7.       Appointment of places of entry, authorized roads and routes, etc.

            (1) The Minister may appoint by notice-

     (a)     places to be places of entry for Botswana, through which goods may be imported or exported or where goods may be landed for transit, where persons entering or leaving Botswana may disembark or embark or where goods may be entered for customs and excise purposes;

     (b)     the roads or routes (including railways) over which persons may enter or leave Botswana or imported goods or goods intended for export or transit carriage may enter or leave Botswana or may be carried from any one point to any other point or the means of carriage of such goods;

     (c)     places as warehousing places where customs and excise warehouses may be established;

     (d)     places for such particular and limited purposes and for such periods as may be appointed;

     (e)     places to be customs and excise airports at which aircraft entering Botswana shall first land, from which aircraft leaving Botswana shall finally depart, through which goods may be imported or exported or where goods may be landed for transit or where persons entering or leaving Botswana may disembark or embark;

     (f)      places at appointed places of entry or at customs and excise airports for the landing or embarkation of persons and the landing, loading or examination of goods (including baggage);

     (g)     sheds as transit sheds into which goods, before due entry thereof, may be removed from an aircraft or vehicle;

     (h)     entrances and exits, general or special, to or from any customs and excise airport;

     (i)      container terminals where containers may be landed for transit, delivery to a container depot or, after their contents have been duly entered, delivery to importers, or where containers may be shipped for export;

     (j)      places where container depots may be established for the storage, detention, unpacking or examination of containers or the contents of containers, for the delivery to importers of the contents of containers after such contents have been duly entered or for the packing of containers for export;

     (k)     the hours during which any place, road, route, shed, entrance or exit appointed or prescribed under any paragraph of this subsection may be used for the purposes specified in such paragraph.

            (2) Any place outside Botswana may be deemed by the Minister to be a place of entry for Botswana through which goods may be imported or exported, where goods may be landed for transit or removal through contiguous territories or where goods may be entered for customs and excise purposes.

            (3) If any places, roads, routes, means of carriage, sheds, entrances, exits or container terminals, as the case may be, have been appointed or prescribed by the Minister under any paragraph of subsection (1), only such places, roads, routes, means of carriage, sheds, entrances, exits or container terminals so appointed or prescribed may, subject to the provisions of subsections (4) and (8), be used or employed for the purposes for which they have been so appointed or prescribed under such paragraph, and if any hours have been prescribed under paragraph (k) of subsection (1) during which any place, road, route, shed, entrance or exit referred to in the said paragraph (k) may be used, such place, road, route, shed, entrance or exit shall be used only during such hours.

            (4) The owner or occupier of a transit shed appointed in terms of this section shall, if required by the Director, provide accommodation to the satisfaction of the Director for any officer whom the Director considers it necessary to station at such shed.

            (5) Notwithstanding anything contained in this section where the Minister has appointed places of entry for Botswana he may in writing permit any person to enter Botswana, subject to such conditions as he may impose, at a place other than a prescribed place.

8.       Report of arrival or departure of aircraft

            (1) The pilot of any aircraft arriving in Botswana, whether with or without goods or passengers, shall within three hours after landing at any place appointed as a customs and excise airport in terms of section 7 or within such further time as the proper officer may allow-

     (a)     make due report in writing of the arrival, with as many duplicates or extracts as the Director may require;

     (b)     make and subscribe to a declaration as to the truth of the report before the Director and answer all such questions concerning the aircraft, the cargo and stores, and the crew, passengers and flight as may be put to him by the Director; and

     (c)     produce, if required, the official log books for the flight, the stowage plans and any other documents in his possession relating to the cargo, stores, crew, passengers and flight.

            (2)(a) The pilot of an aircraft arriving in Botswana shall, unless the Director has granted him special permission to land elsewhere, make his first landing at a place appointed as a customs and excise airport in terms of section 7:

            Provided that the provisions of this subsection shall not apply if the pilot is forced by circumstances beyond his control to land at a place not so appointed and he reports to the Customs Officer nearest to the place where he was so forced to land or to the Customs Officer at the first place of entry or customs and excise airport appointed in terms of section 7 at which he next arrives.

