Administrative forfeiture

 

You can dispute an administrative forfeiture if you:

• Received a Notice of Intent to Initiate Administrative Forfeiture of Property; or
• Know of an active administrative forfeiture proceeding against property that you have an interest in

To dispute an administrative forfeiture, you must deliver a notice of dispute (PDF, 91.4KB) to the Civil Forfeiture Office. Generally, the notice of dispute must be delivered to the Civil Forfeiture office no later than 60 days after the date post-marked on the Notice of Intent to Initiate Administrative Forfeiture of Property. You can find out the post-mark date by visiting the Canada Post website and entering the tracking number located on the envelope you received.

The deadline to deliver a notice of dispute may vary. The Civil Forfeiture Act has more information about how deadlines are determined. If you have questions about your deadline to dispute an administrative forfeiture, please contact the Civil Forfeiture Office. The Director of Civil Forfeiture cannot extend the timeline to deliver a notice of dispute.

You may choose to use the Notice of Dispute to Administrative Forfeiture Proceedings (PDF, 91.4KB) form to dispute an administrative forfeiture. Notices of dispute must meet the requirements set out in section 35 of the Civil Forfeiture Act or they will not be considered valid.

All notices of dispute must be commissioned before a notary, lawyer, warden or other commissioner.

A notice of dispute may be delivered by mail to the Civil Forfeiture Office.

If you deliver a valid notice of dispute, the Director of Civil Forfeiture will decide to do one of the following:

• Commence civil forfeiture proceedings in the Supreme Court of British Columbia; or
• Withdraw from proceeding against the property

The Director of Civil Forfeiture will notify you of the decision within 30 days of receiving your valid notice of dispute.

If you did not receive a Notice of Intent to Initiate Administrative Forfeiture of Property and your property was administratively forfeited, you have up to two years to commence court proceedings.