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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1988
SUCCESSFUL YEAR OF CUSTOMS TRADE CONTROLS
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THE TEAR 1987 SAW A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN CUSTOMS PROSECUTIONS AGAINST COMPUTER SOFTWARR COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT, INDICATING THAT THE PROBLEM HAS LARGELY KEPT BREN UNDER CONTROL.
A TOTAL OF 26 PROSECUTIONS WERE MADE LAST YEAR IN CONNECTION WITH SUCH OFFENCES, REPRESENTING A DECREASE OF 33.3 PER CENT over PREVIOUS YEAR AND RESULTING IN TOTAL FINES OF $92,100.
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THE VALUE OF COUNTERFEIT GOODS SEIZED BY THE CUSTOMS AND RXCISE DEPARTMENT LAST YEAR ALSO DROPPED BY 12.5 PER CENT TO A TOTAL OF $56 MILLION. THE SEIZURES WERE MOSTLY GARMENTS, WATCHES, LEATHER GOODS, FOODSTUFFS AND PLASTIC GOODS.
THERE WAS, HOWEVER, A 19.7 PER CENT INCREASE IN TERMS OF PROSECUTIONS UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF THE TRADE DESCRIPTIONS ORDINANCE REACHING A TOTAL OF 868 IN 1987. IN ADDITION TO TOTAL FINES OF ABOUT $5.03 MILLION, 30 IMPRISONMENT SENTENCES RANGING FROM ONE TO 18 MONTHS WERE ALSO IMPOSED.
WITH REGARD TO OTHER TRADE IRREGULARITIES, THE DEPARTMENT HAD PROSECUTED 1,005 CASES LAST YEAR, A 35.1 PER CENT INCREASE OVER 1986.
THE OFFENCES INCLUDED CONTRAVENTIONS OF FACTORY REGISTRATION CONDITIONS, FURNISHING OF FALSE INFORMATION IN APPLICATION FOR CERTIFICATES OF ORIGIN, EXPORTS OF HIGH TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS WITHOUT VALID LICENCES, UNDER-VALUATION OF IMPORT AND EXPORT DECLARATIONS, AND TEXTILES LICENSING FRAUD.
FINES IMPOSED INCREASED BY 21.6 PER CENT FROM $17.01 MILLION IN 1986 TO $20.68 MILLION IN 1987. IN ADDITION ΤΟ TWO SUSPENDED CUSTODIAL SENTENCES FROM ONE TO TWO MONTHS.
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