4. The Customs Act is amended by inserting, immediately after section 90, the following sections:90A.—(1) The Director-General may establish and operate a computer service and make provision for any manifest, return, list, statement, declaration, direction, notice, permit, receipt or other document required or authorised by this Act or any subsidiary legislation made thereunder to be made, served or submitted by electronic transmission (referred to in this Act as an electronic notice).(2) A registered user may, in accordance with the regulations made under subsection (11), make and serve an electronic notice to the computer account of the Director-General. |
(3) The Director-General or any person authorised by him may, in accordance with the regulations made under subsection (11), make and serve an electronic notice to the computer account of a registered user. |
(4) Where an electronic notice is transmitted to the computer account of the Director-General using the authentication code assigned to a registered user —(a) | with or without the authority of the registered user; and | (b) | before the notification to the Director-General by the registered user in the prescribed manner, of cancellation of the authentication code, |
that notice shall, for the purposes of this Act or any subsidiary legislation made thereunder, be presumed to be made by the registered user unless he adduces evidence to the contrary; and where he alleges that he has transmitted no such notice, the burden is also on him to adduce evidence of that fact. |
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(5) For the purposes of this Act, an electronic notice or a copy thereof shall not be inadmissible in evidence merely on the basis that it was transmitted without the making or delivery of any equivalent document or counterpart in paper form. |
(6) Notwithstanding any other written law, in any proceedings under this Act or any subsidiary legislation made thereunder, an electronic notice or a copy thereof (including a print-out of that notice or copy) or any database report (including a print-out of that report) relating to that notice —(a) | certified by the Director-General to contain all or any information transmitted in accordance with this section; and | (b) | duly authenticated in the manner specified in subsection (7) or is otherwise duly authenticated by showing that there is no material discrepancy between the electronic notice or copy thereof certified by the Director-General and the copy of the same electronic notice kept by an independent record keeper appointed under any regulations made under subsection (11), |
shall be admissible as evidence of the facts stated or contained therein. |
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(7) For the purposes of this section, a certificate —(a) | giving the authentication code and other particulars of any user and device (if known) involved in the production and transmission of, and identifying the nature of, the electronic notice or copy thereof; and | (b) | purporting to be signed by the Director-General or by a person occupying a responsible position in relation to the operation of the computer service at the relevant time, |
shall be sufficient evidence that the electronic notice or copy thereof has been duly authenticated, unless the court, in its discretion, calls for further evidence on this issue. |
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(8) Where an electronic notice or a copy thereof is admissible under subsection (6), it shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, that the contents of the electronic notice or copy thereof have been accurately transmitted. |
(9) The Director-General may, for the purpose of facilitating any electronic transmission under this section, approve the use in any such electronic transmission of symbols, codes, abbreviations or other notations to represent any particulars or information required under this Act or any subsidiary legislation made thereunder. |
(10) Any officer of customs or any other person employed in the administration of this Act shall not be treated as having contravened any provision of any written law relating to confidentiality or secrecy merely because he communicates to the independent record keeper or his employee or permits the independent record keeper or his employee to have access to any electronic notice or any information contained therein; and the independent record keeper, his employee and any person transmitting an electronic notice on behalf of another person shall not divulge or disclose the contents of any electronic notice or a copy thereof without the prior written consent of the Director-General. |
(11) The Minister may make regulations —(a) | prescribing the conditions for subscription to the computer service, including the manner in which the authentication codes are to be assigned; | (b) | prescribing the manifests, returns, lists, statements, declarations, directions, notices, permits, receipts or any other document which may be transmitted through the computer service including the form and manner in which they are to be transmitted; | (c) | for the correction of errors in or amendments to electronic notices; | (d) | prescribing the procedure for use of the computer service including the procedure in circumstances where there is a breakdown or interruption in the service; | (e) | for the appointment of an independent record keeper to be charged with the duty to maintain for a prescribed period a record of all the electronic notices and transactions made through the data service provider between the Director-General and the registered users, such a duty to include keeping the database reports; | (f) | for the independent record keeper to produce a copy of the relevant record pertaining to any electronic notice or a copy thereof to either the Director-General or the registered user, whose electronic notice is in issue, when requested by either party to do so; | (g) | for the standards of security, confidentiality, data integrity and conduct of the computer service and for the review of the operations and activities of the data service provider by such authority or expert as may be prescribed; and | (h) | generally for the better provision of the computer service. |
