Customs Act 1901

An officer of Customs may, instead of seizing goods under section 203B, detain the goods if:

the goods have been imported without one or more required permissions to import the goods having been granted or given; and

any other conditions or restrictions specified in regulations made under section 50 in respect of the importation of the goods have been complied with; and

the officer has reasonable grounds to believe that:

the goods have not been concealed from the officer by the person who imported them; and

no application for any of the required permissions to import the goods has previously been refused; and

if the goods are accompanied personal or household effects of the person—the person:

has been informed by the officer, in writing, of the available options for dealing with the goods and the consequences of exercising each of those options; and

has indicated to the officer, in writing, that he or she has applied, or intends to apply, for each of the required permissions to import the goods that have not already been granted or given.

Without limiting the meaning of concealed in subparagraph (1)(c)(i), a person is taken to have concealed goods from an officer of Customs if the person was required to give information about the goods to the Department in accordance with section 71, 71K or 71L and the person failed to do so.