148. (1) Where a notice required by this Act or a regulation is sent by registered mail, an affidavit of an officer sworn before a commissioner or other person authorized to take affidavits setting out

(a) that the officer has charge of the appropriate records,

(b) that he has knowledge of the facts in the particular case,

(c) that such a notice was sent by registered letter on a named day to the person to whom it was addressed (indicating such address), and

(d) that he identifies as exhibits attached to the affidavit the post office certificate of registration of the letter or a true copy of the relevant portion thereof and a true copy of the notice

shall be received, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, as proof of the sending and of the notice.

(2) Where a notice required by this Act or a regulation is given by personal service, an affidavit of an officer sworn before a commissioner or other person authorized to take affidavits setting out

(a) that the officer has charge of the appropriate records,

(b) that he has knowledge of the facts in the particular case,

(c) that such a notice was served personally on a named day on the person to whom it was directed, and

(d) that he identifies as an exhibit attached to the affidavit a true copy of the notice

shall be received, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, as proof of the personal service and of the notice.

148.1 (1) For the purposes of this Act,

(a) a reference in any notice or other document to the firm name of a partnership is to be read as a reference to all the members of the partnership; and

(b) any notice or other document is deemed to have been provided to each member of a partnership if the notice or other document is mailed to, served on or otherwise sent to the partnership

(i) at its latest known address or place of business, or

(ii) at the latest known address

(A) if it is a limited partnership, of any member of the limited partnership whose liability as a member is not limited, or

(B) in any other case, of any member of the partnership.

(2) For the purposes of this Act,

(a) a reference in any notice or other document to the firm name of an unincorporated body is to be read as a reference to all the members of the body; and

(b) any notice or other document is deemed to have been provided to each member of an unincorporated body if the notice or other document is mailed to, served on or otherwise sent to the body at its latest known address or place of business.

2001, c. 25, s. 79.

149. For the purposes of this Act, the date on which a notice is given pursuant to this Act or the regulations shall, where it is given by mail, be deemed to be the date of mailing of the notice, and the date of mailing shall, in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, be deemed to be the day appearing from such notice to be the date thereof unless called into question by the Minister or by some person acting for him or Her Majesty.

149.1 An affidavit of an officer, sworn before a commissioner or other person authorized to take affidavits, setting out that the officer has charge of the appropriate records and has knowledge of the practice of the Agency or the Canada Revenue Agency, as the case may be, and that an examination of the records shows that a notice of assessment under Part V.1 was mailed or otherwise sent to a person under this Act and that, after careful examination and search of the records, the officer has been unable to find that a notice of objection or of appeal from the assessment was received within the time allowed for the notice, is evidence of the statements contained in the affidavit.

2001, c. 25, s. 80; 2005, c. 38, s. 82.

149.2 If a person who is required under this Act to keep records serves a notice of objection or is a party to an appeal or reference under Part V.1, the person shall retain, until the objection, appeal or reference and any appeal from it is finally disposed of, every record that pertains to the subject-matter of the objection, appeal or reference.

2001, c. 25, s. 80.

150. Copies of documents made pursuant to this or any other Act of Parliament that prohibits, controls or regulates the importation or exportation of goods or pursuant to any regulation made thereunder that are duly certified by an officer are admissible in evidence in any proceeding taken pursuant to this Act in the same manner as if they were the originals of such documents.

151. In any proceeding taken pursuant to this Act, the production or the proof of the existence of more than one document made or sent by or on behalf of the same person in which the same goods are mentioned as bearing different prices or given different names or descriptions is, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, proof that any such document was intended to be used to evade compliance with this Act or the payment of duties under this Act.

152. (1) In any proceeding under this Act relating to the importation or exportation of goods, the burden of proof of the importation or exportation of the goods lies on Her Majesty.

(2) For the purpose of subsection (1), proof of the foreign origin of goods is, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, proof of the importation of the goods.

(3) Subject to subsection (4), in any proceeding under this Act, the burden of proof in any question relating to

(a) the identity or origin of any goods,

(b) the manner, time or place of importation or exportation of any goods,

(c) the payment of duties on any goods, or

(d) the compliance with any of the provisions of this Act or the regulations in respect of any goods

lies on the person, other than Her Majesty, who is a party to the proceeding or the person who is accused of an offence, and not on Her Majesty.

(4) In any prosecution under this Act, the burden of proof in any question relating to the matters referred to in paragraphs (3)(a) to (d) lies on the person who is accused of an offence, and not on Her Majesty, only if the Crown has established that the facts or circumstances concerned are within the knowledge of the accused or are or were within his means to know.

