Customs Act 2015
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Controls of cash entering or leaving European Union through the State | ||
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42. (1) As provided for by Article 2 of the 2005 Regulation, the Commissioners, as the customs authority in the State, are the competent authority to apply that Regulation. | ||
(2) As provided for by Article 3 of the 2005 Regulation, any natural person entering or leaving the European Union and carrying cash of a value of €10,000 or more is obliged to make a declaration to the competent authority and, for that purpose, the declaration shall be made in writing and in such form and manner as the Commissioners may determine and be made to the Commissioners in the case of such person so entering or leaving the Community through the State. | ||
(3) An officer of customs may seize and, in accordance with this section, detain any cash worth not less than €10,000 that is being imported into or exported from the European Union through the State in contravention of the 2005 Regulation and this section. | ||
(4) For the purposes of checking if a person has complied with the obligation to declare, on entering or leaving the European Union, that he or she has possession of cash worth not less than €10,000, an officer of customs may do one or more of the following: | ||
(a) question the person on so entering or leaving the European Union through the State for the purpose of establishing whether or not he or she has in his or her possession an amount of cash worth not less than €10,000; | ||
(b) search the person’s baggage and means of transport. | ||
(5) Where as a consequence of any response or lack of response to any question asked under subsection (4) (a) or a search carried out under subsection (4)(b), or both, an officer of customs has reasonable grounds to suspect that the person— | ||
(a) is importing into or exporting from the European Union through the State in contravention of the 2005 Regulation and this section, or | ||
(b) intends or is about to so import or export in contravention of the 2005 Regulation and this section, | ||
an amount of cash worth not less than €10,000, then the officer may search the person or cause the person to be searched by another officer of customs and section 30 (2), (3), (4) and (6) shall apply to the carrying out of such a search under this section. | ||
(6) Where it is intended to prosecute for an offence under subsection (7), cash seized by virtue of this section may continue to be detained until the prosecution is finally determined. | ||
(7) A person who fails to make a correct and complete declaration as required by subsection (2) commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of €5,000. | ||
(8) In this section “2005 Regulation” means Regulation (EC) No. 1889/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 2005 7 . | ||
(9) A word or expression that is used in this section and is also used in the 2005 Regulation has the same meaning in this section as it has in that Regulation. | ||