Customs Consolidation Act 1853
(16 & 17 Vict.) C A P. CVII.
[20th August 1853]
'WHEREAS it is expedient that the several Acts now in force for the Management and Regulation of Customs, the Prevention of Smuggling, the Encouragement ofBritish Shipping and Navigation, the Warehousing of Goods, the granting of Drawbacks and Allowances of Customs, the Regulation of the Tradeof theBritish Possessions abroad and of the Isle of Man , should be consolidated into One Act:' Be it therefore enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of the same, as follows:
As to the Appointment of Officers of Customs, Ports, &c.:
I Appointment of Officers.
I. It shall be lawful for the Commissioners of the Treasury or, under their Authority, the Commissioners of Customs, to appoint proper Persons for the Management and Collection of the Customs, and the Performance of all Duties connected therewith, under the Control and Direction of the Commissioners of Customs, and to grant to such Persons such Salaries or Allowances, or to permit them to receive such Emolumentsfor executing the Duties of their respective Offices, as may be proper, and to require of such Persons such Securities for their good Conduct as the said Commissioners of the Customs shall deem necessary; and such Persons shall hold their Offices during the Pleasure of the Commissioners of the Treasuryor of the Commissioners of Customs; and all Salaries or Allowances granted to any Officer or other Person in the Service of the Customs shall be paid without any Deduction on account of any Duties imposed by any Act of Parliament, unless expressly charged thereon; and when any Sum of Moneyshall have been or shall be granted annually or otherwise to any Person who has been or shall have been employed in the Service of the Customs as a Superannuation Allowance upon the Retirement of such Person from such Service, or as a Compensation for past Services, it shall not be lawful for the Grantee of such Allowance or Compensation to assign or dispose of the same to any Person or Persons whomsoever, and any such Assignment or Disposition shall be void to all Intents and Purposes, and shall not be enforced in any Court of Law or Equity.
II Persons employed on Service of the Customs to be deemed Officers for such Service.
II. Every Person employed on any Duty or Service relating to the Customs, Trade, or Navigation, either in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, or any of Her Majesty's Possessions abroad, by the Orders or with the Concurrence of the Commissioners of Customs (whether previously or subsequently expressed), shall be deemed to be the Officer for that Duty or Service; and every Act required by Law to be done by or with any particular Officer nominated for such Purpose, if done by or with any Person appointed by the Commissioners of Customs to act for such particular Officer, shall be deemed to be done by or with such particular Officer; and every Act required by Law to be done at any particular Place within any Port, if done at any Place within such Port appointed by the Commissioners of Customs for such Purpose, shall be deemed to be done at the particular Place so required by Law; and all Commissions, Deputations, and Appointments granted to any Officers of the Customs in force at the Commencement of this Act shall continue in force as if the same had been granted under the Authority of this Act, and all Bonds or other Securities which shall have been given by or for any such Officers and their respective Sureties for good Conduct or otherwise shall remain in full Force.
III Officers taking Fee or Reward not authorized by Law, to be dismissed.
III. If any Officer, Clerk, or other Person acting in any Office or Employment in or belonging to the Customs shall accept any Fee, Perquisite, or Reward, whether pecuniary or otherwise, directly or indirectly, from any Person (not being a Person appointed to some Office in the Customs) on account of anything done or omitted to be done by him in or in any way relating to his said Office or Employment, except such as he shall receive under Permission of the Commissioners of the Treasury, such Officer, Clerk, or other Person so offending shall, on Proof thereof to the Satisfaction of the Commissioners of Customs, be dismissed from his Office.
IV Declaration on Admission to Office.
