Import confiscation requires valid contravention and proven misdeclaration; exemption claim alone is not enough.

Confiscation of imported goods under section 111(d) and section 111(m) was held unsustainable because the order did not record a valid basis for rejecting the import licence, even though the alleged breach was only under the Imports and Exports (Control) Act and the Imports (Control) Order. Confiscation under clause (m) also failed since the bill of entry and invoice did not describe the goods as a particular kind of steel, and a claim for exemption did not itself prove deliberate false declaration. On the facts, the importer's understanding that iron and steel included stainless steel was not treated as misdeclaration, so the penalty also could not survive.

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Issues: Whether confiscation of the imported goods under clauses (d) and (m) of section 111 and the consequential penalty were sustainable.

Analysis: Confiscation under clause (d) could not stand because the order did not record any reason why the import licence produced by the importer was unacceptable, though the alleged contravention was only under section 3(1) of the Imports and Exports (Control) Act, 1947 read with clause 3 of the Imports (Control) Order, 1955. Confiscation under clause (m) also failed because neither the bill of entry nor the invoice described the goods as any particular kind of steel, and the claim for exemption did not by itself establish deliberate false declaration. The importer's understanding that iron and steel included stainless steel could not, on the facts, be treated as misdeclaration.

Conclusion: Confiscation under section 111(d) and section 111(m) was not sustainable, and the penalty also could not survive.

Final Conclusion: The importer's goods were not liable to confiscation and no penalty could be imposed on the facts found.

Ratio Decidendi: Confiscation and penalty cannot be sustained unless the order records a valid legal basis for contravention or deliberate misdeclaration supported by the material on record.

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