Capítulo II. De las Sanciones

Acts constituting customs fraud or smuggling in customs matters shall be sanctioned as follows:

a)Principals, with imprisonment for seven to ten years

b)Accomplices, with imprisonment for two to four years.

c)Accessories, with imprisonment for one to two years.

When accessories or accomplices are public officials, any public servant or Customs Agent, the penalty corresponding to the principals shall be applied to them.

In all cases, a fine equivalent to the value of the merchandise or property involved in the violation and the cancellation of the commercial license shall also be applied, taking into account the benefit obtained or sought to be obtained by the offender, without prejudice to the other sanctions established in customs legislation and in ordinary legislation.

Accessory penalties.

In all cases under this Law, the penalty of imprisonment, in addition to those indicated as accessories for them in the Penal Code, carries with it and with the same character that of absolute disqualification if they are public officials or public employees or special disqualification if they are customs agents, customs carriers, customs depositaries and any other class of offenders; in both cases these penalties shall apply during the serving of the imprisonment and, once it has been served, for double the penalty imposed.

Without prejudice to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, all penalties for the perpetrators and other participants in the criminal acts established in this Law carry as accessories the forfeiture of the merchandise, property, articles, vehicles and other instruments used for the act.

Vehicles that have been used for the transportation of the merchandise, goods or articles and other instruments of the crime or misdemeanor shall not be subject to forfeiture if it is proved that they are owned by third persons without any culpability in the act. Special rules. Fifth day counted from receipt of the complaint.