Customs custody and confiscated imported goods: liability for loss stayed with customs, not the Port Trust, absent lawful handover.

Imported goods remained in statutory customs custody after unloading, and confiscated goods vested in the Central Government; responsibility for their safekeeping therefore stayed with customs unless a lawful handover to another custodian was proved. On the record, no proper transfer to the Port Trust was shown under the Major Port Trusts Act, so liability for the loss or damage attached to the customs authorities and not to the Port Trust. The appeal record did not permit reliable quantification of damages, leaving recovery to be pursued in accordance with law.

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Issues: Whether confiscated imported goods remained in the custody and control of the customs authorities so that the authorities were liable for their loss or damage, and whether the Port Trust could be fastened with liability on the facts.

Analysis: Imported goods unloaded in the customs area remained subject to the statutory custody and control of customs until clearance. Once confiscated under the Customs Act, the goods vested in the Central Government. The record did not show that the goods had been handed over to the Port Trust in the manner required to attract liability under the Major Port Trusts Act. The loss therefore occurred while the goods were within the customs regime and under customs responsibility. As the appeal record did not permit reliable quantification of the monetary value of the lost goods, the Court did not determine damages in the appeal itself.

Conclusion: The customs authorities were held responsible for the loss or damage to the imported goods, while the Port Trust was not held liable on the material before the Court.

Final Conclusion: The statutory custody of confiscated imported goods carried corresponding responsibility for their safekeeping, and the assessee was entitled to pursue recovery of compensation for the loss of the goods in accordance with law.

Ratio Decidendi: Where imported goods remain in customs custody and are confiscated, liability for their loss or destruction lies with the authority having statutory custody and control, unless lawful handover bringing another custodian into responsibility is proved.

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