Report No. 38
80. Section 12A and Customs Act.-
With reference to section 24A and the Customs Act, the following suggestion1 was made:-
"Section 24A of the Act empowers the Department to hand over postal articles for customs examination to customs authorities. In actual practice the articles are being detained for customs examination in foreign post offices, but there is no provision for this in the Act. The Sea Customs Act, 1878, does not provide for the delivery of articles to the customs authorities, but provides that articles may be kept in the custody of the post office. The provisions in the two Acts are not consistent. It is felt that the law must be consistent, and there should be no conflict between the two enactments and, therefore, this discrepancy is pointed out to the Law Commission for such action as may be deemed proper."
The statutory provisions on the subject were examined by us. It appears to us, that there is no discrepancy. The subject is mainly governed by section 84 of the Customs Act, 1962, which leaves the matter elastic2-3.
1. S. No. 169 (Suggestion of the Department).
2. See section 84(b), Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962).
3. See also para. 48, supra.
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