3.       Administration and duties of Director

            (1) There shall be a Director of Customs and Excise.

            (2) The Director shall, subject to the control of the Minister for the time being responsible for finance, be charged with the administration of this Act, including the interpretation of the Schedules thereto.

            (2A) The Director may, for the purposes of the administration of this Act, make such arrangements or enter into such agreements with any railway, airline, or postal authority, a container depot or container terminal operator or any person or authority he may consider necessary.

            (3) There shall be a Deputy Director of Customs and Excise who shall, under the control of the Director, perform such official duties as he is required to perform by the Director, and shall on any occasion when the Director is unable to perform any of his functions under subsection (2) act in his own name and while so acting shall perform the duties imposed and may exercise all the powers conferred upon the Director under this Act.

4.       Delegation of duties and powers of Director

            (1) Any duty imposed or power conferred on the Director may be performed or exercised by the Director personally or by an officer under a delegation from or under the control or direction of the Director.

            (2) Any decision made and any notice or communication signed or issued by any such officer may be withdrawn or amended by the Director or by the officer concerned (with effect from the date of making such decision or signing or issuing such notice or communication or the date of withdrawal or amendment thereof) and shall, until it has been so withdrawn, be deemed, except for the purposes of this subsection, to have been made, signed or issued by the Director.

5.       Duties and powers of Permanent Secretary, Commerce and Industry

            (1) Any duty imposed or power conferred by this Act on the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry may be performed or exercised by him personally or by an officer under a delegation from or under the control or direction of the said Permanent Secretary.

            (2) Any decision made under subsection (1) by any such officer may be withdrawn or amended by the Permanent Secretary or by the officer (with effect from the date of making such decision or the date of withdrawal or amendment thereof) and shall until it has been so withdrawn, be deemed, except for the purposes of this subsection, to have been made by that Permanent Secretary.

6.       General duties and powers of officers

            (1) Subject to the Constitution and the laws governing the public service, officers employed in the department shall act under the control and direction of the Director.

            (2) No officer shall be directly financially interested in the manufacture or sale or importation of or trade in imported or excisable goods or fuel levy goods.

            (3) No officer shall disclose any information relating to any person, firm or business acquired in the performance of his duties, except-

     (a)     for the purposes of this Act;

     (b)     when required to do so as a witness in a court of law; or

     (c)     such information in relation to any person as may be required by the Government Statistician in connection with the collection of statistics in complying with the provisions of the Statistics Act or any regulations made thereunder.

             (3A) The Government Statistician or any person acting under his or her direction and control shall not disclose any information supplied under subsection (3)(c) to any person or permit any person to have access thereto, except in the exercise of his powers or the carrying out of his duties under any Act from which such power or duties are derived.

            (4)(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (3), the Director may from time to time by notice in the Gazette, publish a list of the names of persons in respect of whom a penalty of P10,000.00 or more has been imposed under section 102 for offences referred to in section 90, 93, 94, 95 or 97.

            (b) Any list published in terms of paragraph (a) shall specify-

      (i)     the name and address of any person whose name has been included in such list;

      (ii)     such particulars of the offence referred to in subsection (a) as the Director may think fit; and

     (iii)     the amount of the penalty imposed.

            (5) An officer may, for the purposes of this Act-

     (a)     without previous notice, at any time enter any premises whatsoever and make such examination and enquiry as he deems necessary;

     (b)     while he is on the premises or at any other time require from any person the production then and there, or at a time and place fixed by the officer, of any book, document or thing which is required by this Act to be kept or exhibited or which relates to or which he has reasonable cause to suspect of relating to matters dealt with in this Act and which is or has been on the premises or in the possession or custody or under the control of any such person or his employee;

     (c)     at any time and at any place require from any person who has or is believed to have the possession or custody or control of any book, document or thing relating to any matter dealt with in this Act, the production thereof then and there, or at a time and place fixed by the officer; and

     (d)     examine and make extracts from and copies of any such book or document and may require from any person an explanation of any entry therein and may attach any such book, document or thing as in his opinion may afford evidence of an offence under this Act.

            (6) An officer may take with him on to any premises an assistant or a member of the police force.

