| a) | makes, alters, imitates or imports or assists in making, altering, imitating or importing any postage stamp, date stamp, card, envelope, wrapper, cover or any money order, postal order or savings bank warrant or any other warrant or order for the payment of money through the postal company or acknowledgement of deposit or any form or paper similar to that used or made for the purposes of the functions of the postal company or by any postal authority, or uses, issues, offers, exposes for sale, sells, deals in, sends by post or disposes of or has in his or her custody or possession any such stamp, date stamp, card, envelope, wrapper, cover, money order, postal order, savings bank warrant, or any other warrant or order, acknowledgement of deposit, form or paper, knowing it to have been made or altered or to be an imitation contrary to this section; |
| b) | engraves or in any matter makes upon any plate or material any stamp or mark or figure or device in imitation of or resembling any stamp or mark or figure or device used or made for the purposes of the functions of the postal company or by any postal authority, or sells, disposes of, purchases, receives, or has in his or her custody or possession any plate or material so engraved or made; |
| c) | makes or assists in making or has in his or her custody or possession any mould, frame or other instrument having thereon any words, letters, figures, marks, lines or devices peculiar to paper provided, used or made for any postage stamps or for any other purposes of the functions of the postal company or by any postal authority; |
| d) | makes or assists in making or has in his or her custody or possession any paper in the substance of which appear any words, letters, figures, marks, lines or devices peculiar to paper provided, used or made for any postage stamps or for any other purposes of the functions of the postal company or by any postal authority, or makes, purchases, sells, disposes of or receives or has in his or her custody or possession any paper provided or made for the purpose of being used for any postage stamps or for any other purposes of the functions of the postal company or by any postal authority before the same has been issued for public use; |
| e) | makes use of any stamp, die, plate or paper engraved or made for the purposes of the functions of the postal company or by any postal authority, or sells, disposes of, purchases, receives or has in his or her custody or possession any such paper or material whatever, bearing an impression or mark of any such stamp, die or plate; or |
| f) | makes on an envelope, wrapper, card, form or paper any mark in imitation of or similar to or purporting to be any official stamp or mark used for the purposes of the functions of the postal company or by any postal authority or any words, letters, devices or marks which signify or imply or may reasonably be regarded as signifying or implying that any article bearing such words, letters, device or marks has been in or is entitled to be sent through the post, |
is, subject to subsection (2), guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding seven years or to both a fine and such imprisonment and any stamp, die, plate, instrument or material found in the possession of any person in contravention of this section may be seized and forfeited to the State.
| 2) | It is a defence to any charge in terms of subsection (1) to prove on a balance of probabilities that the accused had due authority or lawful excuse to act as he or she did. |
