Refund of confiscated goods' sale proceeds after penalty deduction where confiscation had attained finality and goods were already sold.

A confiscation order under the Customs Act had attained finality, and the Department had already sold the seized consignment, so physical redemption of the goods was no longer possible. The only remaining issue was the treatment of the sale proceeds. The Court directed that the amount realised on sale be refunded to the petitioner after deducting the penalty already imposed, with refund to be processed on application in accordance with the applicable rules. The prior order of the Court and the parties' acceptance of that position meant the dispute was confined to the mode of refund rather than the validity of confiscation.

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Issues: Whether the petitioner was entitled to refund of the amount realised by sale of the confiscated consignment after deduction of the penalty imposed under the Customs Act, 1962.

Analysis: The confiscation order had attained finality. The Department had sold the seized consignment and realised sale proceeds, thereby foreclosing physical redemption of the goods. As the matter was covered by an earlier order of the Court and the parties accepted that position, the only surviving question was the manner of refund. The Court directed that the money realised on sale be paid to the petitioner after deducting the penalty already imposed, with refund to be processed on application in accordance with the applicable rules.

Conclusion: The petitioner was held entitled to refund of the sale proceeds of the confiscated goods after deduction of the penalty amount.

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