IV. Every Person who shall be appointed to any Office or Employment in the Customs, under the Control and Direction of the Commissioners of Customs, shall on his Admission thereto make the following Declaration:
'IA.B. do declare, That I will be true and faithful in the Execution, to the best of my Knowledge and Power, of the Trust committed to my Charge and Inspection in the Service of Her Majesty's Customs; and that I will not require, take, or receive any Fee, Perquisite, Gratuity, or Reward, whether pecuniary or of any Sort or Description whatever, either directly or indirectly, for any Service, Act, Duty, Matter, or Thing done or performed or to be done or performed in the Execution or Discharge of any of the Duties of my Office or Employment, on any Account whatever, other than my Salary and what is or shall be allowed me by Law, or by any special Order of the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury or the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Customs for the Time being.'
V Hours of Attendance; Division of Duties.
V. The Commissioners of the Treasury may, by their Warrant, from Time to Time appoint the Hours of general Attendance of the Commissioners and Officers of Customs, and of other Persons in the Customs Service, at their proper Offices and Places of Employment; and the Commissioners of Customs may appoint the Times during such Hours at which any particular Parts of the Duties of any such Officers and other Persons shall be performed.
VI Appointment of Officers, Ports, &c.
VI. No Day shall be kept as a public Holiday by the Customs except everyChristmas Day and Good Friday , and such other Days as may be appointed to be kept as such by Her Majesty's Proclamation, and, so far as regards Scotland , such Days as shall be appointed to be so kept by Authority of the General Assembly, and also such Days as shall have been or may be appointed for the Celebration of the Birthdays of Her Majesty and of Her Successors, and such Days shall be kept as public Holidays by the Officers and Servants of the Dock Companies in the United Kingdom.
VII Officers of Customs not to serve in public Offices.
VII. No Commissioner, Officer, Clerk, or other Person acting in the Management or Collection of the Customs shall be compelled to serve in the Militia, or on any Jury or Inquest, or to assume the Office of a Mayor or Sheriff, or to act in any corporate, parochial, or other public Office.
VIII What shall be deemed Orders, &c. of Commissioners of Customs.
VIII. Every Order, Document, or Instrument required by Law to be under the Hands of the Commissioners of Customs, but not required to be signed by Two or more of them, being attested by the Signature of any One of such Commissioners, and every Order, Document, or Instrument required by any Law to be under the Hands or under the Hands and Seals of the Commissioners of Customs, being attested by the Hands or the Hands and Seals of Two or more of such Commissioners, shall be deemed to be an Order, Document, or Instrument under the Hands, or under the Hands and Seals, as the Case may be, of the Commissioners of Customs; and all Orders and Regulations made by the Commissioners of Customs under any Act or Acts relating to the Customs, now repealed, shall remain in force until altered, revoked, or rescinded, or others made by them in lieu thereof, and all Acts done in pursuance of any such Orders and Regulations shall be and are hereby declared to be valid.
As to the Appointment of Ports, Quays, Warehouses, Sufferance Wharfs, Landing and BoardingStations:
IX Treasury may appoint Ports and Quays, and alter or annul the same.
IX. The Commissioners of the Treasury may, by their Warrant, appoint any Port or Sub-Port in the United Kingdom, or in the Channel Islands, and declare the Limits thereof, and appoint proper Places within the same to be Legal Quays for the lading and unlading of Goods, and declare the Bounds and Extent of any such Quays, or annul the Limits of any Port, Sub-Port, Haven, Creek, or Legal Quay, already appointed or to be hereafter set out and appointed, and declare the same to be no longer a Port, Sub-Port, Haven, Creek, or Legal Quay, or alter or vary the Names, Bounds, and Limitsthereof; and all Ports, Havens, and Creeks, and the respective Limits thereof, and all Legal Quays, appointed, set out, and existing as such at the Time of the passing of this Act, shall continue to be such Ports, Havens, Creeks, and Quays until annulled, varied, or altered; and any Port, Haven, Creek, or Quay, or the Limits thereof, now annulled or altered, shall continue so annulled or altered until otherwise varied or altered as aforesaid.
X Treasury may appoint Warehousing Ports.
X. The Commissioners of the Treasury...
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