Open General Licence import rights prevail over canalisation notices; confiscation, redemption fine and penalty cannot stand.

Import under Open General Licence remained lawful despite a later public notice canalising beef tallow, because the right to import under the licence was treated as a statutory right and the notice had no overriding statutory force under the Imports and Exports (Control) Act, 1947. Following the Tribunal's earlier view on the same commodity, and noting that view had already been upheld by the Supreme Court, the import was held permissible. Once the import was lawful, confiscation under the Customs Act, together with the redemption fine and personal penalty, could not be sustained and were set aside as unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether import of Beef Tallow under Open General Licence remained permissible despite a subsequent public notice canalising the goods, and whether confiscation, redemption fine, and personal penalty could be sustained once the import was held lawful.

Analysis: The Tribunal followed its earlier decision on the same commodity and held that the right to import under Open General Licence is a statutory right. A public notice placing the goods in the canalised list does not override that right and has no statutory force under Section 3 of the Imports and Exports (Control) Act, 1947. As the earlier view had already been upheld by the Supreme Court, the present facts did not justify a different conclusion. Once the import was treated as lawful, the consequential order of confiscation and the associated redemption fine and penalty under the Customs Act could not survive.

Conclusion: The import was held to be permissible under Open General Licence, and the confiscation, redemption fine, and personal penalty were unsustainable.

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