Cap. 37 Art. 72Procedure when goods are withheld.

(1) Whenever goods are withheld under this Ordinance, the official who withholds the said goods shall issue a receipt for the withheld goods to the person from whom the objects were taken or otherwise the receipt for the withheld goods shall be affixed to the place from where the goods were withheld.

(2) Where within a period of ninety (90) working days from when the goods were withheld, the Commissioner decides that the goods are not subject to seizure or if he fails to take a decision regarding such goods, the Commissioner shall immediately return the withheld goods to the person from whom they were withheld.

(3) Where it is decided that the goods are subject to seizure, the Commissioner or the responsible official shall issue a note of seizure specifying the reason for the forfeiture within ninety (90) working days from when the goods are withheld, to any person who the Commissioner or the responsible official deem, was at the time that the seizure was made the owner of the withheld goods, if known.

(4) The seizure note shall be accompanied by a copy of this article and it shall be deemed to have been duly given to the person concerned:

(a) when it is delivered to such person personally, if known; or

(b) when it is addressed to such person and is sent to him by registered mail or left at the last known address of residence or place of business of that person, or in the case of a body corporate at its registered or main office and in this case the date of the seizure note shall be the date when the registered post is delivered; or

(c) where such person does not have a known address in Malta or Gozo, when a notice is published in the Gazette declaring that the seizure note has been issued. The date of the seizure note in this case shall be the date of publication of the notice in the Gazette.

(5) (a) The goods seized in accordance with this Ordinance shall be deemed to be forfeited and the Commissioner ipso jure may dispose of them according to law, unless the person from whom the goods have been seized, or the owner, or any person authorised by him, within thirty (30) days from the date of the seizure note, gives notice in writing to the Commissioner, requesting that the seized goods are returned to him or indicating that he intends to request that they are returned, and within thirty

(30) days from such notice, institutes the necessary proceedings before the Administrative Review Tribunal by means of an application against the Commissioner.

(b) The Commissioner shall have twenty (20) days from service to reply to the application before the Administrative Review Tribunal. The Tribunal shall hear the application expeditiously.

(c) In default of such contestation in terms of paragraph (a), the claim on the seized objects shall be deemed to have been abandoned:

Provided that where a seizure is made in accordance with this Ordinance and no contestation has been made by the person from whom the goods have been seized, or by the owner, or by any person authorised by him, for the purposes of this article, in case of an acquittal by the competent Court as provided for in article 66 which has become a the contestation process as res judicata, provided for in paragraph (a) may be availed of within thirty (30) days from the date of the judgement becoming a In res judicata. default of such contestation, the claim on such goods shall be deemed to be abandoned: Provided further that the preceding proviso shall not apply to the confiscation of any goods which are illegal or prohibited by any law and to the confiscation of any restricted goods, unless such restrictions were observed.

(6) When any seized goods in accordance with this article is a ship or is of a perishable nature or is, in the opinion of the Commissioner, likely to suffer substantial loss of value by the lapse of time, or is a live animal, the said good may, by order of the Commissioner, be sold immediately, and the proceeds thereof be retained to make good for any claim that may be legally made in respect thereof and for the purpose of any proceedings instituted under this Ordinance in respect of the seized goods, such proceeds shall represent and substitute the said seized goods.

(7) Where a seizure made in accordance with this article is contested in accordance with sub-article (5), the Commissioner may at any time, if he deems fit and notwithstanding the pendency of the proceedings wherein the seizure is contested, deliver any object seized to any claimant upon paying to the Commissioner such sum as the Commissioner deems adequate, and as long as it does not exceed such sum which in the opinion of the Commissioner represents the value of the object, including any duty and tax which are still due on it, or upon the claimant giving such bank guarantee that is acceptable to the Commissioner for the payment of such sum. Such sum or such guarantee, as the case may be, shall be retained to make good for any claim that may be legally made in respect thereof and shall, for the purpose of any proceedings taken under this Ordinance in respect of the seized goods, represent and substitute the said seized goods.