153. No person shall

(a) make, or participate in, assent to or acquiesce in the making of, false or deceptive statements in a statement or answer made orally or in writing pursuant to this Act or the regulations;

(a.1) make, or participate in, assent to or acquiesce in the making of, false or deceptive statements in an application for an advance ruling under section 43.1 or a certificate referred to in section 97.1;

(b) to avoid compliance with this Act or the regulations,

(i) destroy, alter, mutilate, secrete or dispose of records or books of account,

(ii) make, or participate in, assent to or acquiesce in the making of, false or deceptive entries in records or books of account, or

(iii) omit, or participate in, assent to or acquiesce in the omission of, a material particular from records or books of account; or

(c) wilfully, in any manner, evade or attempt to evade compliance with any provision of this Act or evade or attempt to evade the payment of duties under this Act.

R.S., 1985, c. 1 (2nd Supp.), s. 153; 1988, c. 65, s. 80; 1993, c. 44, s. 105; 1996, c. 33, s. 39; 1997, c. 14, s. 46.

153.1 No person shall, physically or otherwise, do or attempt to do any of the following:

(a) interfere with or molest an officer doing anything that the officer is authorized to do under this Act; or

(b) hinder or prevent an officer from doing anything that the officer is authorized to do under this Act.

2001, c. 17, s. 255.

154. No person shall include in any document used for the purpose of accounting under section 32 a description of goods that does not correspond with the goods so described.

155. No person shall, without lawful authority or excuse, the proof of which lies on him, have in his possession, purchase, sell, exchange or otherwise acquire or dispose of any imported goods in respect of which the provisions of this or any other Act of Parliament that prohibits, controls or regulates the importation of goods have been contravened.

156. No person shall, without lawful authority or excuse, the proof of which lies on him, send or bring into Canada or have in his possession any form, document or other writing that is wholly or partly blank and is capable of being completed and used in accounting for imported goods pursuant to this Act, where the form, document or other writing bears any certificate, signature or other mark that is intended to show that such form, document or writing is correct or authentic.

157. No person shall, without lawful authority or excuse, the proof of which lies on him,

(a) open or unpack, or cause to be opened or unpacked, any package of imported goods that has not been released; or

(b) break or tamper with, or cause to be broken or tampered with, any seals, locks or fastenings that have been placed on goods, conveyances, bonded warehouses or duty free shops pursuant to this Act or the regulations.

158. Where a corporation commits an offence under this Act, any officer, director or agent of the corporation who directed, authorized, assented to, acquiesced in or participated in the commission of the offence is a party to and guilty of the offence and is liable on conviction to the punishment provided for the offence whether or not the corporation has been prosecuted or convicted.

159. Every person commits an offence who smuggles or attempts to smuggle into Canada, whether clandestinely or not, any goods subject to duties, or any goods the importation of which is prohibited, controlled or regulated by or pursuant to this or any other Act of Parliament.

159.1 No person shall

(a) fail to mark imported goods in the manner referred to in section 35.01;

(b) mark imported goods in a deceptive manner so as to mislead another person as to the country of origin or geographic origin of the goods; or

(c) with intent to conceal the information given by or contained in the mark, alter, deface, remove or destroy a mark on imported goods made as required by the regulations made under subsection 19(2) of the Customs Tariff.

1993, c. 44, s. 106; 1997, c. 36, s. 191; 2001, c. 25, s. 81.

160. (1) Every person who contravenes section 11, 12, 13, 15 or 16, subsection 20(1), section 31 or 40, subsection 43(2), 95(1) or (3), 103(3) or 107(2) or section 153, 155, 156 or 159.1 or commits an offence under section 159 or knowingly contravenes an order referred to in subsection 107(11)

(a) is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable to a fine of not more than fifty thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both that fine and that imprisonment; or

(b) is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to a fine of not more than five hundred thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or to both that fine and that imprisonment.

(2) If a person has been convicted by a court of an offence under subsection (1) for a contravention of subsection 43(2), the court may make any order that it considers appropriate in order to enforce compliance with that subsection.

R.S., 1985, c. 1 (2nd Supp.), s. 160; 1993, c. 25, s. 88, c. 44, s. 107; 2001, c. 25, s. 82.

160.1 Every person who contravenes section 153.1 is guilty of an offence and, in addition to any penalty otherwise provided, is liable on summary conviction to

(a) a fine of not less than $1,000 and not more than $25,000; or

(b) both a fine described in paragraph (a) and imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months.

