Customs and Excise Management Act 1979

100 General offences relating to warehouses and warehoused goods

(1) Any person who, except with the authority of the proper officer or for just and sufficient cause, opens any of the doors or locks of a warehouse or Queen's warehouse or makes or obtains access to any such warehouse or to any goods warehoused therein shall be liable on summary conviction to a penalty of £500 and may be detained.

(2) Where—

(a) any goods which have been entered for warehousing are taken into the warehouse without the authority of, or otherwise than in accordance with any directions given by, the proper officer ; or

(b) save as permitted by the Customs and Excise Acts 1979 or by or under warehousing regulations, any goods which have been entered for warehousing are removed without being duly warehoused or are otherwise not duly warehoused; or

(c) any goods which have been deposited in a warehouse or Queen's warehouse are unlawfully removed therefrom or are unlawfully loaded into any ship, aircraft or vehicle for removal or for exportation or use as stores; or

(d) any goods entered for warehousing are concealed either before or after they have been warehoused; or

(e) any goods which have been lawfully permitted to be removed from a warehouse or Queen's warehouse without payment of duty for any purpose are not duly delivered at the destination to which they should have been taken in accordance with that permission,

those goods shall be liable to forfeiture.

(3) If any person who took, removed, loaded or concealed any goods as mentioned in subsection (2) above did so with intent to defraud Her Majesty of any duty chargeable thereon or to evade any prohibition or restriction for the time being in force with respect thereto under or by virtue of any enactment, he shall be guilty of an offence under this subsection and may be detained.

(4) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (3) above shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a penalty of the prescribed sum or of three times the value of the goods, whichever is the greater, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months, or to both ; or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a penalty of any amount, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years, or to both.