29Arrival of vessels and aircrafts in India

(1) The person-in-charge of a vessel or an aircraft entering India from any place outside India shall not cause or permit the vessel or aircraft to call or land--

(a) for the first time after arrival in India; or

(b) at any time while it is carrying passengers or cargo brought in that vessel or aircraft;

at any place other than a customs port or a customs airport, as the case may be ¹ [unless permitted by the Board].

(2) The provisions of sub-section (1) shall not apply in relation to any vessel or aircraft which is compelled by accident, stress of weather or other unavoidable cause to call or land at a place other than a customs port or customs airport but the person-in-charge of any such vessel or aircraft--

(a) shall immediately report the arrival of the vessel or the landing of the aircraft to the nearest customs officer or the officer-in-charge of a police station and shall on demand produce to him the log book belonging to the vessel or the aircraft;

(b) shall not without the consent of any such officer permit any goods carried in the vessel or the aircraft to be unloaded from, or any of the crew or passengers to depart from the vicinity of, the vessel or the aircraft; and

(c) shall comply with any directions given by any such officer with respect to any such goods,

and no passenger or member of the crew shall, without the consent of any such officer, leave the immediate vicinity of the vessel or the aircraft:

Provided that nothing in this section shall prohibit the departure of any crew or passengers from the vicinity of, or the removal of goods from, the vessel or aircraft where the departure or removal is necessary for reasons of health, safety or the preservation of life or property.