New Zealand Legislation: Acts

18B Director-General may release seized property under bond

• (1) The Director-General may, at any time until an information or charge is laid in respect of the alleged offence for which the property was seized, at his or her discretion or on application by—

  • (a) The person from whom the property was seized; or

  • (b) The owner or person entitled to the possession of the property seized or any person having a legal or equitable interest in the property,—

  release the property to any such person under bond in such sum and under such sureties and conditions (if any) as the Director-General may specify.

  (2) If any person to whom property is released under subsection (1) of this section fails to comply with the conditions of any bond or with any condition specified by the Director-General,—

  • (a) The property may be reseized at any time at the direction of the Director-General; and

  • (b) The provisions of this section shall thereupon apply to the property as if it had been seized under section 18A of this Act; and

  • (c) The Director-General may, in the case of failure to comply with the conditions of any bond, apply to a court presided over by a District Court Judge for an order for estreat of the bond; and

  • (d) If the Director-General so applies, the Registrar shall fix a time and place for the hearing of the application, and shall, not less than 7 days before the time fixed, cause to be served on every person bound by the bond a notice of the time and place so fixed; and

  • (e) If on the hearing of any such application it is proved to the satisfaction of the Court that any condition of the bond has not been kept, the Court may make an order to estreat the bond to such an amount as it thinks fit to any person bound thereby on whom notice is proved to have been served in accordance with this subsection; and

  • (f) Any penalty payable in accordance with this subsection shall be recoverable as if it were a fine.

  Sections 18A to 18J were inserted, as from 1 October 1996, by section 316(1) Fisheries Act 1996 (1996 No 88). See clause 2 Fisheries Act Commencement Order (No 2) 1996 (SR 1996/255).