CUSTOMS LEGISLATION PRIOR TO 1825

By the early 1700s there were 1500 statutes concerning customs! Various attempts had been made from 1660 onwards to 'consolidate' them. But Pitt's Act of 1787 was a consolidation and reform of rates and accounts rather than of procedure. In 1797, a committee of the House of Commons reported that the Customs Acts filled 'six large volumes in folio, without any index, not published, and not to be commonly obtained by purchase'

In 1810 the Lords of the Treasury decided they wanted a 'digest' of Customs laws and the job was given to Nicholas Jickling, who had already devoted nearly 20 years of his life to assimilating and compiling Customs law. In 1815 Jickling produced his digest of 1375 quarto - about A3 size - pages. The laws themselves however were still numerous and confused, often contradictory and sometimes unintelligible. They had in fact been described as the 'intricate and labyrinthine chaos of our Custom House legislation'.

1793 - IMMIGRATION ACT

The Immigration Act of 1793 required that the Master or Commander of every Ship or Vessel arriving at any port in the UK, should immediately on his arrival, declare in writing to the Collector and Comptroller, or other Chief Officer of the Customs, whether there were any foreigns on board. It also required the alien to state in writing his name, rank, occupation and description to Customs and to obtain from the Customs Officer a certificate of having made a Declaration, containing the full particulars given.

Clause XXII of the 1793 Act read: 'Every Custom House Officer, Magistrate or Justice as aforesaid shall, with all convenient Diligence, transmit to one of His Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State copies of all such Accounts in Writing ... keeping all ... all such Passports and Certificates, as far as may be, from being made publick.'

1825 - CUSTOMS  CONSOLIDATION ACT

In 1822 James Deacon Hume, one of the officers in London Port's Long Room, had the idea of consolidating and re-enacting all the Customs laws into a systemised series of statutes under a number of headings describing the different procedures Customs carried out, such as management, smuggling, tariff and warehousing. The Treasury agreed and Hume, relieved of his duties in the Long Room, set to work in chambers at Westminster. Hume's Bills were presented to Parliament and received the Royal Assent in July 1825.

1836 - REGISTRATION OF ALIENS ACT

This Act reduced the requirement for the master of a ship, to deliver to the Chief Officer of Customs a list of aliens in his ship, and the third section of the new Act said each alien passenger was now only required to present his passport to the Chief Officer of Customs, and to declare his name, the country of which he was a subject and the date and place of his landing.

1847 - HARBOURS, DOCKS AND PIERS ACT

The Act stipulates that the construction of  the accommodation for Customs Officers, and their watchhouses or boathouses, huts and weighing materials shall be on a suitable spot within or near to the Harbour, Dock or Pier, and is to be to the satisfaction of the Commisioners. The Act also states that  the accommodation, watchhouses, boathouses, huts and weighing materials be kept in good and sufficient repair or the Harbours, Docks and Piers authority shall forfeit the Sum of One hundred Pounds for every Month during which they continue to be out of repair .

1853 - CUSTOMS CONSOLIDATION ACT

By the 1830's the number of amendments to the 1825 Act had became so perplexing that a further consolidation had to be undertaken. The Board's Solicitor, Sir Felix Hamel, suggested consolidating all the revenue provisions into a single Act, leaving the non-revenue provisions such as the Registry of Shipping outside the general body of Customs Law. This proposal was adopted and became the Consolidation Act of 1853.

1856 - COAST-GUARD SERVICE ACT

The role of naval reserve and coast defence force was sealed when the Coast Guard Act (1856) passed control from the Board of Customs to the Admiralty. Though still available for revenue protection, Coastguards were trained to supplement naval crews and to take charge at wrecks and to save lives. The Board of Trade issued life saving apparatus to Coastguard stations, thus fulfilling its responsibility for safety at sea imposed by the 1854 Merchant Shipping Act.

1876 - CUSTOMS CONSOLIDATION ACT

Another attempt at making sense of what was still 'an intricate and labyrinthine chaos of Custom House legislation' was made by this Consolidation Act of 1876. Although this was still in effect only a 'foreword' to and an 'introduction of various amendments' to those previous Acts of Parliament that were to remain in force until the Customs and Excise Act 1952.

1877 - CUSTOMS, INLAND REVENUE AMD SAVINGS BANKS ACT

An Act to grant certain Duties of Customs - Tea - and Inland Revenue, and to amend the Laws relating to Customs, Inland Revenue, and Savings Banks.

