Export of duty-free imported goods permitted where no statutory prohibition or control schedule restriction applies.

Goods imported duty-free under an exemption notification were not subject to any stated restriction requiring domestic consumption or prohibiting export. The reference to import for home consumption was treated as a procedural description of the import entry, not a restriction on later use or re-export. Since the goods were not shown to fall within Schedule I of the Exports (Control) Order, and no other law barring export was identified, export of the respirator system was permissible. The customs authorities were therefore required to endorse the shipping bill for export, and the reasoning also relied on the constitutional protection of trade where no export prohibition existed.

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Issues: Whether the petitioner was entitled to export the imported Intensive Care Respirator System and compel the customs authorities to endorse the shipping bill for export.

Analysis: The goods were imported duty-free under the exemption notification, but that notification did not impose any restriction that the goods must be consumed within India or barred from export. The description of the import as a bill of entry for home consumption was treated as a classification of the import procedure and not as a restriction on subsequent use or export. Under the Exports (Control) Order, only items included in Schedule I were subject to control, and goods not so included could be shipped without an export licence unless controlled under some other law in force. No specific law or schedule entry prohibiting export of the subject item was shown. The constitutional protection of trade under Article 19 was also considered in support of free export where no prohibition existed.

Conclusion: The export was held to be permissible, and the customs authorities were required to make the necessary endorsement on the shipping bill.

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