Director penalty unsustainable where importing companies were the actual importers and no action was taken against them.

Penalty on a director could not be sustained where the confiscated goods were imported by companies, and no action had been taken against those companies. The Tribunal accepted that the goods had been confiscated and the only dispute concerned the director's penalty. On the facts, since the companies were the importers, the director could not be penalised in their place. The penalty was therefore set aside.

---

---

Issues: Whether penalty imposed on the appellant, as director of the importing companies, could be sustained when no action had been taken against the companies found to be the importers of the confiscated goods.

Analysis: The appellant did not dispute the confiscation of the imported goods. The only contested issue was the penalty imposed upon him in his capacity as director. The Tribunal found that the companies were the importers of the goods and that, in the absence of any action against those importing companies, the director could not be visited with penalty on the facts of the case.

Conclusion: The penalty was held to be unsustainable and was set aside in favour of the appellant.

---