Personal penalty on courier agent set aside where no evidence linked him to transportation of tainted imported goods.

A personal penalty imposed on a cargo courier agent for alleged involvement in transporting tainted imported goods was held unsustainable because the record did not show the agent's participation in the transportation. The appellant had acted in the ordinary course of courier booking work on commission, handed the consignments to a courier service, and disclosed the consignors' names and addresses with supporting documents. As the goods were recovered from the courier service's premises and no evidence linked the appellant to the tainted items, the penalty was set aside.

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Issues: Whether personal penalty imposed on a cargo courier agent for alleged involvement in transportation of tainted imported goods was sustainable.

Analysis: The appellant carried on courier booking work on commission basis and had handed over the consignments to a courier service in the ordinary course of business. The goods were recovered from the courier service's premises, and the appellant had disclosed the names and addresses of the consignors and produced the relevant documents. The record did not show any evidence of the appellant's involvement in the transportation of the tainted items.

Conclusion: The personal penalty was not sustainable and was set aside in favour of the appellant.

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