Dip reading for molasses stock verification accepted where tank storage and foam allowance were properly accounted for.

Dip-based volumetric measurement was treated as appropriate for molasses stored in steel tanks, because the storage system was designed for liquid volume assessment and the relevant standards contemplated that method. The note records that stock verification was carried out with a dip rod, that visible foam was identified and excluded in computing net quantity, and that the objection to dip reading as inherently unreliable was rejected on that factual basis. The resulting excess stock finding was sustained, with consequential confiscation and penalty noted as following from that computation.

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Issues: Whether dip reading was a permissible method for determining the quantity of molasses stored in steel tanks, and whether allowance for foam had been properly given while working out the alleged excess stock.

Analysis: The molasses was stored in steel tanks designed for volumetric measurement, and the record showed that stock verification was carried out by dip rod. The foam layer visible on the dip rod was identified and excluded while computing the net quantity. The Tribunal noted that the relevant industrial and measurement standards contemplate volumetric assessment of liquids in tanks and recognise the practical use of dip-based measurement for such storage. The appellant's objection that dip reading was inherently unreliable was rejected, as the method was treated as appropriate for the nature of the commodity and the tank storage system, and the allowance for foam was already factored in.

Conclusion: Dip reading was held to be an acceptable method in the facts of the case, and the excess stock of molasses was rightly sustained along with the consequential confiscation and penalty.

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