Chapter II: Reporting obligations

I. - Failure to comply with the reporting obligations set out in Articles L. 152-1 to L. 152-1-2 and in Regulation (EU) 2018/1672 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on controls of cash entering or leaving the Union and repealing Regulation No 1889/2005 is punishable by a fine equal to 50% of the amount of cash to which the offence or attempted offence relates.

II. - If the offence referred to in I of this article is detected by customs officers, they may temporarily detain all the cash involved in the offence or attempted offence for a period of no more than thirty days, renewable up to a maximum of ninety days. The reasons for the temporary detention are notified to the perpetrator of the offence referred to in I above.

At the end of the ninety-day period, if the needs of the investigation so require, customs officers may deposit the cash, with the authorisation of the public prosecutor for the location of the customs directorate responsible for the department in charge of the procedure, up to a limit of twelve months from the first day of temporary detention.

Customs officers may, for the purposes of the investigation, retain documents relating to the temporarily detained cash or take copies thereof.

III. - The cash is seized by customs officers and its confiscation may be ordered by the competent court if, during the period of temporary detention or consignment, it is established that the perpetrator of the offence referred to in I is or has been in possession of objects from which it may be presumed that he is or has been the perpetrator of one or more offences provided for and punishable by the Customs Code or that he is participating or has participated in the commission of such offences or if there are reasonable grounds for believing that the perpetrator of the offence referred to in I has committed one or more offences provided for and punishable by the Customs Code or that he has participated in the commission of such offences.

Where the cash is not available for the seizure referred to in the first paragraph of this III, the competent court shall order, in lieu of confiscation, the payment of a sum equivalent to its value.

A decision to dismiss or acquit the case automatically entails the release of the measures ordered, at the expense of the Treasury. The same applies if the action for the application of tax penalties is discontinued.

IV. - The investigation, recording and prosecution of the offences referred to in I and the investigations required to implement III are carried out under the conditions laid down by the Customs Code.

If the fine provided for in I is imposed, the 40% increase mentioned in the first paragraph of Article 1758 of the General Tax Code is not applied.