Goods liable to forfeiture. 30. (1) Any goods in respect of which an offence under this Ordinance has been committed shall be liable to forfeiture, whether or not any person has been convicted of any such offence.
(2) Where goods are seized or detained by an authorized officer under section 15 the Director may at any time release such goods to the person who appears to him to be the owner thereof or to the authorized agent of the owner.
(3) Where the goods have not been released and an application for their forfeiture is to be made under section 31(1) the Director shall serve notice upon the owner of the goods requiring him to notify the Director in writing within the appropriate period under subsection (5) if he claims that the goods are not liable to forfeiture:
Provided that, if there is more than one owner of the goods, it shall be sufficient for the purposes of this subsection to give notice to one such owner.
(4) A notice under subsection (3) shall be deemed to have been duly served if—
- (a) it is delivered to the person on whom it is to be served;
- (b) it is sent by registered post addressed to such person at the place of residence or business of such person, if any, known to the Director; or
- (c) where it cannot be served in accordance with paragraph (a) or (b), the notice is exhibited at the head office of the Trade, Industry and Customs Department for a period of not less than 7 days.
(5) Where a notice is served under subsection (3) in respect of any goods seized or detained under this Ordinance any person (hereinafter in this section and in section 31 referred to as the claimant)—
- (a) who is the owner thereof or the authorized agent of the owner; ог
- (b) who was in possession of the goods when they were seized or detained,
may, within 30 days of—
- (i) the date of the notice, if it is served under subsection (4)(a) or (b); or
- (ii) the first day on which it is exhibited, if it is served under subsection (4)(c),
give notice in writing to the Director that he claims that the goods are not liable to forfeiture.
(6) If, on the expiry of the appropriate period of time specified in subsection (5) for the giving of a notice of claim under that subsection. no such notice is given in writing to the Director, and the goods in respect of which notice is given under subsection (3) have not been released, they shall be forfeited to the Crown.
(7) Where goods seized or detained under section 15 are goods to which a forged trade mark is applied, or to which a trade mark or mark so nearly resembling a trade mark as to be calculated to deceive is falsely applied, the Director shall, wherever reasonably practicable, notify the proprietor of the trade mark or his agent.
Application for forfeiture.
31. (1) Where a notice of claim is given under section 30(5) and the Director does not release the goods to the claimant, the Attorney