Proof of disposal goods required before import restriction and confiscation can stand under customs law.

Optical rough blanks imported for use as lens raw material were held not to be proved as "disposal goods" under Clause 5(3)(iii) of the Import (Control) Order, 1955, because the department produced no evidence that the foreign supplier was disposing of surplus, obsolete, deteriorated, as-is-where-is, or throwaway stock. The mere fact that the goods were in assorted sizes or sourced from a stockist was insufficient to establish the prohibited character of the import. On that evidentiary basis, the confiscation under customs law could not be sustained and the orders below were set aside.

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Issues: Whether optical rough blanks imported by the assessee were "disposal goods" prohibited under Clause 5(3)(iii) of the Import (Control) Order, 1955, so as to justify confiscation under the Customs law.

Analysis: The expression "disposal goods" was not defined in the governing import control framework. The department had to establish that the imported goods answered that description, but the record did not show that the foreign supplier was trying to get rid of the goods, that they were sold on an as-is-where-is basis, or that they were disposed of at a throwaway or reduced price. The goods were optical rough blanks, i.e. raw material for lenses, and the evidence did not support the conclusion that mere assortment of sizes or the fact that the supplier was a stockist was enough to treat them as disposal goods. In the absence of supporting evidence, the classification adopted by the authorities below could not be sustained.

Conclusion: The imported goods were not proved to be disposal goods, and the confiscation order could not stand. The appeal succeeded and the orders below were set aside.

Final Conclusion: The import restriction applied only to disposal goods, and the department failed to prove that the goods in question fell within that category; the assessee was therefore entitled to relief.

Ratio Decidendi: Where an import restriction turns on whether goods are "disposal goods", the department must prove that the goods were intended to be got rid of as surplus, obsolete, deteriorated, or throwaway stock, and classification cannot rest merely on mixed sizes, stockist source, or unsupported assumptions of reduced price.

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