S.L. 337.47 Art. 5XII.2023.65. Cap. 249.

(1) Where any duty, taxes or interest that is to be collected by virtue of the Act is to be paid for by any legal person, as defined in article 4(e) of the Interpretation Act, any secretary, director or other officer of the legal person is to be held jointly and severally liable with the same legal person for the duty, taxes or interest due, in accordance with the provisions of this regulation:

Provided that for the purpose of this regulation, any secretary, director or officer shall refer only to those persons who fulfil an official function listed in the constitutive document of that legal person:

Provided further that when such official function is fulfilled by a legal person, the natural persons that fulfil an official function in that legal person as referred to in this regulation, shall be jointly and severally liable with that legal person administering the legal person which owes any duty, taxes or interest by virtue of the Act, and in the same way, other natural or legal persons that fulfill an official function in legal persons in various layers and which administer each other, shall also be jointly and severally liable with the legal person that owes duty, taxes or interest in so far as they administer it through each other:

Provided further that when any of the aforementioned natural persons is deceased, his heirs shall be jointly and severally liable for any duty, taxes or interest due, even if these heirs have inherited the deceased with the benefit of inventory.

(2) Any secretary, director or other officer shall not be held jointly and severally liable with the legal person if he proves that he acted in good faith and:

(a) that he had under his management or control any funds or property belonging to or due to the person of whom he is a representative and before disposing of any such funds or property he had made adequate provision for any tax due under this Act; and

(b) that he was not involved in a decision that is in breach of any obligation under customs legislation; and

(c) that he knew that there was no prospect that the legal person liable to pay duty, taxes or interest would not be able to meet its duty, taxes or interest obligations.

(3) Any secretary, director or other officer who is held jointly and severally liable by virtue of sub-regulation (1) may request the competent court, by means of an application filed within two (2) months from notification of a judicial letter served on him demanding payment, to declare that he is not to be held jointly and severally liable with the legal person, for the reasons provided in sub-regulation (2):

Provided that the judicial letter shall on pain of nullity state that if an application opposing the claim is not instituted within two (2) months from notification of the judicial letter, the secretary, director or other officer shall be held jointly and severally liable with the legal person:

(4) (a) It shall not be a defence for any secretary, director or other officer to state he did not know that legal proceedings were instituted against the legal person that might reduce the amount of assets of that legal person;

(b) It shall not be a defence for any secretary, director or other officer to state that it was impossible for him to know the exact amount of duty, taxes and interest due by the legal person administered by him.