NZ Customs Release 715

A Customs investigation has resulted in the sentencing of an Auckland man to 25 months' prison for smuggling card skimming equipment.

Forty year old Rimamotu Tiavare appeared in Auckland District Court this week (26 July 2023) and was convicted on one charge for knowingly importing goods for dishonest purposes under the Customs and Excise Act 2018. The sentence also reflected active Police charges including using forged documents, money laundering and accessing a computer system for dishonest purposes.  

All those issued with declarant codes for lodgement of entries are reminded that a condition of approval requires you to advise Customs if there are any changes to your contact or employment details. 

Please submit all changes via Trade Single Window (TSW).

Any updates to the brokerage, freight forwarding or trading company contact details should also be current and correct. Customs should be notified if there are any changes to your company name or contact details and key personnel details. 

Please review your organisation details within TSW Registrations and submit updates where required. Help us help you by ensuring details are kept up to date.

New Zealand Customs was represented at the Oceania Customs Organisation's annual conference in the Federated States of Micronesia.
 
This is the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic that the conference has been an in-person event. 

Max Broadfoot, Customs Regional Manager Australia and the Pacific, said "New Zealand Customs is a strong advocate for enhancing both regional security and economic growth in the Pacific. This conference is an important opportunity to collaborate and support wider efforts to combat the growing threat of transnational crime in the region."  

Customs is currently transitioning to a new credit card payment portal with a new service provider.  While everything is being done to ensure that this happens in a timely manner, we have become aware that the option to pay by credit card may not be available for a number of weeks from 13 July 2023.  

We apologise for any inconvenience and advise that, during this time, customers will be required to pay Customs through internet banking. It is important to follow our internet banking instructions precisely to ensure that payments can be processed correctly, reducing the risk of any delays.

Customs' goods fees are to be increased to reflect inflation on 1 October 2023 and 1 July 2024. A table of the fees to apply from 1 October 2023 is found using the link below. 

These increases are interim, pending a longer, more comprehensive review of Customs' goods fees. These interim fee adjustments will reflect the rate of inflation since the fee levels were last agreed in 2019, maintaining the real value of the fees. 

Customs consulted stakeholders on these increases in March and April 2023 and stakeholders' submissions informed the Government's decisions. 

The recently signed Free Trade Agreement between New Zealand and the European Union has resulted in new Tariff Rate Quotas. The New Zealand Meat Board is welcoming feedback on the proposals for quota allocation mechanisms and cost recovery relative to the EU-NZ FTA. 

Have your say by answering feedback questions or making a written submission before 31 July 2023. 

The Environmental Protection Authority and the Ministry for the Environment are looking for feedback about a proposed infringement offence scheme for hazardous substances. 

The consultation is open until 28 August. 

An infringement scheme would add an intermediate enforcement tool to respond to lower-level hazardous substance offences. 

Domestic Transhipment Request (DTR) for sea freight has been implemented from 3 July 2023. A DTR is now required to move uncleared sea-freight from one approved facility (CCA/TF) to another approved facility.
An approved facility is a Customs-controlled Area (CCA) and Transitional Facility (TF).

Further information about these changes, requirements, what you may need to do, and training is available on Customs' website.