32Compensation for loss in respect of goods seized under s.29
(1)Where in the exercise of his powers under section 29 of this Act a person seizes and detains any goods, and their owner suffers loss by reason of their being seized or by reason that the goods, during the detention, are lost or damaged or deteriorate, unless the owner is convicted of an offence under section 23 of this Act committed in relation to the goods, the appropriate authority shall be liable to compensate him for the loss so suffered.
(2)Any disputed question as to the right to or the amount of any compensation payable under this section shall be determined by arbitration and, in Scotland, by a single arbiter appointed, failing agreement between the parties, by the sheriff.
(3)In this section " the appropriate authority "—
(a)in relation to goods seized by an officer of a local weights and measures authority, means that authority, and
(b)in any other case, means the Secretary of State.