Importation and exportation of goods by post

(1) Without prejudice to any other provision of this Act and notwithstanding the Post Office Act– (a) all letters arriving in Belize from abroad shall be produced to the proper officer and, if in his opinion any such letter could contain other than written or printed material, he may require it to be opened in the presence of the Postmaster or any person authorised by him and, if any such letter is found to contain dutiable, restricted or prohibited goods, such goods are liable to forfeiture; (b) all postal packets arriving in Belize from abroad shall be accompanied by a customs declaration and shall be produced to the proper officer, who may require them to be opened in the presence of the Postmaster or any person authorised by him, and where any goods contained in a postal packet– (i) do not correspond with any declaration of contents made in respect of them, or (ii) are not accompanied by a customs those goods are liable to forfeiture; and (c) no goods imported into Belize by post shall be allowed to be removed from the control of the Postmaster until all duty chargeable on them has been paid. 40 (2) Without prejudice to any other provision of this Act– (a) all letters posted in Belize for transmission abroad shall be produced to the proper officer and, if in his opinion any such letter could contain other than written or printed material, he may require it to be opened in the presence of the Postmaster or any person authorised by him and, if any such letter is found to contain restricted or prohibited goods, such goods shall be liable to forfeiture; (b) all postal packets posted in Belize for transmission abroad shall be accompanied by a customs declaration and shall be produced to the proper officer, who may require them to be opened in the presence of the Postmaster or any person authorised by him, and where any goods contained in a postal packet– (i) do not correspond with any declaration of contents made in respect of them, or (ii) are not accompanied by a customs those goods are liable to forfeiture. (3) Without prejudice to sub-section (1) or (2), any person who– (a) claims a letter or postal packet arriving in Belize; or (b) posts a letter or postal packet in Belize for transmission abroad; 41 which contains currency of $20,000 or more, or the equivalent in the currency of any other jurisdiction, shall declare and make a report of same in the prescribed form. (4) Any person failing to declare and make a report as required under sub-section (3) or who, in purported compliance with this section, knowingly or recklessly provides information that is false or misleading in a material particular, commits an offence and is liable to a fine of $65,000 or 3 times the value of the currency not declared or reported, whichever is the greater. (5) The Minister, in consultation with the minister with responsibility for the postal service, may make regulations prescribing the procedure on the importation and exportation of letters and postal packets and may exempt such importation or exportation from such requirements of such sections of the Act as he thinks fit. Customs Duties