Confiscated silver refund limited to actual sale proceeds where disposal had already occurred before final relief.

Where confiscated silver had already been sent to the Mint and sold, the Tribunal applied the Ministry's disposal instructions and held that the revenue authorities had acted without negligence or mala fides. Because the silver was no longer available when the appellate proceedings were finalised, the respondents could not claim its later seizure or market value on rectification. Relief was therefore limited to refund of the sale proceeds actually realised and credited to the Government account, not to the seizure value or any later valuation.

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Issues: Whether, after confiscated silver had already been sent to the Mint and sold, the respondents were entitled on rectification to refund of the sale proceeds rather than mere return of the seizure value.

Analysis: The Tribunal held that the revenue authorities had acted in accordance with the Ministry's instructions governing disposal of confiscated silver and that no negligence or mala fides could be attributed to them. Since the silver had already been disposed of before finalisation of the appellate proceedings, the respondents could not insist on the value of the silver as on the later date of release. The proper relief was confined to the amount realised and credited to the Government account from the sale of the silver.

Conclusion: The respondents were held entitled to refund of the sale proceeds of the confiscated silver credited to the Government account, and not to the seizure value or later market value.

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