Provisional Release Conditions Modified: Bond & Bank Guarantee Required

The court modified the conditions for the provisional release of seized goods, directing their release to the petitioner upon execution of a bond equal to 100% of the goods' value and a bank guarantee equivalent to 30% of the differential duty, with an auto-renewal clause and in accordance with RBI guidelines. The judgment preserved the petitioner's rights for adjudication proceedings and disposed of the petition with specified modifications, to be processed by the Court Master.

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Issues:
1. Modification of conditions for provisional release of seized goods.

Analysis:
The judgment pertains to a petition seeking modification of conditions for the provisional release of goods seized by the customs authorities. The petitioner did not contest the origin of the seized pen drives/flash drives but sought changes in the conditions imposed for release. The court noted that a similar issue was addressed in a previous order and referred to relevant case laws. The Supreme Court had previously allowed goods to be provisionally cleared upon a bank guarantee of 30% of the differential duty. In this case, the court modified the conditions and directed the provisional release of goods to the petitioner upon execution of a bond equal to 100% of the goods' value and furnishing security in the form of a bank guarantee equivalent to 30% of the differential duty, with an auto-renewal clause and as per RBI guidelines.

The judgment emphasized that the petitioner's rights and contentions on substantive issues were preserved for the adjudication proceedings. The court disposed of the petition and the pending application with the specified modifications. The order was to be processed under the signature of the Court Master.

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