            (7) Any person in connection with whose business any premises are occupied or used, and any person employed by him shall at any time furnish such facilities as may be required by the officer for entering the premises and for the exercise of his powers under this section.

            (8) If an officer, after having declared his official capacity and his purpose and having demanded admission into any premises, is not immediately admitted, he and any person assisting him may at any time, but at night only in the presence of a member of the police force, break open any door or window or break through any wall on the premises for the purpose of entry and search.

            (9) An officer or any person assisting him may at any time break up any ground or flooring on any premises for the purpose of search and if any room, place, safe, chest, box or package is locked and the keys thereof are not produced on demand, may open such room, place, safe, chest, box or package in any manner.

            (10) An officer may require any person to appear before him at any time and place fixed by the officer and may then and there question that person, either alone or in the presence of any other person, as he thinks fit, with respect to any matter dealt with in this Act.

            (11) An officer may question either alone or in the presence of any other person as he thinks fit, with respect to any matter dealt with in this Act, any person whom he finds on any premises entered in terms of this section or whom he has reasonable grounds for believing to be or to have been employed on any premises in respect of which any provision of this Act is applicable, or whom he has reasonable grounds for believing to be or to have been in possession, custody or control of anything, in respect of which any such provision is applicable.

            (12)(a) An officer may stop and board any vehicle in Botswana and may search any such vehicle or any person found therein or thereon for goods upon which duty has not been paid, or in respect of which he has reasonable cause to believe that there has been a contravention of any provision of this Act, and may freely remain on such vehicle in pursuance of his duties.

            (b) If any vehicle, or any place, safe, chest, box, package or container (as defined in section 1(2)) thereon is locked and the keys thereof are not produced on demand, the officer may open such vehicle, place, safe, chest, box, package or container in any manner.

            (c) An officer shall have free access to and the right to rummage every part of any such vehicle and to examine all goods on board, with power to fasten down hatchways and to mark any goods before offloading, and to lock up, seal, mark or otherwise secure any goods on board the vehicle, including any apparatus thereof, and he may also demand from the driver of any vehicle or the pilot of any aircraft concerned or the person in charge of any other vehicle the production of any document to which any provision of this Act relates.

            (d) If any lock, seal or mark placed upon any goods on board a vehicle by an officer in terms of the provisions of this section is wilfully opened, broken, obliterated or altered, or if any goods which have been locked, sealed, marked or otherwise secured in terms of this section are removed or if the hatchways of any such vehicle are, after having been fastened down by an officer, opened without his consent, the pilot of any aircraft concerned or the person in charge of any other such vehicle, as the case may be, shall be guilty of an offence unless he proves that it was not possible for him to have prevented the act in question.

            (13)(a) An officer may stop any person whom he has reason to suspect of having dutiable goods or goods in respect of which a contravention under this Act has been committed, secreted about him or in his possession and he may search such person.

            (b) If such person fails to stop, the officer may take such action, including the use of force, as he may deem necessary to stop such person.

            (14) Where, on the exportation of any goods from Botswana, any certificate, declaration or other proof has been furnished regarding the origin of such goods to comply with the provisions of any agreement contemplated in section 49, 57 or 58 or any other requirement or any practice, an officer may, for the purposes of verifying or investigating such certificate, declaration or other proof, require-

     (a)     the exporter; or

     (b)     any other person appearing to the officer to have been concerned in any way with-

           (i)       the production or manufacture or exportation of such goods;

          (ii)       any goods from which directly or indirectly such goods have been produced or manufactured; or

          (iii)       the furnishing of such certificate, declaration or other proof,

to furnish such information in such manner and within such time as the officer may determine, and to produce on demand for inspection and to allow the making of copies or extracts from such invoices, bills of landing, bills of entry, books of account or other documents in whatever form, as the officer may specify.

            (15) No person may, without good cause shown, refuse to comply with any such requirement of an officer.

            (16) A female shall only be searched by a female.

            (17) An officer may lock up, seal, mark, fasten or otherwise secure any warehouse, store, room, cabin, place, vessel, appliance, utensil, fitting, vehicle or goods if he has reason to believe that any contravention under this Act has been or is likely to be committed in respect thereof or in connection therewith.

            (18) No person shall be entitled to any compensation for any loss or damage arising out of any bona fide action of an officer under this section.