            (b) Such pilot who is forced by circumstances beyond his control to land at a place in Botswana not appointed as a place of entry in terms of section 7 shall take all precautions necessary to prevent any contravention of this Act in respect of any goods in such aircraft.

            (3) The report referred to in subsection (1) shall contain such particulars as the Minister may prescribe and shall further include-

     (a)     a list of all containers on board consigned to such place, which list shall specify-

           (i)       the container serial numbers and the name of every owner concerned;

          (ii)       the classes of such containers; and

          (iii)       the destination of each such container; and

     (b)     a manifest in the prescribed form of all goods consigned to such place, and a separate manifest of such goods packed in each container.

            (4) Subject to the provisions of section 9, any goods which have not been recorded in such manifest shall be declared to the Director and delivered to him.

            (5) The pilot of any aircraft bound from any place within to any place outside Botswana shall appear before the proper officer and deliver to him a report outwards in the prescribed form together with a full account of the cargo laden on board that aircraft and shall make and subscribe to a declaration as to the truth of such report and account and answer all such questions as may be put to him by the proper officer.

            (6) The provisions which shall apply in connection with the departure of any foreign-going aircraft from any place within to any other place within Botswana shall be as prescribed.

            (7) The pilot of a foreign-going aircraft shall not cause or permit the aircraft to depart from any appointed place of entry or any place appointed as a customs and excise airport without first obtaining a certificate of clearance or transire for the intended flight from the Director, and the pilot shall not after departure call or land at any place in Botswana other than an appointed place of entry or a place appointed as a customs and excise airport, unless forced to do so by stress of weather, accident or other circumstances beyond his control.

            (8) The provisions which shall apply where such pilot has been so forced to land at a place other than a place appointed as a customs and excise airport shall be as prescribed.

            (9) If an aircraft in respect of which a clearance has been issued at any place in terms of this section does not depart from that place within 36 hours of the time when the clearance was issued, or within such further time as the Director may allow, such clearance shall lapse and the pilot shall obtain fresh clearance before causing or permitting the aircraft to depart.

            (10) If any report required in terms of this section is found to be in any way incomplete or incorrect, the Director may, if he is satisfied that there was no fraudulent intention, permit the pilot to amend his report.

            (11) The pilot of an aircraft may, with the permission of the Director and subject to such conditions as he may impose, retain on board goods consigned to any airport for landing at any other airport or land at any airport goods not consigned thereto.

            (12) The Minister may, subject to such conditions as he may impose, exempt any aircraft or any class or kind of aircraft from all or any of the provisions of this section.

9.       Sealing of goods on board aircraft

            (1) The Director may permit surplus stores to be entered for home consumption or for warehousing.

            (2) For the purposes of this section "sealable goods" means-

     (a)     tobacco, cigars, cigarettes and any other preparations of tobacco or substitutes therefor;

     (b)     any spirits or alcoholic beverages;

     (c)     opium, preparations of opium, in any form and opium outfits;

     (d)     cocaine, preparations of cocaine and other habit-forming drugs;

     (e)     saccharin, sweetening substances containing saccharin, and substitutes for saccharin;

     (f)      articles brought or intended as gifts for or for sale to or exchange with any person;

     (g)     all non-duty-paid imported goods and all excisable goods shipped at a place in Botswana as aircraft stores; and

     (h)     any other goods which may from time to time be declared by the Minister by notice in the Gazette to be sealable goods.

            (3) The Director may, in addition to sealable goods, seal up any goods which are unconsumed stores of any aircraft or which are in the possession of the pilot of such aircraft or of any member of the crew thereof or of any passenger on board thereof.

            (4) While any aircraft remains at any place in Botswana, no person shall, except in accordance with regulations, break or disturb any seal placed by the Director on any goods in terms of this section.

            (5) Except as provided in subsection (1), no stores of any nature may be landed without the permission of the Director and all goods acquired on an aircraft shall, if landed, be declared to the Director for purposes of payment of any duty due thereon.

            (6) The Minister may, subject to such conditions as he may impose, exempt any aircraft or any class or kind of aircraft from all or any of the provisions of this section.

