Provisional release of seized goods must await completion of certification proceedings, after which customs must decide by reasoned order.

Where seized goods are subject to a pending certification proceeding before the jurisdictional Magistrate, the customs authority should not decide the provisional release request under Section 110A in isolation. The Magistrate is to conclude the certification proceeding within a fixed time, after which the customs authority must consider the release application and pass a reasoned order in accordance with law. Immediate final relief on merits is not granted at that stage, but the applicant retains liberty to challenge any adverse order before the appropriate forum.

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Issues: Whether the customs authority should be directed to consider the petitioner's application for release of the seized consignment under Section 110A of the Customs Act, 1962 after completion of the pending certification proceeding before the jurisdictional Magistrate.

Analysis: The consignment had been seized under Section 110 of the Customs Act, 1962 and a certification proceeding under sub-section (1B) of that provision was stated to be pending before the jurisdictional Magistrate. The petitioner's application for release under Section 110A was also pending. In that situation, the Court directed the Magistrate to conclude the certification proceeding within a fixed time and directed the customs authority to consider the release application thereafter by passing a reasoned order in accordance with law.

Conclusion: The petitioner was not granted immediate final relief on merits, but the customs authority was required to decide the release application after the Magistrate's conclusion, with liberty reserved to challenge any adverse order before the appropriate forum.

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