Shipment date controls import restrictions; goods loaded before the notification cannot be confiscated or fined.

Import-control restrictions apply by reference to the date goods are shipped or loaded, not the date the vessel enters Indian territorial waters. Goods shipped before Notification No. 7/2004 came into force could not be treated as violating that restriction. On that basis, confiscation of the goods and redemption fine were held unsustainable because the import was complete before the prohibition took effect.

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Issues: Whether goods shipped before the import restriction notified by Notification No. 7/2004 dated 27-10-2004 could be subjected to confiscation and redemption fine.

Analysis: The goods were shipped on 26-10-2004, whereas the restriction on import of worn clothings came into force only on 27-10-2004. The controlling principle applied was that the relevant date is the date when the goods are actually loaded in the ship, not the date of arrival of the ship in the territorial waters of India. Since the restriction was introduced after shipment, the import could not be treated as violating the notification.

Conclusion: The confiscation of the goods and the imposition of redemption fine were not sustainable.

Ratio Decidendi: For import-control restrictions, the decisive date is the date of shipment or loading of the goods, and a restriction introduced thereafter cannot justify confiscation or redemption fine.

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