10.     When goods deemed to be imported

            (1) For the purposes of this Act, all goods consigned to or brought into Botswana shall be deemed to have been imported into Botswana-

     (a)     in the case of goods consigned to a place in Botswana in an aircraft, at the time when such aircraft on the flight in question first came within the control area of the airport authority at that place, or at the time of the landing of such goods at the place of actual discharge thereof in Botswana if such aircraft did not on that flight call at the place to which the goods were consigned or if such goods were discharged before arrival of such aircraft at the place to which such goods were consigned;

     (b)     in the case of goods not consigned to a place in Botswana but brought thereto by and landed therein from an aircraft, at the time when such goods were so landed;

     (c)     subject to the provisions of subsection (2), in the case of goods brought to Botswana overland, at the time when such goods entered Botswana;

     (d)     in the case of goods brought to Botswana by post, at the time of importation in terms of paragraph (a), (b) or (c) according to the means of carriage of such goods; and

     (e)     in the case of goods brought to Botswana in any manner not specified in this section, at the time specified in the General Notes to Schedule No. 1 or, if no such time is specified in the said General Notes in respect of the goods in question, at the time such goods are considered by the Director to have entered Botswana.

            (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), a place outside Botswana appointed in terms of this Act as deemed by the Minister under section 7(2) to be a place of entry for goods consigned to Botswana, shall be deemed to be a place in Botswana in respect of goods consigned to such place for removal to Botswana overland.

11.     No landing or loading of goods without permission

            (1) All goods imported into Botswana by aircraft shall, if landed before due entry thereof, be placed in a transit shed, container terminal, container depot or state warehouse, or any other place approved by the Director.

            (2) All goods landed from an aircraft before due entry of such goods and placed in a transit shed or other approved place in accordance with the provisions of subsection (1) shall be deemed to be still in the aircraft, and as long as such goods remain in such shed or place, the pilot shall remain responsible therefor in all respects and liable for the duty thereon as if the goods had not been removed from such aircraft.

            (3) Subject to the provisions any regulations, no goods shall, without the permission of the Director, be loaded into an aircraft for exportation from Botswana.

            (4) No goods shall, without the permission of the Director, be laden at any place in Botswana on an aircraft before all inward cargo for that place has been discharged.

            (5) Subject to the provisions of subsection (2) and the provisions of any regulations and to any conditions which he may impose, the Director may permit the landing at any place without due entry of goods not consigned to that place from an aircraft which has sustained damage or is in distress.

12.     Goods imported or exported overland

            (1) Where any goods are imported by train, the railway authority shall furnish the Director with such documents as the Director may require in relation to such goods.

            (2) The station master or any other person in control of railway premises shall not permit any such goods to be removed from such premises before due entry thereof unless the Director allows such goods to be so removed, subject to such conditions as he may in each case impose, before such entry.

            (3) The conductor, guard or other person in charge of a train shall on demand by any officer furnish him with all information at his disposal in respect of any goods on such train.

            (4) Subject to the provisions of subsection (13), the person in charge of any vehicle (other than aircraft or a railway train) whether or not conveying any goods, which arrives by land at any place in Botswana shall come to the office of the officer nearest to the point at which he crossed the border or which is most conveniently situated in relation to that point before unloading any goods or in any manner disposing of such vehicle or goods, and make a full written report to such officer concerning the vehicle or goods, the journey and the destination of the goods, and shall make and subscribe to a declaration as to the truth of the report.

            (5) Such person shall fully and truthfully answer all questions put to him and produce any waybills or other documents demanded of him by such officer.

            (6) No person shall remove a vehicle referred to in subsections (4) and (5) from the office referred to in that subsection until due entry has been made of such vehicle and the goods carried thereon or until permission for removal has been granted by the officer.

            (7) Every person arriving in Botswana overland, on foot or otherwise shall, whether or not he has any goods in his possession, come to the office of the officer nearest to the point at which he crossed the border or the office of the officer which is most conveniently situated in relation to that point, and there report to the officer the circumstances in which he entered Botswana.

