Pre-shipment inspection certificate validity upheld where objections rested only on assumption, making confiscation unsustainable.

A pre-shipment inspection certificate was accepted as valid under the applicable Export Import Policy and Handbook of Procedures because it was issued by the agency named in the Handbook, and the only objection was that it came from the Denmark office rather than the Benin office. The record did not show that inspection had in fact been carried out by the Benin office, and no material supported that assumption. A finding based only on presumption could not have evidentiary value. The policy requirement was therefore treated as satisfied, and confiscation of the imported goods was held to be unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether the pre-shipment inspection certificate produced by the importer was a valid certificate under the applicable Export Import Policy and Handbook of Procedures, and whether confiscation of the imported goods was sustainable.

Analysis: The certificate had been produced by the importer and the only objection was that it was issued from the Denmark office of the inspection agency rather than its Benin office. The record did not establish that the goods had in fact been inspected by the Benin office, and no material was brought on record to support that assumption. A conclusion founded only on presumption and assumption could not be treated as having evidentiary value. The certificate issued by the agency named in the Handbook of Procedures was therefore treated as a valid certificate, and the requirement of the relevant policy provision was held to have been satisfied.

Conclusion: The certificate was valid and the confiscation of the imported goods was not sustainable.

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