Bona fide import under revalidated licence defeats confiscation and redemption fine where policy restrictions were not finally settled.

Confiscation under import control was found unjustified where goods were imported under a revalidated imprest licence after a fresh endorsement allowed OGL items not specifically banned under the prevailing policy. The imports were treated as bona fide because they were made before the scope of permissible imports had been finally settled, so confiscation and redemption fine could not be sustained. In connected matters involving consignments imported under the same licence and during the same period, the same reasoning applied; the confiscation orders were set aside, redemption fines were to be refunded where paid, and the goods were allowed to be cleared on payment of duty and demurrage with detention certificates issued.

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Issues: Whether the confiscation of the imported goods and the imposition of redemption fine were justified when the import was made under a revalidated imprest licence after the authorities had issued a fresh endorsement permitting import of OGL items not specifically banned under the prevailing policy.

Analysis: The petitioners imported the goods after the earlier endorsement had been altered in accordance with the judicial direction that the licence would be valid for import of OGL items except items specifically banned under the current policy. The import was made before the legal position on the scope of permissible imports had become finally settled. On those facts, the import could not be treated as mala fide or as a deliberate breach warranting confiscation. Once the import was found bona fide, the consequential order of confiscation and the redemption fine could not be sustained. In the connected matters, the same reasoning applied to the other consignments imported under the same licence and during the same period.

Conclusion: The confiscation orders were set aside and the redemption fines were directed to be refunded where already paid; in the remaining matters the petitioners were permitted to clear the goods on payment of duty and demurrage, with appropriate detention certificates to be issued.

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