance with this Act. [Act 6 of 2025 wef 01/04/2025] (9) Any costs incurred by the Director‑General pursuant to subsection (8) are recoverable by the Director‑General from the licensee as a debt due to the Government. [Act 6 of 2025 wef 01/04/2025] (10) To avoid doubt, subsection (6) does not affect the operation of sections 27 and 59. [Act 6 of 2025 wef 01/04/2025] —(1) The Director‑General may, in his or her discretion, on payment of such fees as may be prescribed, grant a licence to any person (called in this section the licensee) and when granted suspend or withdraw any licence for warehousing goods liable to duty in a place or places specified in that licence. (2) Any such licence is for such period and subject to such conditions as the Director‑General may in each case specify in the licence. (3) A senior officer of customs, or any officer of customs deputed by a senior officer of customs for the purpose, has at all times access to any licensed warehouse. (4) If it appears at any time that in any licensed warehouse there is a deficiency in the quantity of dutiable goods which ought to be found therein, the licensee of the warehouse is — ( a ) in the absence of proof to the contrary, presumed to have illegally removed the goods; and ( b ) without affecting any proceedings under this Act, liable to pay immediately to the proper officer of customs the duty leviable on the goods found deficient. (5) If, it is shown to the Director‑General’s satisfaction that the deficiency has been caused by theft or by unavoidable leakage, breakage or other accident, or by evaporation, the Director‑General may remit the whole or any part of the duty leviable on the goods found deficient. (6) The licensee of a licensed warehouse must remove all dutiable goods from the warehouse before — ( a ) the expiry of the period of the licence; or ( b ) if the Director‑General serves on the licensee a notice of withdrawal of the licence, the date of withdrawal specified in the notice. [Act 6 of 2025 wef 01/04/2025] (7) A licensee who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with subsection (6) shall be guilty of an offence. [Act 6 of 2025 wef 01/04/2025] (8) If a licensee fails to comply with subsection (6), the Director‑General may do all or any of the following: ( a ) remove all dutiable goods from the warehouse; ( b ) store the dutiable goods in a Government warehouse or licensed warehouse; ( c ) forfeit the dutiable goods after one month from the date of the expiry or withdrawal (as the case may be) of the licence; ( d ) dispose of all dutiable goods forfeited under paragraph ( c ) in accordance with this Act. [Act 6 of 2025 wef 01/04/2025] (9) Any costs incurred by the Director‑General pursuant to subsection (8) are recoverable by the Director‑General from the licensee as a debt due to the Government. [Act 6 of 2025 wef 01/04/2025] (10) To avoid doubt, subsection (6) does not affect the operation of sections 27 and 59. [Act 6 of 2025 wef 01/04/2025]