Customs Ordinance [New Version]

Period — Drawback

Within one year — 100%

After the end of one year but not later than two years — 90%

After the end of two years but not later than two years and three months — 60%

After the end of two years and three months but not more than two years and six months — 40%

After the end of two years and six months but not later than two years and nine months — 20%

A drawback claim under sections 156 and 157 shall be submitted to the collector of customs on the prescribed form.

In respect of goods of any type or description manufactured in Israel that are exported abroad, or that are not exported but are of a type whose importation is exempt from customs duty, or to which an exemption from purchase tax applies if they are sold to an immigrant within the meaning of the Schedule to the Customs Tariff and Exemptions Ordinance, 1937, the Minister of Finance may, by Order, permit drawback from the customs duty imposed on any goods used in their manufacture, or on some of them, and may specify the conditions under which the drawback is to be given; the rate of drawback shall be determined in the Order, as a percentage of the customs duty paid on the goods used in the manufacture as aforesaid, or in such other manner as the Minister of Finance may determine.

Where the Director has deferred the time for payment of customs duty as referred to in subsection (a)(2) of section 160b and the customs duty or interest as determined by the Director pursuant to subsections (b) and (c) of the said section has not been paid, the Director may decline to grant a permit in respect of goods of the debtor included in another import declaration submitted by him, until the customs duty and the interest have been paid.

The Minister of Finance may make Regulations for the implementation of drawback under this Chapter and for the protection of State revenue, including Regulations empowering a customs officer to require any person concerned in the matter to furnish him with any information required by the Director in order to determine whether customs duty has been paid on the goods in respect of which the claim has been submitted or whether payment thereof has been deferred, and to submit to him books of account or any other document relating to those goods.

A person who contravenes a regulation made under this Chapter shall be liable to a fine of 1,000 liras for each offence or three times the amount of revenue that was prevented or could have been prevented from reaching the State Treasury as a result of the offence, whichever is the greater.

A vessel that trades or sails or travels from a port or place in Israel to a port or place in Israel, and does not trade or sail or travel to a port or place outside Israel, shall be regarded as engaged in coastal navigation and as a coastal vessel for the purposes of this Ordinance.

The master of a coastal vessel shall not permit goods to be brought from another vessel into his vessel on the open sea, or goods to be transferred from his vessel to another vessel there, except with the permission of the collector of customs; nor shall he permit his vessel to deviate from its course, unless he was compelled to do so by force of circumstances that could not be prevented, or circumstances for which an explanation satisfactory to the collector of customs was given at the earliest opportunity.

The owner of a vessel engaged in coastal trade may, with the permission of the collector of customs, make a report in place of the master upon the arrival and departure of the vessel, and the owner of such a vessel who makes a report shall be subject to every provision and liable to every penalty prescribed in this Ordinance in relation to the master of the vessel.

The master of a coastal vessel or the owner of the vessel shall furnish the collector of customs with particulars of all cargo on board.

Any customs officer may require an agent to produce written authority from the person on whose behalf he claims to be acting, and if he does not produce such authority, the customs officer may refuse to recognise his agency.

The commander of a craft in the service of the State or in the service of the customs authority, having hoisted and flown the proper flag or the customs authority flag, as well as the officer in charge of such a craft, may pursue a vessel within the coastal waters of Israel that has not stopped after having been lawfully required, by signal or otherwise, to do so, and may, after firing a warning shot, fire at or into the vessel in order to compel it to stop.

A customs officer may, at the risk of the owner of the goods, open packages or require the owner of the goods to open them; and may examine, weigh, mark and seal goods that are subject to customs supervision, and the costs of examination, including the costs of removing the goods to the place of examination, shall be borne by the owner of the goods.

A customs officer may –

The power vested in a customs officer to board a vessel includes the power to remain on it; and the collector of customs may station a customs officer on board the vessel, and the master shall be obliged to provide that customs officer, free of charge, with suitable accommodation and with suitable and sufficient food.

The power of a customs officer to search extends to every part of a vessel, conveyance or railway vehicle and includes the power to open any package, drawer or place and to examine any goods.

The power of a customs officer to secure goods includes the closing of hatches and other openings leading into the hold of the vessel, the locking, sealing, marking and fastening of goods by any other means of security, as well as their removal to the customs warehouse.

No fastening, lock, mark or seal placed by a customs officer on goods or on a door, hatch, opening or other place within a vessel, conveyance or railway vehicle shall be opened, altered, broken or erased except by authority, for so long as the goods that have been secured, or that are intended to be secured, by any of the aforesaid means are under the supervision of the customs authority.

No fastening, lock, mark or seal placed by a customs officer on goods or on a door, hatch, opening or place, with intent to secure the stores of a vessel that has arrived at a port in Israel from a foreign port and is bound for another port in Israel, shall be opened, altered, broken or erased except by authority; if a vessel enters a port when any of the foregoing has been done thereon in contravention of the provisions of this section, the master shall be guilty of an offence against this Ordinance.

A customs officer and any person assisting him while he is performing his duties may freely patrol and pass through any part of a seashore or along a railway or along the shores of a port, bay, lake or river, or along a road or railway track or over land.

The customs officer at the time in charge of a craft employed in the service of the customs authority may haul that craft over any part of a seashore or along the shores of a port, bay, lake or river, and moor it there for such time as he considers necessary.

