to forfeiture liable to forfeiture, whether or not any person has been convicted of any such offence.
(2) Where goods are seized or detained by an authorized officer under section 13 the Minister may
at any time release such goods to the person who appears to him to be the owner thereof or to
the authorized agent of the owner.
(3) Where the goods have not been released and an application for their forfeiture is to be made
under section 28(1) the Minister shall serve notice upon the owner of the goods requiring him to
notify the Minister in writing within the appropriate period under subsection (4) if he claims that
the goods are not liable forfeiture:
Provided that, if there is more than one owner of the goods, it shall be sufficient for the purposes
of this subsection to give notice to one such owner.
(4) Where a notice is served under subsection (3) in respect of any goods seized or detained under
this Act any person (hereinafter in this section and in section 28 referred to as the claimant)
(a) who is the owner thereof or the authorized agent of the owner; or
(b) who was in possession of the goods when they were seized or detained,
may, within 30days of the date of the notice, give notice in writing to the Minister that he claims
that the goods are not liable to forfeiture.
(5) If, on the expiry of the period of time specified in subsection (4) for the giving of a notice of
claim under that subsection, no such notice is given in writing to the Minister, and the goods in
respect of which notice is given under subsection (3) have not been released, they shall be
forfeited to the Government.
(6)Where goods seized or detained under section 13 are goods to which a forged trade mark is
applied, or to which a trade mark or mark so nearly resembling a trade mark as to be calculated to
deceive is falsely applied, the Minister shall, wherever reasonably practicable, notify the proprietor
of the trade mark or his agent.
Applications 28. (1) Where a notice of claim is given under section 27 (4) and the Minister does not release the
for forfeiture goods to the claimant, the Attorney General on behalf of the Minister may apply to a magistrate,
or the High Court as the Attorney General thinks fit for the forfeiture of the goods.
(2)Where an application under subsection 91) is made to the High Court, it shall be made and
proceeded with in accordance with rules of court, and may be begun motion.
(3) Where an application under subsection (1) is made to a magistrate, the magistrate shall issue a
summons to the claimant requiring him to appear before a magistrate on the hearing of the
application and shall cause a copy of such summons to be served upon the Attorney General.
(4) If, on the hearing of the application under section (1)‐
(a) neither the claimant nor any other person appears before the court or magistrate to make
a claim and the court or magistrate is satisfied that notice of the date of the hearing issued
in accordance with rules of the court under subsection (2) or the summons issued under
subsection (3), as the case may be, was duly served on the claimant; or
(b) neither the claimant nor any person satisfies the court or magistrate that he has a claim,
and the court or magistrate is satisfied that the goods are liable to forfeiture, the court or
magistrate shall order that the goods be forfeited to the Government.
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