Imports and Exports (Restrictions) Act 1988

This Act does not itself list every restricted product. Instead, it gives the Government power to prohibit imports and exports, or allow them only on conditions, by Order in Council. That means the real business question is usually whether a separate restriction has been made for your goods, your destination, your supplier, your customer, or the way the goods will be used.

The Act covers goods broadly. The definition includes all kinds of movable property, including animals, organisms, chemicals and waste. For exports, the Act is tied to New Zealand's international obligations, including conventions dealing with hazardous chemicals, persistent organic pollutants and hazardous waste movements.

This Act matters most for businesses moving higher-risk or internationally controlled goods across the border. That includes some chemicals, pesticides, waste streams, organisms and other goods that may pose risks to human health or the environment. It can also matter for businesses that are not the manufacturer or end user, such as freight forwarders, customs-facing agents and distributors.

Even if your business only arranges transport, you should not assume the importer or exporter has already checked the legal position. The offence provisions extend beyond the person named on the shipment. A person can commit an offence by being knowingly concerned in prohibited importation, exportation, transportation, shipment, landing, breach or non-compliance.

The biggest practical risk is leaving the legal check too late. This Act can affect a shipment at several points: when you negotiate supply, when you classify the goods, when you prepare customs documents, when you apply for a permit, and when you decide how the goods will be stored, used or disposed of after arrival.

Trigger points are not limited to the goods themselves. A restriction can be limited to goods from a specified place, to a specified person or class of persons, or to exports to a specified place or person. That means the same product may be unrestricted in one transaction and restricted in another because the route, counterparty or destination changes.

A prohibition under the Act can be absolute or conditional. A conditional prohibition allows the goods to move if the required licence or permit is granted, or if prescribed conditions are met. For imports, the Act says a licence or permit may be granted before or after the goods have been imported. For exports, conditional prohibitions can also rely on permits or prescribed conditions.

Where an Order in Council says the Environmental Protection Authority is the permit decision-maker, any person may apply for a permit in the prescribed form. The relevant Order in Council may also specify the process and requirements for applying. The EPA can impose conditions on permits, and those conditions can go well beyond a simple approval to ship.

The core obligation is simple: do not import or export goods in breach of a restriction made under this Act, and do not breach the terms or conditions of any licence or permit used to move those goods. The Act also targets false declarations and statements connected with obtaining a licence or permit, proving compliance with permit conditions, or otherwise dealing with the import or export.

The offence provisions are wider than many business owners expect. They cover direct import or export breaches, transporting goods with intent to export in breach of an export restriction, and being knowingly concerned in prohibited conduct. Goods involved in an offence are forfeited. The Act also sets fines and a longer limitation period than the general rule in the Criminal Procedure Act for these offences.

If your business uses permits under this Act, record-keeping matters. The Act requires the Environmental Protection Authority to keep an Imports and Exports (Restrictions) Register on behalf of the Crown. The register records details of permits granted by the EPA under Orders in Council made under the Act, along with other prescribed information needed to comply with New Zealand's international obligations.

For a permit, the register must specify the permit holder's name and address, the goods covered, the amount allowed to be imported or exported, the terms and conditions of the permit, and any other information required by regulations. Customs must be given access to the register. In practice, that means inconsistencies between your shipment documents and permit details can become a direct operational problem at the border.

This Act does not replace other import and export laws. It says its provisions are in addition to, and not in substitution for, other enactments relating to importation or exportation of substances or goods. So even if your goods can move under this Act, you may still need to comply with customs, hazardous substances, environmental or product-specific rules.

The Act also says the Customs and Excise Act 2018 applies to goods whose importation or exportation is prohibited under this Act as if the importation or exportation were prohibited, or were an offence, under the Customs and Excise Act 2018, subject to stated exceptions. For business owners, the practical message is that border enforcement and customs processes remain central. This is not a paperwork-only regime.

Example 1: A manufacturer imports a controlled chemical for use in New Zealand. The goods can only be imported under an EPA permit with conditions about storage, transport and reporting movement. The business should not stop at getting the permit. It needs warehouse instructions, transport controls and records that show the conditions were actually followed.

Example 2: A waste operator arranges export of a waste stream to an overseas facility. The destination and the nature of the waste may trigger restrictions linked to New Zealand's international obligations. The operator should check whether the export is prohibited, conditionally allowed, or subject to permit conditions about packaging, insurance, movement information or liability if the waste cannot be dealt with as planned.

Example 3: A freight business lodges documents for a client and notices the goods description on the permit does not match the shipping paperwork. That is a stop-and-check moment. Because the Act reaches people knowingly concerned in non-compliance, logistics staff should escalate mismatches rather than treating them as minor admin issues.