Provisional release of seized conveyance under Customs law denied to financier in pending confiscation proceedings.

Provisional release of a seized conveyance under the Customs Act depends on the statutory scheme and the person recognised as the owner for the proceedings. Where a vehicle is seized in connection with alleged attempted illegal export of contraband goods and confiscation proceedings are pending, a financier in a hire-purchase arrangement is not ordinarily treated as the owner merely because the vehicle is financed or hypothecated in its favour. As no basis was shown to displace the position that the registered owner remained the relevant person for provisional release, writ relief for release of the vehicle was declined.

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Issues: Whether the financier was entitled to release of the seized vehicle pending confiscation proceedings under the Customs Act.

Analysis: The vehicle was seized in connection with alleged attempted illegal export of contraband goods, and show cause proceedings had been initiated for confiscation. The statutory scheme permits provisional release of a seized conveyance on the terms fixed by the adjudicating authority, and the entitlement to seek such release is linked to the person recognized as the owner for the purpose of the proceedings. In a hire-purchase situation, the financier is not ordinarily treated as the owner merely because the vehicle stands financed or hypothecated in its favour. Since confiscation proceedings were still pending and no basis was shown to displace the respondent's stand that the registered owner remained the relevant person for provisional release, the writ relief could not be granted.

Conclusion: The financier was not entitled to release of the vehicle in these proceedings.

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