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207 of R v. Cohen, is also applicable:

“Another ingredient of the offence is the intent to defraud, and of this the jury

should be reminded, but, as in all cases where an intent to defraud is a necessary
ingredient, the intent must usually be inferred from the surrounding

circumstances. If a jury is satisfied that the accused knew, which would include a
case in which he had wilfully shut his eyes to the obvious, that the goods were

uncustomed, and he had them in his possession for use or sale, it would follow, in

the absence of any other circumstance, that he intended to defraud the revenue.
That there may be cases where the circumstances would negative the intent is

possible, but, ordinarily speaking, it is, indeed, difficult to see how it could be
found he did not intend to defraud the revenue, certainly in such a case as the

present, where the appellant not only had the goods in his possession for the
purpose of selling, but told lies to the officers when challenged on the matter.”

D. Making a False Declaration/Declaration Untrue in Any Material Particular
39
In certain jurisdictions , the offence of making a false declaration/declaration untrue in any
material particular, like the offence of importing a prohibited good, does not require mens rea as
an ingredient to constitute the offence. In these jurisdictions, the decisions of the Judicial

Committee of the Privy Council in Patel v. Comptroller of Customs [1965] 3 All ER 593
and Comptroller of Customs v. Western Lectric Co. Ltd [1965] 3 All ER 599, or the Court of

Appeal in Attorney General’s Reference (No. 3 of 1975) [1976] 2 All ER 798 is applicable

40
depending on the wording of the section. In other jurisdictions , the requirement for knowledge
exists and the offence is therefore more closely related to section 301(3) of the United

Kingdom’s Customs and Excise Act 1952, which was discussed in Attorney General’s Reference

(No. 3 of 1975).

39 See the Bahamas: Section 265(1) of the Customs Management Act, Barbados: Section 245(a) of the
Customs Act, Belize: Section 59 of the Customs Regulation Act, Guyana: Section 217(1)(a) of the
Customs Act, Jamaica: Sections 209(1)(a)(i) of the Customs Act, St. Lucia: Section 113(1)(a) of the
Customs (Control and Management) Act and Trinidad and Tobago: Section 212(a) of the Customs Act
40 See Antigua and Barbuda: Section 172 of the Customs (Control and Management) Act, Dominica:
Section 186(1)(a) of the Customs Act, Grenada: Section 176(1)(a) of the Customs Act, St. Kitts and
Nevis: Section 182(1)(a) of the Customs Act and St. Vincent and the Grenadines: Section 108(1)(a) of the
Customs (Control and Management) Act

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