s 14S Power to search free trade zone, etc.
14S.—(1) Without affecting section 14W, an officer of customs who enters any free trade zone under section 14R has full and free access to any area within or at the perimeter of the free trade zone and any thing at or in the free trade zone, and may exercise all or any of the following powers for the purpose of administering or enforcing this Act or determining whether this Act has been contravened:(a) search the free trade zone for any thing; (b) examine any activity conducted in the free trade zone; (c) examine and check the operation of any thing in the free trade zone; (d) take any photograph or make any video or audio recording or sketch of any activity or thing mentioned in paragraph (b) or (c); (e) carry out any inspection, audit or stock check in the free trade zone; (f) require any person in the free trade zone to do one or both of the following:(i) provide any information within the knowledge of that person; (ii) take reasonable steps to provide any document; (g) inspect any goods, document, computer or computer output in the free trade zone; (h) without payment, make copies of any such document or computer output, or take extracts from any such goods, document, computer or computer output; (i) take into the free trade zone any equipment and materials that the officer of customs requires for the purpose of exercising any power under this section; (j) without payment, take possession of any thing in the free trade zone where, in the opinion of the officer of customs —(i) the inspection, checking, copying of or extraction from any part of such thing cannot reasonably be performed without taking possession of the thing; (ii) such thing may be interfered with or destroyed unless possession is taken; or (iii) such thing may be required as evidence in proceedings for a contravention of this Act. (2) An officer of customs may, in addition to the powers in subsection (1) —(a) require any person who is able to operate any thing in the free trade zone to do so for the purpose of —(i) enabling the officer of customs to exercise any power under this section; or (ii) enabling the officer of customs to ascertain whether it, or a disc, tape or other storage device that can be used with or is associated with it, contains information that is relevant to assessing compliance with this Act; (b) if any information is found in exercise of the power in paragraph (a)(ii) —(i) require the information to be provided in documentary form, and keep or copy the documents so provided; or (ii) transfer, or require the transfer of, the information to a disc, tape or other storage device, and remove it from the free trade zone; and (c) in respect of any thing that the officer of customs takes possession of, require any person in the free trade zone to provide the officer of customs with or grant the officer of customs access to any information, code, software or technology required to operate or access data contained in such thing, or to retransform, unscramble or decrypt data contained in such thing into readable and comprehensive format or text. (3) Any person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with a requirement of an officer of customs under subsection (1) or (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 18 months or to both. (4) To avoid doubt, a reference in this section to a free trade zone includes any building, structure, facility or conveyance in the free trade zone.[Act 33 of 2023 wef 01/03/2024]