CARGO CLEARANCE AND TRANSPORT ACT

CARGO CLEARANCE AND TRANSPORT

CHAPTER 203

CARGO CLEARANCE AND TRANSPORT ACT

To regulate cargo clearance and transport.

11th November, 1967

ACT XXIX of 1967, as amended by Acts VIII of 1976, XIII of 1983 and

IX of 2003; and Legal Notice 411 of 2007.

The short title of this Act is the Cargo Clearance and

Transport Act.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires -

"cargo" means goods which have been imported or which are to

be exported;

"cargo clearance and forwarding agent" means any person who is

the holder of a customs permit and whose business is the following

(a) the making of customs declarations and the clearing

through the Customs Department of documents

relating to cargo; and

(b) the withdrawal of cargo from any customs shed,

bonded store, warehouse, verandah, quay or other

place of deposit and the transport of such cargo

therefrom to a place of consignment; and

(c) the withdrawal of cargo from any factory, warehouse

or other premises and the transport of such cargo

therefrom to a quay or other place of deposit for

shipment;

"Comptroller" means the Comptroller of Customs;

"holder of a customs permit" means a person duly authorised

under this Act to act as a cargo clearance and forwarding agent;

"Minister" means the Minister responsible for Customs;

"person" includes a body of persons;

"transport" does not include the movement of cargo from any

customs shed, bonded store, warehouse, verandah, quay or other

place of deposit in a port to any other of such places or the carriage

o f c a rg o b y w a t e r, a n d i t s d e r i v a t i v e s s h a l l b e c o n s t r u e d

accordingly.

(1) No person shall act as a cargo clearance and forwarding

agent except under and in accordance with a customs permit

granted in that behalf by the Comptroller.

(2) Every such customs permit shall expire on the thirty-first

day of December next following the date of issue, but may be

renewed by the Comptroller from year to year

CARGO CLEARANCE AND TRANSPORT

Provided that it shall be lawful for the Comptroller at any

time to revoke any customs permit granted or renewed under this

Act.

(3) Every such customs permit shall be issued or renewed

against the payment of such fee as the Comptroller, with the

concurrence of the Minister, may establish, and shall contain the

terms, conditions and restrictions on and subject to which the

customs permit is granted.

(4) The holder of a customs permit must at all times be in

possession of an operator ’s permit issued by the Authority for

Transport in Malta.

(1) No customs permit shall be issued or renewed unless

the holder of a customs permit deposits with the Comptroller a sum

of not less than two hundred and thirty-two euro and ninety-four

cents (232.94) and not more than two thousand and three hundred

and twenty-nine euro and thirty-seven cents (2,329.37) as the

Comptroller may determine or a bank guarantee for a like amount

issued by a local bank and made payable at call to the Comptroller.

(2) Such deposit or bank guarantee shall be required to cover

any payment or part payment of duty on cargo in respect of which

customs entries are presented by a holder of a customs permit, and

the Comptroller shall have power to draw from such deposit or

guarantee any amount in payment or part payment of duty as

aforesaid.

(3) Nothing in this article shall be construed as limiting in any

manner the responsibility of the holder of a customs permit in

respect of duty.

Any holder of a customs permit whose deposit or bank

guarantee has been drawn upon under the provisions of article 4(2)

shall be given an account in writing of the amount so drawn from

his deposit or guarantee and, upon being so required by the

Comptroller, he shall, within the time specified in the request, bring

up such deposit or guarantee to the amount previously required by

the Comptroller to be deposited or guaranteed in his favour under

the provisions of article 4(1).

Where a holder of a customs permit fails to comply with a

request made under article 5, his customs permit shall be deemed to

have been revoked.

A holder of a customs permit may not act as clearing and

forwarding agent for and on behalf of any person unless he is

authorized in writing so to act by that person and produces that

authority to the Comptroller.

