Import licence rights survive later policy changes where the licence was issued under an earlier regime and remains controlling.

An additional import licence issued during AM 79 was treated as governed by the import policy and public notice in force when the licence was issued, so later canalisation under AM 80 and a subsequent public notice could not retrospectively withdraw rights already acquired. The majority held that the licence continued to authorise import of the goods despite shipment occurring after the later policy change and despite the importer not opening an irrevocable letter of credit before the later cut-off date. The open general licence shipment condition was rejected as overriding the licence. The confiscation and redemption fine were set aside; the dissent would have upheld rejection.

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Issues: Whether an additional import licence issued during AM 79 continued to authorise import of the goods when shipment took place after the goods had been canalised under the subsequent policy and when the importer had not opened an irrevocable letter of credit before the cut-off date.

Analysis: The majority held that the import policy and public notice in force at the time of issue of the licence governed the licence, and that later policy changes and a subsequent public notice could not operate retrospectively to deprive the licensee of rights already acquired. The goods were treated as covered by the licence under AM 79, and the later canalisation under AM 80 and the later public notice requiring an irrevocable letter of credit were held not to govern the licence because they were subsequent to its issue. The contention that shipment conditions in the open general licence framework defeated the licence was rejected for the same reason, as the licence itself controlled the import.

Conclusion: The confiscation and redemption fine were set aside and the appeal was allowed by the majority, while the dissent took the opposite view and upheld the rejection.

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