Section 7: Penalties for unlawful importation

(1) Any person who, at any time after the commencement of this Act, knowingly imports any goods liable under this Act to pre-shipment inspection otherwise than in compliance with the provisions of this Act, is guilty of an offence under this Act.
(2) Imports not accompanied with the relevant Import Duty Report are henceforth liable to be confiscated upon arrival in Nigerian territorial waters and the shippers responsible for transporting the goods into Nigeria shall upon conviction in a court of competent jurisdiction be liable to payment of fines not exceeding the value of the goods impounded.
(3) Any person guilty of an offence under this Act shall be liable upon conviction--
(a) in the case of an individual, to a fine of N50,000 or the value of the goods, whichever is higher, or to imprisonment for a term not more than twelve months or to both such fine and imprisonment; and
(b) in the case of a body corporate, to a fine of N100,000 or twice the value of goods, whichever is higher.
(4) In addition to the penalties prescribed in subsection (3) of this section, the goods in respect of which the offence was committed shall be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
(5) Where an offence under this section is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer, servant or agent of the body corporate (or any person purporting to act in such capacity), he as well as the body corporate shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence and may be proceeded against and punished in the same manner as an individual under paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of this section.
(6) For the purposes of subsection (2) of this section, "value" means the amount stated on the face of the document or documents relating to the transaction in question and, where this is not expressed in Nigerian currency, its equivalent in Nigerian currency:
Provided that nothing in this subsection shall be construed as precluding proof of value by any other method or means permitted by any other enactment or law (including rules of law).
(7) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this section, any person charged with an offence under this section, including-
(a) the importer of goods in respect of which the offence has been committed; or
(b) any consignee or endorsee for valuable consideration of any bill of lading or any other appropriate document representing goods to have been shipped to Nigeria; or
(c) any other person who in the normal course of his duties handles imported goods, may exonerate himself by showing that the goods in question were shipped without any default on his part or by the fraud or negligence of the overseas seller or of any other person.