Detention certificate entitlement after confiscation order is set aside and appellate findings confirm clearance of imported goods.

Once the confiscation order was set aside in appeal and the appellate authority indicated that the goods ought to have been cleared, the respondents could not refuse a detention certificate on the basis that only a recommendatory certificate had been issued to the Port Trust. A merely recommendatory certificate did not bind the Port Trust, but that did not justify resiling from the appellate finding or disputing the nature of the imported goods. The petitioners were therefore entitled to the detention certificate, and the refusal was unjustified.

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Issues: Whether the petitioners were entitled to issuance of a detention certificate after the appellate authority had set aside the confiscation order.

Analysis: The confiscation order passed by the Deputy Collector of Customs had been set aside in appeal, and the appellate authority had also indicated that the goods ought to have been allowed to be cleared. Once that order attained effect, the respondents could not deny the detention certificate on the ground that only a recommendatory certificate had been issued to the Port Trust. The Port Trust was not bound to act on a merely recommendatory certificate, and the respondents could not resile from the appellate finding by disputing the nature of the imported goods.

Conclusion: The petitioners were entitled to the detention certificate, and the refusal to issue it was unjustified.

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