Aussie customs to seize Mortal Kombat imports

The Australian gaming population fired up overnight, with news coming in yesterday afternoon that the Australian Classification Board (ACB) had decided to uphold the decision to slap a refused classification (RC) rating to fighting game Mortal Kombat. A game that has been RCed is illegal to promote or sell in Australia, meaning the title is effectively banned Down Under. And for those considering importing the game to circumvent the ban, it seems the Australian authorities are already on the lookout and ready to stop copies from reaching the nation.

GameSpot AU spoke with an Australian Customs and Border Protection Service spokesperson, who confirmed that the service had added Mortal Kombat to its list of prohibited items. The spokesperson said attempting to import Mortal Kombat is indeed illegal as it breaches the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956.

"As Mortal Kombat has been refused classification in Australia, it is considered objectionable material. It is therefore a prohibited good and illegal to import into Australia," the spokesperson said. "Customs and Border Protection works closely with Attorney General’s Department to identify imported games that are banned in Australia. This includes games purchased over the Internet from foreign websites. Attorney General’s Department regularly updates Customs and Border Protection about classification decisions on publications, films, and computer games, including the reclassification of material, and about different versions of computer games (some of which may be refused classification), and how to identify those versions at the border. This information is then used to assist in identifying and seizing banned versions of games.

"Any copies of the games detected at the border, including via international mail, will be seized."

The Customs spokesperson said someone caught trying to import RCed games into Australia could expect a fine of up to three times the value of the product, or A$110,000, which ever is greater.