Absolute confiscation impermissible for non-notified goods; sale proceeds must be refunded when seized goods are already disposed of.

Goods not notified under section 123 of the Customs Act could not be absolutely confiscated, and the deleted Chapter IVA provisions for notified goods could not be relied on to support such confiscation. The confiscation order was therefore unsustainable, and the direction to return the goods was upheld. As the goods had already been sold, the sale proceeds were required to be refunded to the claimant.

---

---

Issues: Whether goods not notified under section 123, and to which Chapter IVA relating to notified goods no longer applied, could be absolutely confiscated and whether the sale proceeds were liable to be refunded to the claimant.

Analysis: The goods were not notified under section 123 of the Customs Act, 1962, and the provisions of Chapter IVA relating to notified goods had already been deleted from the statute. On that basis, absolute confiscation was held to be impermissible. The order of confiscation was therefore set aside, and the direction to return the goods was found to be correct. Since the goods had already been disposed of, the sale proceeds were required to be refunded to the claimant.

Conclusion: The issue was decided in favour of the assessee. The confiscation was not sustainable, and the Revenue was directed to refund the sale proceeds.

---