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Licensing Act 2003

Section 144 – Keeping of smuggled goods

229.This section provides that it is an offence knowingly to keep or allow to be kept, on relevant premises (see the definition in section 159), any unlawfully imported goods or goods on which duty has not been paid. Subsection (2) sets out the categories of person who may commit the offence. These are

  • any person who works at the premises in a capacity that gives him the authority to prevent those goods from being kept on the premises,

  • a premises licence holder or designated premises supervisor,

  • an officer or member of a club who is present at the time when the goods are kept on the premises and who has authority to prevent them being so kept, and

  • a premises user (see the definition in section 100(2)) who has given a temporary event notice in respect of those premises.

Subsection (4) provides that a court which convicts a person of this offence may order the confiscation of the goods in question and their containers, which may then be either destroyed or dealt with as the court orders.

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