51.—(1) The Director-General may, in his discretion, on payment of such fees as may be prescribed, grant a licence to any person (referred to in this section as the licensee) and when granted suspend or withdraw any licence for warehousing goods liable to duty in a place or places specified in that licence.
(2) Any such licence shall be for such period and subject to such conditions as the Director-General may in each case specify in the licence.
(3) A senior officer of customs, or any officer of customs deputed by him for the purpose, shall at all times have access to any licensed warehouse.
(4) If it appears at any time that in any licensed warehouse there is a deficiency in the quantity of dutiable goods which ought to be found therein, the licensee of the warehouse shall —
(a)
in the absence of proof to the contrary, be presumed to have illegally removed the goods; and
(b)
without prejudice to any proceedings under this Act, be liable to pay immediately to the proper officer of customs the duty leviable on the goods found deficient.
(5) If, it is shown to the satisfaction of the Director-General that the deficiency has been caused by theft or by unavoidable leakage, breakage or other accident, or by evaporation, the Director-General may remit the whole or any part of the duty leviable on the goods found deficient.