Import policy for poppy seeds required licence and lawful-origin certificates; Pakistani documents satisfied the requirement and avoided prohibition.

Poppy seeds were importable only against a licence and supporting proof that opium poppy had been grown lawfully in the country of origin. The importer held a specific licence covering import from GCA countries, including Pakistan, and produced certificates from Pakistani authorities confirming licit cultivation and export. On that material, the import policy requirement was satisfied, and prior Tribunal reasoning supported acceptance of such certificates as proof of lawful origin. The record also showed that export of licit-origin poppy seeds from Pakistan was not treated as banned for the relevant period, so the import was not prohibited and confiscation was not warranted.

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Issues: Whether the import of poppy seeds was contrary to the applicable import policy and liable to confiscation, and whether the Revenue was entitled to interfere with the Commissioner's finding that the goods were legally imported.

Analysis: During the relevant period, poppy seeds could be imported only against a licence and on production of a certificate from the competent authority of the country of origin showing that opium poppy had been grown licitly. The importer held a specific licence covering import from GCA countries, including Pakistan. The record contained certificates from authorities in Pakistan, including the Ministry of Agriculture, the Export Promotion Bureau and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Peshawar, supporting licit cultivation and export. The import policy requirement was therefore satisfied, and the earlier Tribunal decision on similar facts supported acceptance of such certificates as proof of lawful origin. The material on record also showed that export of licit-origin poppy seeds from Pakistan was not treated as banned for the relevant period.

Conclusion: The import was held to be in accordance with the import policy and not prohibited; the Revenue's challenge failed.

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