            (8) If such person has any goods in his possession, he shall furnish such officer with full particulars thereof, and shall fully and truthfully answer all questions put to him by the officer.

            (9) Such person shall not in any manner dispose of any goods in his possession until they have been released by the officer.

            (10) The provisions of subsections (7), (8) and (9) shall not apply to persons arriving in Botswana by train or by air and who pass through or disembark at a place where an officer is stationed.

            (11) No person in charge of any vehicle (other than aircraft or a train), whether or not used in the exportation of goods overland shall remove any such vehicle or goods beyond the borders of Botswana unless due entry has been made of such vehicle and the goods carried thereon, or permission for removal has been granted by the Director.

            (12) The Director may in his discretion grant a general permission to any such person.

            (13) The Minister may, by notice and subject to such conditions as he may impose, exempt any person from the provisions of subsections (4) and (5).

13.     Goods imported or exported by post

            (1) For the purposes of entry and collection of duty on goods imported into Botswana by post, any form or label completed by the sender in respect of the postal item in question and on which the particulars necessary for the assessment of duty are set forth, shall be deemed to be an entry made under the provisions of this Act, and the particulars on any such form or label shall, for the purposes of this Act, be taken as the declaration to be made by the importer under section 40:

            Provided that the Minister may by regulations exclude from the provisions of this subsection any goods of a class or kind specified in such regulations or any such goods imported in circumstances so specified.

            (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in subsection (1), any goods imported by post which the addressee desires to enter for warehousing, or for removal or export in bond, or under any heading or item of Schedule No. 1 which requires that a certificate be given or a condition be complied with, or under any item of Schedule No. 3, or under any item of Schedule No. 2, 4 or 5 specified by the Director, shall be entered at a customs and excise office before an officer.

            (3) Notwithstanding anything contained in subsection (1), any goods imported by post by such class of addressee, or any goods imported by post and of such class or kind, as may be specified by the Director after consultation with the Director of Postal Services, shall be entered at a customs and excise office before an officer.

            (4) In the case of goods exported by post, any form or label affixed to or completed in respect of a postal item and on which a description of the contents and their value are set forth, shall be defined to be a bill of entry for export as required by this Act.

            (5) Notwithstanding anything contained in subsection (1) or in any other law but subject to the provisions of subsection (2), any person importing goods by post shall submit the invoice in respect of such goods to the postmaster concerned, and no person shall receive, remove, take, deliver or in any manner deal with or in such goods unless the correct duty has been paid to that postmaster.

            (6) Any postmaster may at any time detain any imported postal item under his control and cause such postal item to be removed to the officer who may in his discretion examine such postal item, and if the goods therein are found not to agree in all respects with the particulars relating to the value, description or quality appearing on the form or label referred to in subsection (1) or the invoice concerned, such goods shall notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any other law be liable to forfeiture.

14.     Persons entering or leaving Botswana

            (1) Any person entering or leaving Botswana shall, in such a manner as the Director may determine, unreservedly declare-

     (a)     at the time of such entering, all goods (including goods of another person) upon his person or in his possession which he brought with him into Botswana which-

           (i)       were purchased or otherwise acquired abroad or on any vehicle or in any shop selling goods on which duty has not been paid;

          (ii)       were remodelled, processed or repaired abroad; or

          (iii)       are prohibited, restricted or controlled under any law;

     (b)     before leaving, all goods which he proposes taking with him beyond the border of Botswana, and shall furnish an officer with full particulars thereof, answer fully and truthfully all questions put to him by such officer and, if required by such officer to do so, produce and open such goods for inspection by the said officer, and shall pay the duty assessed by such officer, if any, to the proper officer.

            (2) Any declaration made in terms of subsection (1) shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be an entry for home consumption or export, as the case may be.

            (3) The Director shall have the power, in all cases where a person is detected or is concerned in or is suspected by him of an attempt to import, export, land, or remove goods illegally or to evade the payment of duties on any goods, forthwith to take the person concerned before a magistrate's court to be summarily or otherwise dealt with, or to secure such person in a police station or other suitable place, until he can be taken before such court.

