16 foRfeituRe undeR  the customs and excise act 1996 3   O p e r a t i o n   o f   t h e   P a r t   X I V   p r o v i s i o n s ⁵⁰ H OW do the provisions of Part XIV of the Customs and Excise Act 1996 operate in practice? The Customs Service has wide powers given to it by the  Act  but  has  detailed  policy  documents  (called  guidelines  in  this  report) fettering the operation of those powers and protecting rights. NEW ZEALAND CUSTOMS SERVICE SEIZURE GUIDELINES 51 The guidelines note that forfeiture of goods is automatic as a consequence of some acts or omissions and is one of the most severe penalties in Customs law, but that seizure is discretionary.⁴³ They stress that all seizures must be: (a) sustainable in law; (b)     in keeping with the spirit and/or intent of the relevant statute; (c) consistent  with  the  provisions  of  the  New  Zealand  Bill  of  Rights  Act 1990. 52 The Customs Service has acknowledged that the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act applies to individual decisions to seize and requires reasonableness.⁴⁴ Internal guidelines  refer  to  the  Act  and  take  into  account  its  jurisprudence.⁴⁵  The General  Investigations  Group’s  guidelines⁴⁶  quote  section  21  of  the  Bill  of Rights Act and the importance of “reasonableness”. They state, for example, 43   New Zealand Customs Service, National Manager Investigations, IV POL 02 “Seizure and Waiver of Forfeiture”, 1 July 2004, 1.0. See also National Manager Goods Management, GM PRO 03 “Seizure, Waiver of Forfeiture and Disposal Procedure” 1 July 2002, 1.0. 44   The New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990, s 3, provides that the Act applies to acts done by any person or body in the performance of any power imposed upon them. The courts have held that where a person or company is in possession of property, the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990, s 21, provides that government agents asserting and maintaining possession and control over property must do so reasonably: R v Grayson and taylor [1997] 1  NZLR  399  is  the  leading  case.  See  also,  alwen  v  comptroller  of  customs,  above  n 28; attorney General v Pf sugrue Ltd (2003) 7 HRNZ 137; P Rishworth, G Huscroft, S Optican, R Mahoney the new Zealand Bill of Rights (Oxford University Press, 2003) 428–429. 45   For High Court cases on Customs’ duty to exercise their powers reasonably see, for example, alwen v comptroller of customs, above n 28, where Blanchard J held that an ongoing seizure would be unreasonable if, and to the extent that, the Comptroller did not act reasonably on the applicant’s request for release of goods on the giving of security; and wilson v new Zealand  customs  service,  above  n 37:  a  seizure  includes  both  the  initial  taking  and  the continued detention of property. Although there may have been reasonable cause for the original seizure, circumstances and further investigations may later demonstrate there is no reasonable cause for the continued detention. 46   New Zealand Customs Service: IV POL 02, above n 43, 3.14, has a page-long section on the application of the Bill of Rights Act 1990.