Section 131

any offence under this Act or its subsidiary legislation as an offence which may be compounded;

criteria for compounding such offence; and

method and procedure for compounding such offence.

Any senior officer of customs may, with the written consent of the Public Prosecutor, compound any offence committed by any person under this Act and prescribed to be a compoundable offence by making a written offer to the person suspected to have committed the offence to compound the offence upon payment to the Director

General of an amount of money not exceeding fifty per centum of the amount of the maximum fine for that offence within the period specified in the offer.

An offer under subsection (2) may be made at any time after the offence has been committed but before any prosecution for it has been instituted, and if the amount specified in the offer is not paid within the period specified in the offer or within any extended period as the

Director General may grant, prosecution for the offence may be instituted at any time after that against the person to whom the offer was made.

Where an offence has been compounded under subsection (2), no prosecution shall after that be instituted in respect of the offence against the person to whom the offer to compound was made.

Subject to subsections (6) and (7), upon the payment of such sum of money as specified under subsection (1), any goods seized and the amount secured under paragraph 115(1)(a) or (b) or the amount realized by sale under paragraph 115(1)(c) shall be released and no further proceedings shall be taken against such goods.

Customs 153

If dutiable goods are seized under this Act, such goods or the amount secured under paragraph 115(1)(a) or (b) or the amount realized by sale under paragraph 115(1)(c), as the case may be, shall be forfeited unless the customs duties payable is paid within thirty days from the date of payment of such amount of money.

If prohibited goods are seized under this Act, such goods or the amount secured under paragraph 115(1)(a) or (b) or the amount realized by sale under paragraph 115(1)(c), as the case may be, shall be forfeited.

Notwithstanding subsection (7), where the prohibition on the goods is conditional upon a licence being issued, a senior officer of customs may release such goods if a licence is issued by any relevant authority and produced to the senior officer of customs within thirty days from the date such amount of money is paid.

Cost of holding goods, document or thing seized