Bona fide exemption claim and no misdeclaration supported lawful re-export without redemption fine or penalty.

Re-export of imported goods was treated as lawful where the authority found no misdeclaration and held that a claim for exemption under the customs notification was not a false statement. The prior grant of the same notification benefit to an identical machine at another port supported the importer's bona fide belief that exemption was available. On those findings, the importer's request to re-export the goods because duty clearance was uneconomical was accepted, and the objection to release without redemption fine or penalty was rejected.

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Issues: Whether the importer was entitled to re-export the goods without redemption fine or penalty in the absence of misdeclaration, where the claim to exemption was made under the relevant customs notification on the basis of a bona fide belief.

Analysis: The adjudicating authority recorded that there was no misdeclaration of the goods and that claiming exemption benefit under the notification could not be treated as a misstatement. It further found that an identical machine had earlier been allowed the same notification benefit at another port, which could legitimately induce a bona fide belief that the exemption was available. On that basis, and because the importer found it uneconomical to clear the goods on payment of duty, the request for re-export was accepted. The appellate challenge did not rebut these findings.

Conclusion: The allowance of re-export was held to be lawful, and the Revenue's objection to the absence of redemption fine and penalty was rejected.

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