Technical breach in insecticide imports does not justify redemption fine or penalty where goods are re-exported.

Imported insecticides were held to involve only a technical deviation from registration conditions, because the goods were identified as those of the named manufacturers and the dispute concerned shipment through an authorised distributor rather than direct dispatch from the manufacturer named in the certificate. On those facts, and following prior authority on identical circumstances, redemption fine and penalty were found unjustified where the goods were permitted to be re-exported. Confiscation and the direction to re-export remained in force, while the monetary liabilities were deleted.

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Issues: Whether redemption fine and penalty imposed on import of insecticides were sustainable where the goods were re-exported and the alleged infraction was only a technical breach of the registration conditions.

Analysis: The imported insecticides were not in dispute as to their identity or manufacture by the named manufacturers. The controversy was confined to the routing of the goods through an authorised distributor rather than direct shipment from the manufacturer named in the registration certificate. The Tribunal relied on its earlier decision on identical facts and on the principle that, where the goods are permitted to be re-exported, redemption fine is not warranted. It also noted that the factual matrix showed substantial compliance with the registration requirements and that any deviation was technical and did not justify penal consequences.

Conclusion: The redemption fine and penalty were not sustainable and were set aside, while confiscation and the direction to re-export were left undisturbed.

Final Conclusion: The appeal succeeded to the limited extent of deleting the monetary liabilities, with the confiscation order and re-export direction remaining in force.

Ratio Decidendi: Where imported goods are re-exported and the deviation from the registration conditions is only technical or bona fide, redemption fine and penalty are not justified.

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