Unaccounted excisable goods may face confiscation and redemption fine despite provisional release, while record-keeping penalties can be sustained.

Goods found unaccounted by registered dealers may be confiscated for breach of record-keeping obligations, and a redemption fine in lieu of confiscation remains permissible even where the goods were provisionally released on bond. The confiscation and reduced redemption fine were upheld because the goods were not duly accounted for in the statutory records. A penalty for violation of Rule 57GG was also sustained, with the lower amount recorded in the detailed discussion treated as the correct figure despite a typographical inconsistency elsewhere in the order.

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Issues: Whether the goods found unaccounted and provisionally released on bond were liable to confiscation with redemption fine, and whether the penalty imposed for violation of the record-keeping requirement under Rule 57GG of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 was sustainable.

Analysis: The appellants were registered dealers required to maintain correct accounts of receipt and issue of excisable goods. The goods found unaccounted were held liable for confiscation by the adjudicating authority, and the Commissioner (Appeals) did not disturb that finding; he only reduced the redemption fine. Since the goods had been provisionally released on bond, recovery of a fine in lieu of confiscation was held permissible. On the penalty issue, the order contained an apparent typographical inconsistency between two paragraphs, and the reduced penalty of Rs. 5,000 as recorded in the detailed discussion was treated as the correct amount.

Conclusion: The confiscation and redemption fine were upheld, and the reduced penalty was sustained. The appeal failed.

Ratio Decidendi: Goods found unaccounted, though provisionally released, can still be subjected to confiscation and redemption fine in lieu of confiscation, and a penalty may be sustained where the statutory record-keeping obligation is violated.

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