CUSTOMS-FREE AIRPORT ACT, 1947

AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF A CUSTOMS-FREE AIRPORT AND FOR OTHER MATTERS CONNECTED THEREWITH. [18th March, 1947.]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:—

1 Interpretation.

1.—(1) In this Act—

the expression “the airport” means the land which, under section 2 of this Act, for the time being constitutes the Customs-free airport;

the expression “authorised officer” means a person appointed under section 8 of this Act;

the word “goods” includes things of every kind, whether animate or inanimate;

the word “land” includes land covered with water and any part of the territorial waters of the State;

the expression “the Minister” means the Minister for Industry and Commerce;

the expression “officer of customs and excise” includes a member of the Garda Síochána and any person in the public service who is for the time being employed in the prevention of smuggling.

• (2) This Act so far as it relates to the Customs shall be construed as one with the Customs Acts.

2 Establishment of customs-free airport.

2.—(1) The Minister, with the concurrence of the Minister for Finance, may by order declare that, on and after a specified date, the land enclosed within the limits defined by the order shall be the Customs-free airport for the purposes of this Act.

• (2) The Minister, with the concurrence of the Minister for Finance, may from time to time by order amend the order under subsection (1) of this section by varying the limits of the airport.

• (3) The airport shall comprise only land which for the time being belongs to the State.

3 Management and control of airport.

3.—The airport shall be under the control and management of the Minister.

4 Non-application of import and export laws to airport.

4.—The laws for the time being in force relating to the importation and exportation of goods shall not apply to the bringing of goods directly into and out of the airport from and to countries outside the State, except in so far as these laws are applied by regulations made under this Act.

5 Application of import and export laws to traffic between airport and other parts of State.

5.—(1) Where goods are brought from the airport into any other part of the State, the following provisions shall have effect:—

• (a) the goods shall be deemed, for the purposes of the laws for the time being in force relating to importation, to have been imported;

• (b) the time at which the importation of the goods shall be deemed to have occurred shall be—

• (i) for the purposes of the charge of a duty of customs thereon, the time at which the entry of the goods under the Customs Acts is delivered,

• (ii) for all other purposes, the time at which the goods are actually brought across the limits of the airport into another part of the State;

• (c) the place at which the importation of the goods shall be deemed to have occurred shall be that point on the limits of the airport at which the goods are brought into another part of the State.

• (2) Where goods are brought into the airport from any other part of the State, the following provisions shall have effect:—

• (a) the goods shall be deemed, for the purposes of the laws for the time being in force relating to exportation, to have been exported;

• (b) the time at which the exportation of the goods shall be deemed to have occurred shall be the time at which the goods actually come within the limits of the airport;

• (c) the place at which the exportation of the goods shall be deemed to have occurred shall be that point on the limits of the airport at which the goods are brought into the airport.

6 Restriction on bringing of consumer goods into airport.

6.—(1) Goods shall not be brought into the airport for personal use or consumption within the airport or for sale by retail therein except from another part of the State.

• (2) If goods to which subsection (1) of this section relates are liable to a duty of customs or excise the duty shall be paid before they are brought into the airport from another part of the State and the goods shall not be entitled to drawback or allowance.

• (3) Any person who brings or is concerned in bringing or who assists any person concerned in bringing goods into the airport in contravention of this section shall be guilty of an offence against the Customs Acts and shall for each such offence forfeit either treble the value of the goods, including the duty payable thereon, or one hundred pounds, at the election of the Revenue Commissioners, and he may either be detained or proceeded against by summons.

• (4) Any goods in respect of which an offence under this section may have been committed, together with all aircraft, ships, boats, vehicles, animals and other things used in their conveyance, shall be forfeited.

7 Entry to airport by certain public officers.

7.—(1) Officers of customs and excise, inspectors and collectors of taxes, members of the Garda Síochána and officers and servants of a Minister of State, the Irish Land Commission, the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland or a local authority may, in the discharge of their official duties, at all times enter the airport and buildings, aircraft, ships, boats and vehicles therein.

• (2) If any person prevents or obstructs any entry authorised by subsection (1) of this section, or attempts to do so, he shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds.

8 Authorised officers.

8.—(1) The Minister may appoint persons to be authorised officers for the purposes of this Act.

• (2) For the enforcement of laws extended to the airport by regulations made by the Minister under this Act, an authorised officer shall have the powers of an officer of customs and excise under the Customs Acts.

• (3) Goods seized by an authorised officer in the execution of his duty under this Act shall be destroyed or otherwise disposed of as the Minister may direct.

9 Searching of persons.

9.—(1) This section applies to all uncustomed goods, goods brought into the airport in contravention of section 6 of this Act and goods the importation or exportation of which is for the time being prohibited or restricted by law.

