Customs are to get tough on the rising number of duty evaders with more court cases plus on-the-spot fines at the airport. Last year Customs? five-person investigation team dealt with 298 cases of duty evasion ? up by more than 100 from the previous year.

The investigations netted an additional revenue of nearly $100,000. Other statistics revealed by Customs show there were 287 cases of revenue fraud in the 2003-04 financial year which resulted in nearly $250,000 in fines.

There were also 724 cases of forced payments at the airport where people had to cough up for items under $250, netting another $34,000 for Government.

Such people will now be liable for on-the-spot fines said Collector of Customs Winifred Fostine-DeSilva. She said: ?People should be aware that failure to comply with customs regulations will result in penalties.

?We have to take this seriously. There will be penalties charged for false declarations.?

And she said Customs intends to move towards prosecuting more cases involving serious commercial fraud.

There are normally only one or two a year hitting the courts as most are settled with the Collector because it is quicker and cheaper but she said high profile court case will sent a clear message such fraud will not be tolerated.

?It does act as a deterrent.?

It will also mean duty cheats get a criminal record.

Individuals who evade duty are liable for penalties of up to $12,000 or five times the duty payable while commercial duty cheats are subject to fines of up to $100,000.

From September 1 Customs will be able to make on-the-spot penalty assessments at the Airport Baggage Hall with officers given discretion about the levels of fines.

Each of the current absolute fixed civil penalties for infractions will be replaced with a power to assess a civil penalty up to a maximum level with mitigating factors taken into account.

Serious offences and offences involving commercial importation of goods will still be dealt with by the Customs Investigations Department and the Collector of Customs.

In all cases Customs still has the option to choose whether to prosecute or assess for a civil penalty.

Customs are also introducing a new appeals process from September 1 to provide a uniform, fast and straight forward process for challenging reviewable decisions made by Customs staff.

Under the new Customs appeals system, the right of appeal is to be exercised, initially, at the Customs Department level by an officer not originally involved in the decision.

Disputes not resolved there will go before an independent body called Tax Appeal Tribunal.

Customs hope the new reviews and appeals procedure should lead to an improvement in the quality of decision-making and help to ensure decisions are consistent and fully explained.