Contemporaneous unloading records prevail over private survey evidence in shortage disputes, and unproved pilferage claims will not displace them.

A contemporaneous official unloading record was treated as more reliable than a private marine survey report in assessing shortage of goods found in a carton. The Port Trust B form recorded that the carton was landed in repaired condition, and that entry was preferred over the applicant's assertion that the carton was sound. The plea that pilferage may have occurred before the joint survey was rejected because the survey was conducted shortly after landing and no independent material supported the claim. On that record, the damage and shortage were held to have existed before unloading, so the penalty was upheld and the revision application failed.

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Issues: Whether the penalty imposed for shortage of goods found in a carton was liable to be interfered with in view of the private survey report and the plea of pilferage before unloading.

Analysis: The contemporaneous B form issued by the Port Trust recorded that the carton was landed in repaired condition. That official record was treated as more reliable than the applicant's own marine survey report stating that the carton was in sound condition. The plea that pilferage may have occurred during the interval before the joint survey was not accepted, since the survey was conducted within a short time and there was no independent material to support the contention. On the available record, the damage and shortage were found to have existed before unloading.

Conclusion: The penalty was upheld and no ground was found to interfere with the order in appeal.

Final Conclusion: The revision application failed and the impugned order was sustained.

Ratio Decidendi: A contemporaneous official record of unloading prevails over a private survey report, and unsubstantiated allegations of later pilferage will not displace such evidence for fixing liability for shortage.

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