• (2) In this section references to the searching of a person include the opening (if necessary by force) and searching of any box, bag, package or other article carried by or for him.

• (3) An authorised officer, officer of customs and excise, or a person acting on the instructions of any such officer, may search (subject to the provisions of this section) a person whom the officer reasonably suspects of carrying or having in his possession any goods to which this section applies.

• (4) Whenever an authorised officer or officer of customs and excise proposes to search, or cause to be searched, any person, that person may demand that he be brought before a superior officer, whereupon the following provisions shall have effect:

• (a) the authorised officer or officer of customs and excise shall, with all reasonable speed and before searching him or causing him to be searched, bring that person before a superior officer;

• (b) the superior officer shall hear the representations of the said officer and of that person and shall either, as he shall think proper, direct that that person be discharged without being searched or direct that he be searched forthwith;

• (c) every direction given under paragraph (b) of this subsection by a superior officer shall be complied with by all persons concerned.

• (5) No female shall be searched under this section otherwise than by a female.

• (6) If any person obstructs, resists, or interferes with an authorised officer or officer of customs and excise in the exercise of the powers conferred on him by this section or, in particular, refuses to be or resists being searched under this section, he shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds.

10 Searching of aircraft, vessels, vehicles and places in airport.

10.—(1) This section applies to all uncustomed goods, goods brought into the airport in contravention of section 6 of this Act and goods the importation or exportation of which is for the time being prohibited or restricted by law.

• (2) An authorised officer, officer of customs and excise, or a person acting on the instructions of any such officer, may, within the limits of the airport, go on board any aircraft, ship or boat and enter any vehicle, house, shop, cellar, warehouse, room or other place and search for goods to which this section applies and, in case of resistance, he may break open doors, chests, trunks and packages.

• (3) If any person obstructs, resists or interferes with an authorised officer or officer of customs and excise in the exercise of the powers conferred on him by this section, he shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds.

11 Examination of vehicles within twenty miles of airport.

11.—(1) The person driving, or in control of, a vehicle in motion within twenty miles of the airport shall stop the vehicle on being required to do so by an officer of customs and excise.

• (2) An officer of customs and excise may search any vehicle within twenty miles of the airport and examine and take an account of any goods therein.

• (3) The person driving, or in control of, a vehicle within twenty miles of the airport and every person therein shall truly answer all questions put to him by an officer of customs and excise in relation to his journey or to goods in the vehicle.

• (4) If any person contravenes, whether by act or omission, any provision of this section or obstructs, resists or interferes with an officer of customs and excise in the exercise of the powers conferred on him by this section, he shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds.

12 Regulations by Minister for Finance.

12.—(1) The Minister for Finance may make regulations—

• (a) applying, for the purposes of this Act, any of the provisions of the Customs Acts, subject to such modifications as he considers appropriate,

• (b) adapting or modifying, for the purposes of this Act, any of the provisions of the statutes which relate to the duties of excise and the management of those duties,

• (c) governing the movement of persons, aircraft, ships, boats, vehicles and goods into and out of the airport from and to other parts of the State, and prohibiting such movement except by such routes within the State and during such hours as may be prescribed,

• (d) prescribing the places where and the form and manner in which entry of goods under the Customs Acts shall be delivered and duties of customs shall be paid.

• (2) If any person contravenes, whether by act or omission, any regulation under this section he shall, in addition to any other penalty to which he may be liable, be guilty of an offence against the Customs Acts and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a Customs penalty not exceeding one hundred pounds, and he may either be detained or proceeded against by summons.

• (3) Any goods in respect of which an offence under this section may have been committed, together with all aircraft, ships, boats, vehicles, animals and other things used in their conveyance, shall be forfeited.

13 Regulations by Minister for Industry and Commerce.

13.—(1) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, make regulations for the management and control of the airport and, in particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, regulations—

• (a) extending, with or without modification, to the airport any law for the time being in force which, but for section 4 of this Act, would apply to the airport,

• (b) permitting, on such conditions as the Minister thinks fit to impose, the carrying on of trades, businesses and manufactures within the airport.

• (2) Regulations under this section shall, in so far as they concern matters comprised in the administration or business of the Department of Justice, the Department of Health or the Department of Agriculture, be made only with the consent of the Minister who is the head of the Department of State concerned.

• (3) If any person contravenes, whether by act or omission, any regulation under this section, he shall, in addition to any other penalty to which he may be liable, be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds.

14 Laying of orders and regulations before Oireachtas.

14.—Every order and regulation under this Act shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution is passed by either House within the next twenty-one days on which that House has sat after the order or regulation is laid before it annulling the order or regulation, the order or regulation shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

15 Expenses.

15.—The expenses incurred by the Minister or the Minister for Finance in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

16 Short title.

16.—This Act may be cited as the Customs-free Airport Act, 1947.