BIS registration requirement withdrawn later; confiscation and penalty for imported switches and sockets were held unwarranted.

Imported electrical switches and sockets were examined against the BIS registration requirement applicable to the foreign supplier at the time of import. That requirement was later dispensed with by notification, and the record showed no contumacious conduct by the importer. On those facts, confiscation would serve no useful purpose and penalty was not warranted. The article states that absolute confiscation and penal consequences were unjustified once the regulatory basis for enforcement had been withdrawn, and the importer's conduct did not justify punitive action.

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Issues: Whether the imported electrical switches and sockets were liable to be confiscated and penalised when the requirement of BIS registration by the foreign supplier had later been dispensed with by notification.

Analysis: The import had taken place when the supplier was not registered with the BIS, but the governing policy was subsequently changed by Notification No. 13 (RE-2003)/2002-07 dated 20-6-2003, by which the requirement of BIS registration by the foreign supplier was dispensed with. In these circumstances, destruction of the goods would serve no useful purpose. The record also did not disclose any contumacious conduct on the part of the importer warranting penalty.

Conclusion: The confiscation and penalty were not justified, and the appeal was allowed with consequential relief.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the regulatory requirement relied upon for confiscation is subsequently withdrawn and no contumacious conduct is shown, absolute confiscation and penalty are unwarranted.

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