15.     Opening of packages in absence of importer or exporter

            The Director may, in the absence of the importer or exporter of any package imported into or landed in or exported from, or suspected by the Director to have been imported into or landed in, or exported from, Botswana, open and examine such package at the importer's or exporter's risk and expense:

            Provided that wherever possible the Director shall first make all reasonable efforts to ascertain the whereabouts of such importer or exporter and afford the said importer or exporter the opportunity of himself appearing before the Director and opening the package in question.

16.     State warehouse

            (1) Whenever any goods are taken to and secured in any State warehouse, the Director may require rent to be paid for such period as the goods remain therein, at the rates prescribed.

            (2) Any officer who has the custody of any goods in any State warehouse may refuse delivery thereof from such warehouse until he has been furnished with proof to his satisfaction that-

     (a)     the person claiming the goods is lawfully entitled to such goods;

     (b)     all relevant provisions of this Act or any law relating to the importation or exportation or transit of goods have been complied with;

     (c)     freight and other charges (including landing charges) and rent due in respect of the goods have been paid.

            (3) The State or any officer shall in no case be liable in respect of any loss or diminution of or damage to any goods in a State warehouse in respect of any loss or damage sustained by reason of wrong delivery of such goods.

            (4) If a warrant or permission for the removal of any goods from a State warehouse has been granted by the Director, and the person to whom such warrant or permission has been granted does not immediately remove the said goods from the warehouse, they may, notwithstanding any other provisions of this Act, in the discretion of the Director, be dealt with as if they were goods in respect of which entry has not been made under the provisions of this Act.

17.     Removal of goods in bond

            (1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Act-

     (a)     the importer or owner of any imported goods landed in Botswana, or manufacturer, owner, seller or purchaser of any excisable goods manufactured in a customs and excise warehouse or the licensee of a customs and excise warehouse in which dutiable goods are manufactured or stored may remove such goods in bond to any place of entry or warehousing place under this Act or to any place outside Botswana:

                      Provided that such goods manufactured or stored in a customs and excise warehouse may only be so removed to any such warehousing place in the common customs area for warehousing;

     (b)     the pilot of an aircraft or person in charge of any vehicle from which any goods were landed at a place in Botswana to which such goods were not consigned may remove such goods in bond to the place to which they were consigned provided evidence is produced to the Director before entry for removal of the identity of such goods and that the goods in question were consigned to the place to which they are proposed to be removed;

     (c)     the owner of or any person beneficially interested in any goods which are in transit through Botswana from any other territory in Africa to any place outside Botswana may remove such goods in bond from the place where they entered Botswana to the place where they are destined to leave Botswana;

     (d)     a container operator may remove any container in bond to the container depot or container terminal to which it was consigned, without furnishing the security provided for in subsection (6), and the manifest in terms of section 8(2)(b) of the goods packed in such container shall be deemed to be due entry for removal in bond of that container;

     (e)     the pilot of an aircraft operating a scheduled service may remove in bond any goods landed from an aircraft at a place in the common customs area and for which an air cargo transfer manifest has been completed, to their place of entry for the common customs area, without furnishing the security provided for in subsection (6), and such air cargo transfer manifest shall be deemed to be due entry for removal in bond of such goods.

            (1A) For the purposes of subsection (1)(a), imported goods landed in Botswana shall include goods in transit through Botswana which are destined for removal to a consignee in any country outside Botswana.

            (2) In addition to any liability for duty incurred by any person under any other provision of this Act, the person who removes any goods in bond in terms of subsection (1) shall, subject to the provisions of subsection (3), be liable for the duty on all goods which he so removes.

            (3) Subject to the provisions of subsection (4), any liability for duty in terms of subsection (2) shall cease when it is proved to the satisfaction of the Director by the person concerned-

     (a)     in the case of goods removed to a place in the common customs area, that such goods have been duly entered at that place; or

     (b)     in the case of goods which were destined for a place beyond the borders of the common customs area, that such goods have been duly taken out of that area.

            (4) If the person concerned fails to submit any such proof as is referred to in subsection (3) within a period of 30 days from the date on which the goods in question were entered for removal in bond, he shall upon demand by the Director forthwith pay the duty due on such goods.

