84. False documents and declarations

(1)     Any person who makes a false statement in connection with any matter dealt with in this Act, or who makes use for the purposes of this Act of a declaration or document containing any such statement shall, unless he proves that he was ignorant of the falsity of such statement and that such ignorance was not due to negligence on his part, be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding R40 000 or treble the value of the goods to which such statement, declaration or document relates, whichever is the greater, or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding ten years, or to both such fine and such imprisonment, and the goods in respect of which such false statement was made or such false declaration or document was used shall be liable to forfeiture.

[Subsection (1) amended by section 15 of Act 52 of 1986 and section 11 of Act 105 of 1992]

(2)     For the purposes of subsection (1), any invoice or other document relating to any denomination, description, class, grade or quantity of goods shall be deemed to contain a false statement if the price charged by the exporter or any value, price, commission, discount, cost, charge, expense, royalty, freight, duty, tax, drawback, refund, rebate, remission or other information whatever declared therein which has a bearing on value for the purposes of payment of any duty or on classification in terms of any Schedule to this Act or on anti-dumping duty, countervailing duty or safeguard duty or on extent of rebate, refund or drawback of duty –

(a)     is not, except in so far as may be otherwise specified, exclusively related to goods of the denomination, description, class, grade or quantity declared in such invoice or document;

(b)     is influenced, adjusted or amended as a result of any separate transaction, arrangement, agreement or other consideration of any nature whatever particulars of which are not specified in such invoice or document;

(c)     represents any average or adjustment or amendment, particulars of which are not disclosed in such invoice or document, of such values, prices, commissions, discounts, costs, charges, expenses, royalties, freight, duties, taxes, drawbacks, refunds, rebates, remissions or other information in respect of goods of the same or of different denominations, descriptions, classes, grades or quantities supplied by the same supplier.

[Subsection (2) added by section 11 of Act 57 of 1966, amended by section 28 of Act 105 of 1969 and section 29 of Act 112 of 1977 and substituted by section 14 of Act 61 of 1992]