Import policy for STP units allowed second-hand capital goods without separate licence; confiscation, fine and penalty failed.

Second-hand medical equipment imported temporarily by an STP unit did not require a separate import licence under the 2002-2007 Import-Export Policy, because the policy permitted import of second-hand capital goods and also allowed STP units to import goods, including capital goods, without duty. The confiscation was based on a ? Need English. Let's craft accurate. The confiscation was based on a misreading of the policy and could not stand; once confiscation failed, the consequential fine and penalty were also not leviable.

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Issues: Whether the imported second-hand medical equipment imported by an STP unit on a temporary basis required a separate licence under the Import-Export Policy, and whether confiscation, fine and penalty were sustainable.

Analysis: Para 6.3 of the 2002-2007 Import-Export Policy permitted import of second-hand capital goods, and para 6.2(b) allowed an STP unit to import, without payment of duty, all types of goods including capital goods as defined in the policy. On that construction, the goods could not be treated as requiring a separate licence merely because they were second-hand. The confiscation rested on a misreading of the relevant policy provisions, and once confiscation was unsustainable, the consequential fine and penalty also could not survive.

Conclusion: The licensing objection failed, the confiscation was set aside, and the fine and penalty were held to be not leviable.

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