Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Act 2020

Customs control at customs ports

88. The Act of 2015 is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 12:

“12A. (1) The person in charge or taking charge of a vehicle containing goods which have been unloaded from a ferry at a place (at a customs port) approved under section 7(1)(c), being a vehicle that has entered the State from a place, other than a place situate in another Member State, shall—

(a) comply with such instructions, as are given to him or her electronically or by other means by the Commissioners, regarding the movement of the vehicle to a place designated by the Commissioners as an area of customs supervision, and

(b) ensure that the vehicle remains at that place and shall comply with such further instructions as are given to him or her (by the foregoing means) by the Commissioners as the Commissioners consider appropriate, until clearance (by the foregoing means) to depart that place is given.

(2) A person who fails, without lawful excuse, to—

(a) comply with any instruction given to him or her under paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (1), or

(b) ensure that the vehicle referred to in subsection (1) remains, in accordance with paragraph (b) of that subsection, at the place there referred to,

commits an offence.

(3) A person who commits an offence under subsection (2) is liable, on summary conviction, to a fine of €5,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both.

(4) In this section, ‘ferry’ means a vessel with facilities that enable vehicles to be driven on board the vessel and to be driven off it.”.