Interpretation

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires“ACI hit” means a cargo manifest, air waybill and bill of lading or any documentation that has been flagged by the ACIS; “Advance Cargo Information (ACI)” means cargo manifest, air waybill and bill of lading information or data set out in Schedule VII in respect ofSchedule VII. 10 (a) the cargo and stores, including all imports, exports, in-transit and transhipment of goods on board a conveyance; or (b) any package of which there is no bill of lading or airway bill on board a conveyance; “Advance Cargo Information System (ACIS)” means the electronic manifest single window for ACI data interchange; “agent” means a person authorised in writing to carry out a duty or requirement under this Act on behalf of another person under this Act; “aircraft” includes an aeroplane or a helicopter or other means of airborne navigation used for the carriage or transportation of persons or cargo across international borders; “cargo” includes– (a) goods, other than mail or stores; and (b) crew member’s effects and passenger’s accompanied baggage carried on board a conveyance; “cargo manifest” means a list of cargo being transported or “cargo reporter” means a Freight Forwarder, Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier (NVOCC) or a terminal operator or any such person; “CARICOM” means the Caribbean Community including the Single Market and Economy; “Comptroller” means the Comptroller of Customs and Excise appointed by the Public Service Commission or any person acting on his behalf; 11 “conveyance” means an aircraft, vessel or road vehicle; “crew member” includes any person, other than a master employed in any capacity on board a conveyance; “currency” includes the following– (a) notes and coins in circulation as a medium of exchange; (b) postal orders; (c) cheques of any kind, including travellers’ cheques; (d) bankers’ drafts; (e) bearer bonds and bearer shares; (f) stored value instruments; (g) such other monetary instrument as the Minister may, by notice published in the Gazette, specify; “customs area” means any place appointed to be a customs area by the Comptroller by notice in the Gazette; “customs law” means and includes this Act and any other law at any time in force within Belize relating to Customs; “declaration” means any information delivered to an officer of customs, whether orally or in a document, by a person or their agent and includes an entry; “documentation” means any document, whether in physical or electronic form, used by an importer or exporter for the shipment of goods, including, but not limited to purchase order, 12 shipper’s letter of instruction, commercial invoice letter of credit or certificate of origin; “goods” means any tangible property, including personal property, livestock, conveyances, stores, baggage, documents (whether in physical or electronic form), currency, negotiable instruments, mail and packets imported by post, prohibited or restricted goods, and other articles to which the provisions of any customs law may be applicable; “goods in transit” means any article whatever, including animals, entered for due exportation and landing thereof in a place outside Belize; “IMPACS” means the Implementing Agency for Crime and Security established under the 2006 Agreement establishing the CARICOM Implementing Agency for Crime and Security; “importer” means, includes and applies to any owner or other person for the time being possessed of or beneficially interested in any goods at and from the time of the importation thereof; “long haul” means a flight with a duration of eight hours or more; “master”, in relation to a conveyance, includes any person having command of the conveyance; “Minister” means Minister responsible for finance; “passenger” means any person, other than a crew member, travelling or seeking to travel on a conveyance; “Proper Officer” means a customs officer or a person authorized by the Comptroller to discharge any duty related to an assigned matter; “occupier” includes any person who signs as principal any bond in respect of any building or place used for the deposit of goods for the security thereof or of the duties thereon under the customs laws; “officer of customs” includes excise officers and all members of the Police Department; “owner of goods” includes any person who is for the time being entitled, either as owner or agent for the owner, to the possession of any goods; “port” means the port of Belize City, and includes any place where a principal officer or Sub-Collector of Customs is stationed, and any place declared a port by the Minister; “Port Authority” means the Belize Port Authority established under the Belize Port Authority Act; CAP. 233. “private warehouse” means any building or place appointed by the Comptroller by notice in the Gazette to be a private “Queen’s warehouse” means any warehouse or place whatever for the time being occupied or used by the Comptroller for the deposit of goods for security thereof or of the duty due thereon; “regional space” means the collective territories of the Parties to the ACIS which comprise the Caribbean Community (CARICOM); “ship”, “boat”, “lighter” and “vessel” means and includes any description of floating craft; “short haul” means a flight with a duration of less than eight hours; “stored value instrument” means an instrument in the form of a prepaid card or other portable device for which prefunded value is recorded on the payment instrument or on a remote database, 14 which must be accessed for payment authorization and includes prepaid cards; “transit agent” means the person in charge of goods in transit whether such person is the owner thereof or his agent; “vessel” means any ship, boat, yacht or other floating or submersible transportation used for the or transportation of persons or cargo; “warehouse-keeper” means the owner or occupier of a private “Watch list” is a list that is used to watch or track the current activity or movements of conveyances and suspicious or prohibited cargo, including persons and cargo of interest to the community.