Moving and Clearing Warehoused Goods

In one line

Sections 67 to 70 are the lawful exits from a warehouse: to another warehouse, into the country on payment of duty, or out of the country without paying it. Precisely: section 67 governs removal from one warehouse to another; section 68 governs clearance for home consumption; section 69 governs clearance for export; and section 70 allows an allowance for volatile goods.

Why the exits are defined exhaustively

Because everything the warehousing chapter has built rests on the goods being where they are said to be. The bond secures duty on goods in a warehouse; the period runs on goods in a warehouse; the officer's control assumes goods in a warehouse. If goods could leave by any route not provided for, the whole structure would be worth nothing.

So section 71 states the rule negatively, that no warehoused goods shall be taken out of a warehouse except as provided by the Act, and sections 67, 68 and 69 are the three ways provided. Anything else is an improper removal under section 72, which is the subject of the next chapter.

The provisions

Section 67, removal of goods from one warehouse to another. The owner of any warehoused goods may, with the permission of the proper officer, remove them from one warehouse to another, subject to such conditions as may be prescribed for the due arrival of the goods at the warehouse to which removal is permitted.

Two points follow. The permission is of the proper officer, and the conditions prescribed are directed at due arrival, which is the same protection used in section 54(3) for transhipment: a bond, a movement under a prescribed procedure, and an acknowledgement at the destination. And under section 59(5) the original bond continues in force notwithstanding the removal, so relocation changes nothing about the security.

Section 68, clearance of warehoused goods for home consumption. The importer of any warehoused goods may clear them for home consumption if:

(a) a bill of entry for home consumption in respect of such goods has been presented in the prescribed form and manner;

(b) the import duty, interest, fine and penalties payable in respect of such goods have been paid; and

(c) an order for clearance of such goods for home consumption has been made by the proper officer.

The first proviso permits the owner of any warehoused goods to take, at any time, samples of such goods without payment of duty, subject to prescribed conditions.

The third proviso is the relinquishment right and it is examinable. The owner of any warehoused goods may, at any time before an order for clearance of goods for home consumption has been made in respect of such goods, relinquish his title to the goods upon payment of penalties that may be payable in respect of the goods, and thereupon he shall not be liable to pay duty thereon.