Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

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CUSTOMS ACT 1901 - SECT 203S

Magistrate may permit a thing seized as evidential material to be retained

  (1)   If a thing is seized as evidential material by an officer of Customs under a search warrant, or by an authorised person under subsection   203B(3), 203C(3), 203CA(4) or 203CB(3), and:

  (a)   before the end of 120 days after the seizure; or

  (b)   before the end of a period previously specified in a magistrate's order under this section;

proceedings in respect of which the thing may afford evidence have not been started:

  (c)   if the thing is seized by an officer of Customs under a search warrant--an officer of Customs may apply to a magistrate for an order that the thing be retained; or

  (d)   if the thing is seized by an authorised person under subsection   203B(3), 203C(3), 203CA(4) or 203CB(3)--an authorised person may apply to a magistrate for an order that the thing be retained.

  (2)   If the magistrate is satisfied:

  (a)   that it is necessary for the retention of the thing be continued:

  (i)   for the purposes of an investigation as to whether an offence has been committed; or

  (ii)   to enable evidence of an offence to be assembled for the purposes of a prosecution; and

  (b)   that there has been no avoidable delay in conducting the investigation or assembling the evidence concerned;

the magistrate may order that the thing be retained for a period specified in the order.

  (3)   Before making the application, the officer of Customs or the authorised person must:

  (a)   take reasonable steps to discover who has an interest in the retention of the thing; and

  (b)   if it is practicable to do so, notify each person who the officer believes to have such an interest of the proposed application.


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