(1) The Minister may make regulations for carrying into

effect the provisions of this Act and, without prejudice to the

generality of the foregoing, for prescribing -

CARGO CLEARANCE AND TRANSPORT

(a) the manner in which the business of cargo clearance

and forwarding agents may be regulated, restricted or

otherwise controlled;

(b) the type and quantity of equipment, including road

transport vehicles, which may be used by cargo

clearance and forwarding agents;

(c) the age, minimum standard of education and other

qualifications required before a person can be

authorised under this Act;

(d) without prejudice to the general power conferred by

article 3(3), the circumstances in which a customs

permit granted or renewed under this Act may be

revoked;

(e) the fees to be charged by and, or, to be paid to cargo

clearance and forwarding agents for their services,

including the use of any means of transport and of any

equipment.

(2) The power of the Minister to charge fees under this article

shall include the power to prescribe different fees for different

services and to prescribe minimum and, or, maximum fees or fixed

fees.

Nothing in this Act shall be construed as precluding an

importer or exporter or owner of any cargo from personally making

customs declarations or from withdrawing and, or transporting any

(1) Kull min jikser xi waħda mid-disposizzjonijiet tal-

artikoli 3, 7 jew 9 jew ta’ xi regolamenti magħmula taħt dan l-Att

ikun ħati ta’ reat skont dan l-Att u jeħel meta jinsab ħati multa ta’

mhux iżjed minn elfejn u tliet mija u disgħa u għoxrin euro u

sebgħa u tletin ċenteżmu (2,329.37) jew priġunerija għal żmien ta’

mhux iżjed minn sitt xhur jew dik il-multa u priġunerija flimkien.

(2) Meta reat skont dan l-Att jiġi magħmul minn korp ta’

persuni, kull min, fil-mument tal-egħmil tar-reat, kien direttur,

manager, segretarju jew funzjonarju ieħor simili ta’ dak il-korp ta’

persuni jew kien jidher li qiegħed jaġixxi f’xi kariga tali jkun ħati

ta’ dak ir-reat jekk ma jippruvax illi dak ir-reat kien ġie magħmul

mingħajr ma kien jaf u li eżerċita d-diliġenza kollha xierqa biex jiġi

evitat l-egħmil tar-reat.

LIBERAZZJONI U T-TRASPORT TA’ MERKANZIJA

Xejn f’dan l-Att ma għandu jidderoga minn ebda

Relazzjoni mal-Att

dwar id-Dazji ta’

disposizzjoni tal-Att dwar id-Dazji ta’ Importazzjoni.

Importazzjoni.

Miżjud

IX. 2003.24.

cargo imported or to be exported by him, or belonging to him, as

the case may be, from or to any customs shed, bonded store,

warehouse, verandah, quay or other place of deposit, or from

having such transactions or services performed for him and on his

behalf by his own regular employees duly authorized by him

Provided that it shall not be lawful for any importer,

e x p o r t e r o r o w n e r o f a n y c a rg o t o c a u s e s u c h c a rg o t o b e

transported from or to any such place as aforesaid, otherwise than

through the services of a cargo clearance and forwarding agent duly

authorised in that behalf, unless he uses for that purpose means of

transport belonging to him and, where so required by the

Comptroller, satisfies the Comptroller before the goods are so

transported that he is the importer, exporter or owner, as the case

may be, of such cargo.

10. (1) Any person acting in contravention of any of the

provisions of articles 3, 7 or 9 or of any regulations made under this

Act shall be guilty of an offence under this Act and shall on

conviction be liable to a fine (multa) not exceeding two thousand

and three hundred and twenty-nine euro and thirty-seven cents

(2,329.37) or to imprisonment for not more than six months or to

both such fine and imprisonment.

(2) Where an offence under this Act is committed by a body of

persons, every person who, at the time of the commission of the

offence, was a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer

of such body of persons or was purporting to act in any such

CARGO CLEARANCE AND TRANSPORT

capacity shall be guilty of that offence unless he proves that the

offence was committed without his knowledge a nd that he

exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of the

offence.

11. Nothing in this Act shall derogate from any of the

provisions of the Import Duties Act.