A customs officer may question any person on board a vessel or other conveyance, or who may have landed or disembarked therefrom, as to whether that person has on his person, in his possession or in his baggage any dutiable goods or any goods whose exportation or importation is prohibited, restricted or otherwise regulated.

"external search" – any of the following:

"customs officer belonging to the drug enforcement unit of the customs authority" – a customs officer appointed to that unit by the Director of Customs with the consent of the Minister of Police, after having received appropriate training as determined by the Director of Customs;

"senior customs officer" – a customs officer who is one of the following:

"border station" – a border station designated by the Minister of Interior by Order under the Entry into Israel Law, 5712-1952.

A customs officer or police officer may, on reasonable suspicion, stop a conveyance and search it in order to ascertain whether it unlawfully contains dutiable goods or goods whose importation is prohibited, restricted or otherwise regulated, and the driver shall stop the conveyance and permit such a search whenever a customs officer or police officer so requires of him.

For the purpose of preventing offences against the customs laws or detecting them, a customs officer may exercise any or all of the powers of a police officer, either generally or in a particular case or a particular class of cases; however, a search of a person's body shall be carried out only pursuant to section 184.

Any person who lawfully seizes under the customs laws may demand the assistance of any person present at the scene, and that person is obliged to render the assistance demanded.

The Director may authorise any vessel, conveyance or goods that have been seized to be delivered to the claimant after he has given security for the payment of their value if they are condemned.

The customs authority may sell, destroy or otherwise deal with a forfeited vessel, conveyance or goods in the manner directed or to be directed by the Director.

Where goods have been seized by a person who is not a customs officer, they shall be transferred immediately to the nearest customs house and delivered there into the hands of a customs officer.

A customs officer or police officer may, without a warrant, arrest any person whom they have reasonable grounds to believe is guilty of smuggling or of unlawfully carrying or possessing smuggled goods, or of attempting to commit any of those offences or of being involved in the commission thereof.

Where the collector of customs has been notified that goods have been smuggled, or that their value has been under-declared, or that an import declaration or export declaration has been submitted in respect of them unlawfully, or that they have been dealt with unlawfully, or that there is an intention to do any of those things in respect of them, and also where goods have been seized or detained – the owner of the goods shall, immediately upon being required to do so by the collector of customs or another customs officer, produce and deliver to him all books and documents relating to those goods, or to other goods imported or exported within the five years immediately preceding the date of the requirement, and shall also produce for inspection by the collector of customs or another customs officer all books and documents containing any entry or memorandum relating in any way to those goods, and shall permit them or their authorised representatives in that regard to make copies or transcripts of those books or documents.

The collector of customs may impound or retain in his possession any document produced to him in connection with a declaration under this Ordinance or required to be produced under this Ordinance; provided that any person who would be entitled to the document but for the impounding or retention shall be entitled to receive a copy thereof certified by the collector of customs as a true copy, and such copy shall be admissible in evidence in all courts and shall have the same effect as the original.

The collector of customs may require the owner of goods to prove, by declaration or by the production of documents, that he is the owner of the goods as he claims, and that their description or the particulars included in respect of them in the import declaration or export declaration are correct; and the collector of customs may refuse to deliver the goods or to grant clearance in respect of the goods included in such declaration until proof as aforesaid has been furnished to him.

A customs officer may take samples from goods under the control of the customs authority for any purpose which the collector of customs considers necessary, and may use them, or deal with them in the prescribed manner; and no payment shall be made for such samples.

The Director may grant, subject to the prescribed conditions:

The Director shall return to the depositor of the guarantee the guarantees deposited by him as set out below and in accordance with the circumstances:

Infringing goods imported into the country shall be treated as goods whose import and export is prohibited under this Ordinance.

Sections 200a to 200c shall not apply to infringing goods imported for personal use as defined in section 129.

The provisions of sections 200a to 200d are in addition to the powers of the Director under any law.

Without derogating from the provisions of section 200a, where the Director has been informed that the Standards Commissioner has decided to carry out a sample examination of goods or of a product file, as referred to in section 2o(a1) of the Import and Export Ordinance, the Director shall order the withholding of the release of the goods pending the decision of the Standards Commissioner pursuant to section 2o(a2) or (a3) or section 2p1(c)(2)(e) of that Ordinance; in this section, "goods", "Standards Commissioner" and "product file" – as defined in section 2a(a) of the Import and Export Ordinance.

Without derogating from the provisions of section 200a, where the Standards Commissioner has exercised any of his powers under section 2a(f) to (j) of the Import and Export Ordinance in respect of an importer in breach of trust, the Director shall order the withholding of the release of the goods or their release subject to conditions, all in accordance with the decision notified to the Director by the Standards Commissioner, pursuant to the powers vested in the Standards Commissioner under that Ordinance; in this section, "Standards Commissioner" and "in breach of trust" – as defined in section 2a(a) and (f) of the Import and Export Ordinance, respectively.

A customs officer shall not be liable for the seizure of goods under this Ordinance if there was reasonable cause for that seizure; and where a plaintiff succeeds in recovering a vessel, conveyance or goods seized, or the proceeds of their sale, and it is found that there was such cause, that finding shall serve as a shield against proceedings against customs officers who were involved in the seizure.

The Director may impose on a customs officer whose annual salary excluding allowances is less than 300 pounds a fine not exceeding three days' pay on account of negligence, misconduct, tardiness or breach of discipline.