Customs penalty recovery survives death where liability crystallised, allowing action against inherited property, not heirs personally.

A customs penalty arising from smuggling, treated as an economic offence, had already become final and recovery had been initiated while the defaulter was alive. The Kerala HC held that Section 142(1)(c)(i) of the Customs Act permits recovery from the defaulter's property as arrears of land revenue, so the proceedings do not abate on death once the liability has crystallised. Recovery could therefore be pursued against assets inherited by the legal heirs, but only against the property left behind and not as their personal liability.

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Issues: Whether penalty imposed under the Customs Act could be recovered, after the defaulter's death, from the properties left behind by the defaulter in the hands of the legal heirs.

Analysis: The liability arose from smuggling, which was treated as an economic offence affecting national interest. The confiscation and penalty proceedings had been completed and the demand had become final while the defaulters were alive. The recovery under Section 142(1)(c)(i) of the Customs Act authorises recovery from the property of the person liable as if it were arrears of land revenue. The recovery proceedings were directed not against the legal heirs personally, but against the assets left by the defaulters. The Court preferred the view that such proceedings do not abate on the death of the defaulter when the liability had already crystallised and recovery had been initiated during his lifetime.

Conclusion: Penalty was recoverable from the properties inherited by the legal heirs, though not as their personal liability.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a customs penalty relating to an economic offence has become final during the defaulter's lifetime, recovery may be pursued against the defaulter's property in the hands of the legal heirs under the statutory recovery machinery, even after the defaulter's death.

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