Transport without required documents can justify confiscation of goods and vehicle despite exemption from registration and AR-4/AR-4A procedure.

Exemption from registration and from the AR-4/AR-4A procedure does not dispense with the duty to maintain production and clearance records or to issue transport documents. Where goods are cleared for transport without any accompanying document, regulatory monitoring of whether clearances remain within the permitted limit is undermined, making the goods liable to confiscation. The vehicle used for such transport is also liable to confiscation. The redemption fine and penalty were regarded as nominal and not excessive, and the confiscation, fine, and penalty were upheld.

---

---

Issues: Whether goods cleared for transport without any accompanying document, on the plea that the unit was exempt from registration and from following the AR-4/AR-4A procedure, were liable to confiscation along with the vehicle used for transport, and whether the redemption fine and penalty were justified.

Analysis: Exemption from registration and from the AR-4/AR-4A procedure did not amount to a blanket dispensation from maintaining production and clearance records or from issuing transport documents. The exemption was conditional, and absence of documents would defeat regulatory monitoring of whether clearances remained within the permitted limit. Goods transported without any document were therefore liable to confiscation, and the vehicle used for such transport was also liable to confiscation. The redemption fine and penalty imposed were found to be nominal and not excessive.

Conclusion: The confiscation of the goods and the vehicle, together with the redemption fine and penalty, was upheld.

---