1879 - CUSTOMS AND INLAND REVENUE ACT

An Act to grant certain Duties of Customs and Inland Revenue, and to amend the Laws relating to Customs and Inland Revenue.

1879 - CUSTOMS BULDINGS ACT

An Act for the transfer of property held for the service of HM Customs to the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Works and Public Buildings.

1881 - CUSTOMS AND INLAND REVENUE ACT

An Act to grant certain Duties of Customs and Inland Revenue, to alter other Duties and to amend the Laws relating to Customs and Inland Revenue.

1883 - CUSTOMS AND INLAND REVENUE ACT

An Act to grant certain Duties of Customs and Inland Revenue, to alter other Duties and to amend the Laws relating to Customs and Inland Revenue.

1883 - REVENUE ACT

An Act to amend the law relating to the Customs and Inland Revenue, and to make other provisions respecting charges payable out of the public revenue, and for other purposes

1884 - REVENUE ACT

An Act to amend the law relating to the Customs and Inland Revenue, and to the Audit of Public Accounts, and for other purposes connected with the Public Revenue and Expenditure

1889 - REVENUE ACT

An Act to amend the Law relating to the Customs and Inland Revenue, and for other purposes connected with the Public Revenue and Expenditure.

1893 - CUSTOMS AND INLAND REVENUE ACT

An Act to grant certain Duties of Customs and Inland Revenue, to repeal and alter other Duties and to amend the Law relating to Customs and Inland Revenue.

1894 - MERCHANT SHIPPING ACT

This Act made it compulsory for fishing boats to be registered (with Customs?) and their registration marks and numbers to be inscribed on the hull.

1898 - REVENUE ACT

An Act to amend the Law relating to the Customs and Inland Revenue, and for other purposes connected with Finance.

1903 - REVENUE ACT

An Act to make certain amendments of the Law relating to Customs and Inland Revenue, and of the Law relating to the powers and duties of the National Debt Commissioners.

1908 - FINANCE ACT

The 1908 Finance Act transferred the management of Excise Duties and the associated powers and duties of the Commissioners of Inland Revenue, to the Commissioners of Customs & Excise.

1909 - REVENUE ACT

An Act to amend the Law relating to Customs and Inland Revenue, and for other purposes connected with Finance.

1920 - DANGEROUS DRUGS ACT 1920

The 1920 Act prohibited the importation and exportation of certain dangerous drugs which included opium, cocaine, morphine and diamorphine save under licence granted by the Secretary of State.  The drugs to which the Act applied could be extended in future, by Order in Council, where such drugs were considered ‘likely to be productive, if improperly used, of ill effects . . . analogous to those produced by morphine or cocaine’. Breaches of the Act or any regulation made under it would be criminal offences. This Act, which was replaced by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1951, is still being researched in relation to the work of the Waterguard.

1922 - 'HIGHMORE'S' CUSTOMS LAW 

The third edition of Sir Nathaniel J Highmore, GBE & KCB's 'The Customs Laws', revised by the original author and GH Denniss CBE, was issued by HMSO in 1922. This attempted to set out the Customs laws that were then in force. Although not an Act of Parliament itself, it was a useful guide to the law and used by HM Customs staff.

1923 - LAND BOUNDARY REGULATIONS

Following 'Partition' in 1923, these regulations laid out the requirements for persons and goods moving between the Irish Republic (Eire) and Northern Ireland (Ulster).

1925 - COASTGUARD ACT

In 1923 the Coastguard were placed under the Board of Trade and its role restricted to life saving, salvage from wreck and the administration of the foreshore - the new force was sanctioned by the Coastguard Act of 1925.

1939 - IMPORT, EXPORT & CUSTOMS POWERS (DEFENCE) ACT

This Act concerned prohibitions and restrictions at the outbreak of World War II.

1947 - EXCHANGE CONTROL ACT

The Exchange Control Act of 1947 made it an offence to import UK and Channel Island bank notes in excess of £10 or to export UK and Channel Island bank notes in excess of £10, and most other means of monetary exchange except with Treasury permission. The Waterguard were charged with policing these restrictions in respect of passengers arriving in or departing from the UK. These controls were gradually relaxed throughout the late 1960s and 1970s.

1951 - DANGEROUS DRUGS ACT

This Act, which was replaced by the Dangerous Drugs Acts of 1964 & 1965, is still being researched in relation to the work of the Waterguard.