            (5) No goods shall be removed in bond in terms of this section from the place where they were landed in Botswana or where they entered Botswana until they have been entered for removal in bond and such entry shall be deemed to be due entry in respect of such goods at that place for the purposes of this Act.

            (6) No entry for removal in bond shall be tendered by or may be accepted from a person who has not furnished such security as the Director may require and the Director may at any time require that the form, nature or amount of such security shall be altered in such manner as he may determine.

            (7) The removal in bond of goods shall be subject to such regulations and such conditions as the Minister may prescribe in respect of such goods or any class or kind of such goods or goods removed in circumstances specified by him and the Director may refuse to accept bills of entry for the removal in bond of goods from a remover who has persistently failed to comply with such regulations or conditions or who has committed an offence referred to in section 90.

            (8) Goods removed in bond shall not be delivered or removed from the control of the Director at the place of destination in Botswana except upon due entry according to the first account taken of such goods on landing or on entry for removal in bond thereof or according to the contents of the packages containing such goods as reflected on the invoice issued by the supplier in respect of such goods, and payment of any duty due, including, subject to the provisions of section 84(19), any duty due on any deficiency.

            (9) ...

            (10) The State or any officer shall in no case be liable for any loss of or damage of whatever nature to any goods removed in bond or for any loss or damage sustained by reason of wrong removal or delivery.

            (11) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, the Director may, subject to such conditions as he may impose, in respect of goods in transit through Botswana from any other territory in Africa to any destination outside Botswana or any class or kind of such goods or any such goods removed in bond in circumstances specified by him, allow such goods to be entered for removal in bond at a place other than the place where the goods entered Botswana.

            (12) The Director may determine the roads and routes and the means of carriage of any goods removed in bond or any class or kind of such goods or any such goods carried in circumstances specified by him.

            (13) No persons shall, without the permission of the Director, divert any goods removed in bond to a destination other than the destination declared on entry for removal in bond or deliver such goods or cause such goods to be delivered in Botswana except into the control of an officer at the place of destination.

            (14) The Director may specify the particulars to be reflected on the entry for removal in bond and the documents to be produced by the remover upon entry for removal in bond in respect of any goods removed in bond, or any class or kind of such goods or any such goods removed in circumstances or to a destination specified by him.

18.     Exportation of goods from customs and excise warehouse

            (1) Notwithstanding any liability for duty incurred thereby by any person in terms of any other provision of this Act, any person who exports any goods from a customs and excise warehouse to any place outside the common customs area shall, subject to the provisions of subsection (2), be liable for the duty on all goods.

            (2) Subject to the provisions of subsection (3) any liability for duty in terms of subsection (1) shall cease when it is proved to the satisfaction of the Director by the exporter that the said goods have been duly exported out of the common customs area.

            (3) If the exporter fails to submit such proof as is referred to in subsection (2) within a period of thirty days from the date on which the goods concerned were entered for export, he shall upon demand by the Director forthwith pay duty due on the goods.

            (4) No goods shall be exported in terms of this section until they have been entered for export.

            (5) No such entry for export shall be tendered by or may be accepted from a person who has not furnished such security as the Director may require, and the Director may at any time require that the form, nature or amount of that security be altered in such manner as he may determine.

            (6) The said exportation of goods shall be subject to the regulations and such conditions as the Director may impose in respect of the goods concerned or any class or kind of those or those goods exported in circumstances specified by him, and the Director may refuse to accept bills of entry for the said exportation of goods from an exporter who has persistently failed to comply with the said regulations or conditions or who has committed an offence referred to in section 88.

            (7) ...

            (8) The Director may determine the roads and routes and the means of carriage of any goods so exported or any class or kind of those goods or any such goods carried in circumstances specified by him.

            (9) No person shall, without the permission of the Director, divert any goods so exported to a destination other than the destination entered on entry for exportation.

            (10) The Director may specify the documents to be produced by the exporter upon entry for exportation in respect of any goods so exported or any class or kind of those goods or any such goods exported in circumstances, or to a destination specified by him.