Prima facie waiver of pre-deposit granted in hazardous scrap import dispute, but penalties not fully waived.

A prima facie case was accepted for waiver of full pre-deposit where import through Kandla and movement to the SEZ did not, on the available material, violate the port condition, and most consignments appeared to have been shipped before 25-10-2004, limiting the adverse effect of the absence of a pre-shipment certificate. However, the imported scrap was treated as subject to hazardous-waste restrictions, and disposal to unauthorized persons without valid registration or licence raised a prima facie case against the applicants. In view of the past imports and unauthorised disposals, full waiver of penalties was declined, and only partial waiver with deposit directions and interim stay of recovery was granted.

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Issues: Whether the applicants made out a prima facie case for waiver of pre-deposit of the duty and penalties, and the extent to which interim stay relief should be granted.

Analysis: The Tribunal accepted, prima facie, the contention that import through Kandla, followed by movement to the SEZ, did not violate the port condition. It also accepted that most consignments had been shipped before 25-10-2004, so the finding regarding absence of pre-shipment certificate could not, prima facie, be sustained for those consignments. At the same time, the imported scrap was treated as governed by hazardous-waste law, and the disposal of goods to unauthorized persons without valid registration or licence was held to raise a prima facie case against the applicants. In view of the past imports and unauthorised disposals, the Tribunal held that full waiver of the penalties was not warranted.

Conclusion: Partial waiver of pre-deposit was granted with directions to deposit specified amounts, and recovery of the balance duty and penalties was stayed during pendency of the appeal.

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