1952 - CUSTOMS & EXCISE ACT

The Customs & Excise Act of 1952, although its pre-amble describes it as 'An Act to consolidate with amendments certain enactments relating to customs and excise and to extend certain provisions of those enactments to any other matter in relation to which the Commissioners of Customs and Excise are for the time being required in pursuance of any enactment to perform any duties.'  was in effect a complete re-write of the law relating to HM Customs & Excise in the United Kingdom - and not before time!

The sections of the 1952 Act most used by the Waterguard were:

1952 - VISITING FORCES ACT

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization - NATO - was formed in 1947 to combat the perceived threat from Eastern Europe in what became known as The Cold War. The countries of Western Europe, Canada and the United States formed this alliance to give each other mutual support. The treaty also gave the USA the opportunity to station their Armed Forces in Western Europe and their service men, and their dependants, the ability to move freely between and within the member countries, and to live duty and tax free in those countries.

To deal with this new situation the British Government passed the Visiting Forces Act 1952 and HMC&E issued General Order 3/1954 which set out new and appropriate Customs procedures.

1958 - IMPORT DUTIES ACT

This Act concerning protective duties is still being researched  in relation to the work of the Waterguard.

1965 - DANGEROUS DRUGS ACT

This Act, which was replaced by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, is still being fully researched in relation to the work of the Waterguard. It came into operation on 2nd June, 1965 and consolidated and repealed the Dangerous Drugs Acts, 1951 and 1964 and repealed Section 320(3) of the Customs and Excise Act, 1952.

There were no changes in practice as far as the Waterguard were concerned except that charges under Sections 45, 56 and 304 of the Customs and Excise Act, 1952, referred to the prohibition imposed under the Dangerous Drugs Act, 1965, thereafter.

1971 - MISUSE OF DRUGS ACT

This Act replaced the Dangerous Drugs Act 1965.

1972 - ISLAND OF ROCKALL ACT

An Act to make provision for the incorporation of that part of Her Majesty's Dominions known as the Island of Rockall into that part of the United Kingdom known as Scotland, and for purposes connected therewith.

CABOTAGE

Cabotage originally meant the transport of goods or passengers between two points in the same country. In the Middle Ages it was seen as the exclusive right of a country to trade or navigate in its own coastal waters. This was re-defined over time to mean the exclusive rights to transport goods or passengers by sea, road, railway or air traffic within its own territory. Politically, cabotage regulations restricting trade to domestic carriers are a form of protectionism. Justifications for cabotage regulations include national security and the need to regulate public safety. Most countries do not permit cabotage by foreign companies although this changed within Europe with the introduction of the European Union.

Cabotage is commonly used as part of the term 'cabotage rights' - the negotiated right of a company from one country to trade in another country. In aviation terms it is the right to operate within the domestic borders of another country.

The Government department concerned with cabotage law and regulation in the UK is The Department of Transport.

THE CHANNEL ISLANDS & THE ISLE OF MAN

These islands are British Crown dependencies and not part of the United Kingdom. However foreign relations, defence, and good governance of the islands are the responsibility of the government of the United Kingdom. They have their own Customs regulations and therefore determine their own rates of tax and duties. In the 1970's they separately rejected membership of the European Union, but retained a limited relationship concerning the free movement of goods. The Customs relationships between these islands and the UK were set out in the various Customs Acts and Customs & Excise Acts but often required amplification and clarification.

CAUTIONS - THE JUDGES' RULES

Most of the offences detected and dealt with by the Waterguard were during rummage of ships and aircraft or the clearance of passengers and crews' baggage. Once an offence under the Customs & Excise Acts had been detected and an offender identified any further questioning of the suspect, and any subsequent statements taken, were in accordance with The Judges' Rules which were first issued in 1912 by the judges of the King's Bench to give English police forces guidance on the procedures that they should follow in detaining and questioning suspects. They were not rules of law, but rather rules of practice. The Rules, which were used by HM Customs

• allowed the questioning of any person with a view to finding out whether, or by whom, an offence had been committed,

• required the giving of a caution when reasonable grounds had been established to suspect that a person had committed an offence,

• required giving a further caution when a person was charged and prohibited questioning after charging save in exceptional circumstances,

• required a record of questioning to be kept,

• gave guidance on the best way to record a formal written statement.

The rules also included further administrative guidance, on access to defence counsel, and on questioning children and foreigners. Five further rules were added to the original four Rules in 1918, and the rules were further explained in 1934 in a Home Office Circular - 536053/23 - and were reissued in 1964 as Practice Note (Judges' Rules).