19. (1) Where any goods have, under any provision of the Customs Acts, been seized as liable to forfeiture, a person (in this section and in section 20 referred to as the “claimant”) may—

(a) within 30 days from the date of the notice of seizure under section 18, or

(b) where no such notice has been given, within 30 days from the date of the seizure,

give notice in writing to the Commissioners of a claim (in this section referred to as a “notice of claim”) that the goods seized are not so liable.

(2) A notice of claim shall specify the full name and address of the claimant and the basis on which the claim is grounded and, where that address is outside the State, any documents relating to condemnation proceedings under section 20 may be served at that address by post.

(3) If, on the expiration of a period referred to in subsection (1), no notice of claim has been given, the thing seized shall be deemed to have been duly condemned as forfeited, and the forfeiture shall apply from the date when the liability to forfeiture arose.

(4) Where a notice of claim has been given, the Commissioners shall, subject to section 35(1) and (2), take court proceedings under section 20 for the condemnation of the thing concerned.