Section 19

makes, orally or in writing, or signs any return or other document required by this Act which is untrue or incorrect in any material particular;

makes, orally or in writing, or signs any return or document made for the consideration of any proper officer of customs on any application presented to him which is untrue or incorrect in any material particular;

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counterfeits or causes to be counterfeited or falsifies or causes to be falsified any document which is or may be required under this Act or used in the transaction of any business or matter relating to levy, or uses or causes to be used or in any way assists in the use of such counterfeited or falsified document;

fraudulently alters any document, or counterfeits the seal, signature, or initials or other mark of, or used by, any proper officer of customs for the verification of any such document or for the security of any goods or any other purpose in the conduct of any business or matter relating to the levy;

being so required by this Act to make a return, fails to make such return as so required; or

fails or refuses to produce to a proper officer of customs any document required to be produced under this Act, commits an offence.

Any person who is convicted of an offence under subsection (1)

shall be liable to a fine of not less than ten times the amount of the levy payable and of not more than twenty times the amount of the levy payable.

When any such return, whether oral or written, or any such document as is referred to in paragraphs (1)(a), (b) and (c) has been proved to be untrue or incorrect or counterfeited or falsified in whole or in part, it shall be no defence to allege that such return or document was made or used inadvertently or without criminal or fraudulent intent, or that the person signing the return or document was not aware of or did not understand the contents of such document, or where any return was made or recorded in the national language or in the English language by interpretation from any other language, that such return was misinterpreted or not fully interpreted by an interpreter provided by the person making the return or document.

For the purposes of this section, “falsified” in relation to a document shall be deemed to include a document which is untrue or

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incorrect in any material particular, and “falsifies” shall be construed accordingly.

Penalty on refusing to answer questions or on giving false information