Advance licence exemption remains available despite later expiry before bonded clearance where import was made under a valid licence.

Benefit under Notification No. 159/90 could not be denied merely because an advance licence had expired before clearance of warehoused goods, where the goods were imported under a valid advance licence. The notification and its explanation treated imports as covered when a valid licence was produced at clearance from Customs control, and the import policy supported the scheme where the import was ultimately backed by such licence. The later decision to warehouse the goods did not change the character of the import, so expiry of the licence before bonded clearance did not defeat the exemption on these facts.

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Issues: Whether the benefit of Notification No. 159/90 could be denied merely because the advance licence had lapsed by the time the goods were cleared from bond, when the goods were imported under a valid advance licence.

Analysis: The notification exempted goods imported against an advance licence, and its explanation treated goods as covered where a valid advance licence was produced at the time of clearance from Customs control. The governing import policy also indicated that the scheme was intended to extend benefit where the import was ultimately covered by an advance licence. The decisive finding was that the goods were imported when a valid advance licence existed, and the subsequent decision to warehouse them did not alter the character of the import. The later lapse of the licence before clearance from bond did not negate the original import under a valid advance licence, and the deeming clause did not apply to defeat the benefit on these facts.

Conclusion: The benefit of the notification could not be denied on the ground that the licence had expired at the time of clearance from the bonded warehouse, and the appeal succeeded.

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