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90B.—(1) Any duty under this Act or any subsidiary legislation made thereunder to keep or preserve any books of account, register, stock book or other records may be discharged by the preservation of the information contained therein by such means as the Director-General may approve; and where that information is so preserved a copy of any document forming part of the records shall, subject to subsections (2) and (3), be admissible in evidence in any proceedings, whether civil or criminal, to the same extent as the records themselves.(2) The Director-General may, as a condition of approving under subsection (1) any means of preserving information contained in any books of account, register, stock book or other records, impose such reasonable requirements as appear to him necessary for securing that the information will be as readily available to him as if the books of account, register, stock book or records themselves had been preserved. |
(3) A statement contained in a document produced by a computer shall not by virtue of subsection (1) be admissible in evidence whether in civil or criminal proceedings except in accordance with the Evidence Act [Cap. 97]. |
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Power of Director General to obtain information and furnishing of information |
90C.—(1) The Director-General or any officer of customs authorised by him shall at all times have full and free access to all buildings, places, books, documents and other records for any of the purposes of this Act, and may inspect, copy or make extracts from any such books, documents or records.(2) The Director-General or any officer of customs authorised by him may take possession of any such books, documents or records where in his opinion —(a) | the inspection, copying thereof or extraction therefrom cannot reasonably be performed without taking possession; | (b) | the books, documents or records may be interfered with or destroyed unless possession is taken; or | (c) | the books, documents or records may be required as evidence in proceedings for an offence under this Act or in proceedings for the recovery of customs duty, tax or penalty, or in proceedings by way of an appeal against an assessment of customs duty or tax. |
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(3) The Director-General may require any person to give orally or in writing, as may be required, all such information concerning his or any other person’s transactions made in the course of a business as may be demanded of him by the Director-General for the purposes of this Act except that no person shall, by virtue of this section, be obliged to disclose any particulars as to which he is under any statutory obligation to observe secrecy. |
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Information not to be published or disclosed |
90D.—(1) No particulars, information or document furnished for the purposes of this Act or any subsidiary legislation made thereunder shall, unless with the prior consent in writing of the person having the control, management or superintendence of the goods in relation to which the same was given or furnished —(a) | be published; or | (b) | be communicated or disclosed to any person, |
except where it is necessary for the purposes of — |
(i) | a prosecution under this Act or the Goods and Services Tax Act [Cap. 117A] or any subsidiary legislation made under either Act; | (ii) | enabling an officer of customs to enforce a provision of this Act or any subsidiary legislation made thereunder; | (iii) | enabling the Comptroller of Goods and Services Tax or an officer of customs to enforce a provision of the Goods and Services Tax Act [Cap. 117A] or any subsidiary legislation made thereunder; | (iv) | enabling an officer of customs to investigate a suspected offence under this Act or any subsidiary legislation made thereunder; or | (v) | enabling the Comptroller of Goods and Services Tax or an officer of customs to investigate a suspected offence under the Goods and Services Tax Act or any subsidiary legislation made thereunder. |
(2) Any officer of customs or any person employed or engaged in the administration of this Act or any subsidiary legislation made thereunder who makes use of, publishes or permits any other person to see or communicates or discloses to any other person the contents of any such particulars, information or document to any other person otherwise than with such consent or for such purpose as is referred to in subsection (1), shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $6,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both. |
(3) Any person, having possession of any information which to his knowledge has been communicated, disclosed or published in contravention of this section, who publishes or communicates that information to any other person shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $6,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both. |
(4) For the purposes of this section, “Comptroller”, in relation to Goods and Services Tax, has the same meaning as in the Goods and Services Tax Act.”. |
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