2001, c. 17, s. 256.

161. Every person who contravenes any of the provisions of this Act not otherwise provided for in section 160 is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable to a fine of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars and not less than one thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both fine and imprisonment.

R.S., 1985, c. 1 (2nd Supp.), s. 161; 2001, c. 25, s. 83.

162. A prosecution for an offence under this Act may be instituted, heard, tried or determined in the place in which the offence was committed or in which the subject-matter of the prosecution arose or in any place in which the accused is apprehended or happens to be.

163. Proceedings may be instituted by way of summary conviction in respect of offences under this Act at any time within but not later than three years after the time when the subject-matter of the proceedings arose.

163.1 to 163.3 [Repealed, 2001, c. 32, s. 62]

163.4 (1) The President may designate any officer for the purposes of this Part and shall provide the officer with a certificate of designation.

(2) A certificate of designation is admissible in evidence as proof of an officer’s designation without proof of the signature or official character of the person appearing to have signed it.

1998, c. 7, s. 1; 2005, c. 38, s. 83.

163.5 (1) In addition to the powers conferred on an officer for the enforcement of this Act, a designated officer who is at a customs office and is performing the normal duties of an officer or is acting in accordance with section 99.1 has, in relation to a criminal offence under any other Act of Parliament, the powers and obligations of a peace officer under sections 495 to 497 of the Criminal Code, and subsections 495(3) and 497(3) of that Act apply to the designated officer as if he or she were a peace officer.

(2) A designated officer who is at a customs office and is performing the normal duties of an officer or is acting in accordance with section 99.1 has the powers and obligations of a peace officer under sections 254 and 256 of the Criminal Code and may, on demanding samples of a person’s blood or breath under subsection 254(3) of that Act, require that the person accompany the officer, or a peace officer referred to in paragraph (c) of the definition “peace officer” in section 2 of that Act, for the purpose of taking the samples.

(3) A designated officer who arrests a person in the exercise of the powers conferred under subsection (1) may detain the person until the person can be placed in the custody of a peace officer referred to in paragraph (c) of the definition “peace officer” in section 2 of the Criminal Code.

(4) A designated officer may not use any power conferred on the officer for the enforcement of this Act for the sole purpose of looking for evidence of a criminal offence under any other Act of Parliament.

1998, c. 7, s. 1; 2001, c. 25, s. 84.

164. (1) The Governor in Council may make regulations

(a) [Repealed, 1998, c. 19, s. 264]

(b) requiring, in any circumstances that may be prescribed, the owner or person in charge of a conveyance to give advance notice of the time and place of its arrival in Canada and any other information relating to its passengers and goods or its movement inside or outside Canada that may be prescribed, and prescribing the time within which and the manner in which the notice is to be given;

(c) requiring the payment of costs incurred for the inspection of records held in a place outside of Canada and respecting the manner of determining those costs and the time and manner in which the costs must be paid;

(d) authorizing the collection of information or evidence in order to facilitate the determination of whether any duties are owing or may become owing on imported goods and the amount of such duties;

(e) prescribing the conditions under which non-residents may import goods, including the bonds or other security that may be required, defining the term “non-residents” for the purpose of this paragraph and exempting any person or class of persons or any goods or class of goods from the application of such conditions;

(f) prescribing the methods to be followed in determining the tariff classification of sugar, molasses and sugar syrup, and specifying the instruments, standards and appliances to be used in such determinations;

(g) prescribing the manner of ascertaining the alcoholic content of wines, spirits or alcoholic liquors for the purpose of determining the tariff classification thereof;

(h) prescribing how the coasting trade shall be regulated in any case or class of cases and exempting any case or class of cases, subject to any condition that the Governor in Council sees fit to impose, from any of the requirements of this Act that the Governor in Council deems it inexpedient to enforce with respect to vessels engaged in such trade;

(h.1) defining any term or expression that is by any provision of this Act to have a meaning assigned by regulation;

(i) prescribing anything that is by any provision of this Act to be prescribed by the Governor in Council; and

(j) generally, to carry out the purposes and provisions of this Act.

(1.1) The Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister, make regulations for the purpose of the uniform interpretation, application and administration of Chapters Three and Five of NAFTA and any other matters, as may be agreed on from time to time by the NAFTA countries.

(1.2) The Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister, make regulations for the purpose of the uniform interpretation, application and administration of Chapters C and E of CCFTA and any other matters that may be agreed on from time to time by the parties to CCFTA.

