Exemption policy for disabled importers cannot be blocked by insisting on a Customs Clearance Permit where the scheme dispenses with it.

A beneficial exemption policy for physically handicapped persons allowed import of specially modified vehicles without an import licence or Customs Clearance Permit once duty relief was granted. The Bombay HC noted that the petitioner had satisfied the exemption conditions and that customs duty relief had been accorded subject to the stated liabilities under the customs and finance laws. In that context, insisting on a Customs Clearance Permit would defeat the policy's welfare object and create an unjustified administrative barrier. The Court therefore held the permit demand illegal, directed clearance of the vehicle without that permit, and ordered cancellation of the bank guarantee with consequential monetary relief.

---

---

Issues: Whether the Customs authorities were justified in insisting on production of a Customs Clearance Permit for import of a specially modified car by a physically handicapped person under the applicable exemption policy.

Analysis: The exemption policy was framed to facilitate import of suitably modified vehicles for physically handicapped persons and expressly indicated that no import licence or Customs Clearance Permit was necessary where customs duty relief had been granted. The petitioner had complied with the requirements for exemption and had been granted duty relief subject to conditions, including payment of customs duty at 50% of the ad valorem value and liability under the applicable customs and finance enactments. In that setting, insistence on a Customs Clearance Permit was contrary to the very object of the policy and amounted to an unjustified administrative impediment to a beneficial scheme intended to advance social welfare for disabled persons.

Conclusion: The demand for Customs Clearance Permit was illegal and was set aside. The petitioner was held entitled to clearance of the vehicle without production of that permit, cancellation of the bank guarantee, and consequential monetary relief.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a government policy grants a specific exemption to a beneficial class and expressly dispenses with a clearance requirement, the authorities cannot insist upon that requirement in a manner that frustrates the policy's implementation.

---