Customs Act 2015 section 19

Notice of claim

Section 19 sets out the process by which a person can challenge the seizure of goods by customs, including the time limits for lodging a claim and the consequences of failing to do so.

• A person whose goods have been seized as liable to forfeiture has 30 days to submit a written notice of claim to the Revenue Commissioners, starting from either the date of the seizure notice or, if no notice was given, the date of the seizure itself.
• The notice of claim must include the claimant's full name and address, together with the grounds on which they say the goods are not liable to forfeiture; if the address is outside the State, condemnation proceedings documents may be posted to that address.
• If no notice of claim is received within the 30-day deadline, the seized goods are automatically deemed to have been condemned as forfeited, with the forfeiture taking effect from the date on which the liability to forfeiture first arose.
• Where a valid notice of claim is lodged, the Revenue Commissioners are required to bring court proceedings to have the goods formally condemned, subject to certain powers to deal with seizures under the Act.