(1.3) The Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister, make regulations for the purpose of the uniform interpretation, application and administration of Chapters III and V of CCRFTA and any other matters that may be agreed on from time to time by the parties to CCRFTA.

(2) The Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister of Finance, make regulations prescribing a rate of interest or rules for determining a rate of interest for the purposes of any provision of this Act.

(3) and (4) [Repealed, 2001, c. 25, s. 85]

R.S., 1985, c. 1 (2nd Supp.), s. 164; 1988, c. 65, s. 81; 1992, c. 28, s. 30, c. 31, s. 22; 1993, c. 44, s. 108; 1994, c. 47, s. 72; 1995, c. 41, s. 36; 1996, c. 33, s. 40; 1997, c. 14, s. 47; 1998, c. 19, s. 264; 2001, c. 25, s. 85, c. 28, s. 30.

165. Where at any time it appears to the satisfaction of the Governor in Council on a report from the Minister that goods, the exportation of which from any country is the subject of an arrangement or commitment between the Government of Canada and the government of that country, are being imported in a manner that circumvents the arrangement or commitment, the Governor in Council may, by regulation, prohibit or otherwise control the importation of goods to which the arrangement or commitment relates.

166. (1) The Governor in Council may make regulations

(a) prescribing the amount or authorizing the Minister to determine the amount of any bond, security or deposit required to be given under this Act or the regulations; and

(b) prescribing the nature and the terms and conditions of any such bond, security or deposit.

(2) All bonds required under this Act shall be in a form satisfactory to the Minister.

167. (1) The Governor in Council may make regulations prescribing

(a) what services performed by officers at the request of a person in charge of imported goods or goods destined for exportation shall be considered to be special services;

(b) the charges, if any, that are payable for special services by the person requesting them; and

(c) the terms and conditions on which special services shall be performed, including the taking of such bonds or other security as may be prescribed.

(2) Anything that is required under this Act or the regulations to be done at a customs office, sufferance warehouse, bonded warehouse or duty free shop that is done at another place as a result of a special service shall be deemed, for the purposes of this Act or the regulations, to have been done at a customs office, sufferance warehouse, bonded warehouse or duty free shop, as the case may be.

167.1 Where a regulation made under a provision of this Act provides that the regulation is to come into force on a day earlier than the day it is registered under section 6 of the Statutory Instruments Act, the regulation shall come into force on that earlier day if the regulation

(a) has a relieving effect only;

(b) gives effect, in whole or in part, to a public announcement made on or before that earlier day;

(c) corrects an ambiguous or deficient enactment that was not made in accordance with the objects of this Act or the regulations made by the Governor in Council under this Act; or

(d) is consequential on an amendment to this Act that is applicable before the day the regulation is registered under section 6 of the Statutory Instruments Act.

1992, c. 28, s. 31.

168. (1) The administration of this Act shall be reviewed on a permanent basis by such committee of the Senate, of the House of Commons or of both Houses of Parliament as may be designated or established for that purpose.

(2) The committee designated or established for the purpose of subsection (1) shall, within five years after the coming into force of this Act, undertake a comprehensive review of the provisions and operation of this Act, and shall, within a reasonable period thereafter, cause to be laid before each House of Parliament a report thereon.

169. (1) In this section, “former Act” means the Customs Act, chapter C-40 of the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1970.

(2) Any proceedings instituted under the former Act before the commencement of this Act shall be continued and completed as if this Act and any regulations made hereunder had not been enacted.

(3) Sections 143 to 147 apply in respect of any amount owing to Her Majesty in right of Canada under the former Act or any regulations made thereunder unless legal proceedings have been instituted under section 102 of the former Act in respect thereof.

(4) Section 102 applies in respect of goods detained under subsection 22(2) of the former Act if such goods are in the custody of an officer at the time this Act comes into force.

170. to 182. [Amendments]

183. [Repealed, R.S., 1985, c. 45 (1st Supp.), s. 10]

184. to 194. [Amendments]

195. [Repealed, R.S., 1985, c. 7 (2nd Supp.), s. 75]

196. to 213. [Amendments]

*214. This Act or any provision thereof shall come into force on a day or days to be fixed by proclamation.

* [Note: Paragraph 99(1)(b), subsections 99(2) to (4) and sections 170 to 172 in force March 3, 1986, see SI/86-33; remainder of Act in force November 10, 1986, see SI/86-206.]

[Amendments]