Non-dutiable excess stock cannot attract confiscation; penalties must be confined to proven shortages and contraventions.

Excess stock of calcium carbonate found in the factory was treated as a non-dutiable manufactured product and was not liable to confiscation. The shortages of PVC pipes and other inputs remained relevant for penal action, so the redemption fine and penalty had to be confined to those shortages and not extended to the calcium carbonate stock. The confiscation of calcium carbonate was therefore not sustained, and the fine and penalty were reduced accordingly. The principle applied is that penal consequences cannot be imposed on excess stock that is not liable to confiscation and must be limited to the established shortages or other contraventions.

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Issues: Whether excess stock of Calcium Carbonate was liable to confiscation and whether the redemption fine and penalty required reduction in view of the shortages of inputs and finished goods.

Analysis: The excess Calcium Carbonate found in the factory was held to be neither dutiable nor liable to confiscation, while the shortages of PVC pipes and other inputs remained relevant for penal action. The redemption fine and penalty were therefore required to be confined to the shortages and not to the Calcium Carbonate stock.

Conclusion: The confiscation of Calcium Carbonate was not sustained, and the redemption fine and penalty were reduced accordingly.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the excess stock found is a non-dutiable manufactured product and is not liable to confiscation, penal consequences cannot be imposed in respect of that stock and must be limited to the established shortages or other contraventions.

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