Detained goods cannot be sold where pending appeal may be rendered infructuous and no confiscation order exists.

Customs authorities were directed not to sell detained goods and to keep adjudication in abeyance until disposal of the pending appeal concerning extension of time for issuing the show cause notice and completion of adjudication. The Tribunal treated the reserved appeal, the imminent tender process, and the absence of any confiscation order as material, and accepted that sale could prejudice the applicant and render the appeal infructuous. The Revenue's reliance on perishability and revenue interest was not considered sufficient to justify sale at that stage.

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Issues: Whether the Customs Authorities should be restrained from selling the detained goods until disposal of the appeal against extension of time for issue of show cause notice and completion of adjudication.

Analysis: The request was considered in the backdrop of the pending appeal, the reserved order thereon, the imminent tender process, and the fact that no adjudication order confiscating the goods had yet been passed. The apprehension of prejudice to the applicant and the possibility of the earlier appeal becoming infructuous were treated as material. The competing plea of the Revenue based on perishability of the goods and revenue interest was not accepted as sufficient to permit sale at that stage.

Conclusion: The Customs Authorities were directed to defer sale of the goods and to keep adjudication in abeyance until disposal of the appeal and availability of the Tribunal's order.

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