Manifest amendment for inadvertent omission of import cases defeats penalty where no suspicious import circumstances exist.

Omission of two import cases from the Import General Manifest, caused by late receipt of bills of lading, was treated as a rectifiable manifest error rather than a penal default under the Customs Act, 1962. The amendment request was made promptly after the omission was discovered, and the surrounding facts showed no suspicious or contraband-related import; the goods were also not confiscated. On that basis, the statutory power to permit correction supported acceptance of the manifest amendment, and penalty for unmanifested goods was held unsustainable and set aside.

---

---

Issues: Whether penalty was sustainable for omission of two cases from the Import General Manifest and subsequent amendment of the manifest under the Customs Act, 1962.

Analysis: The omission occurred because the bills of lading had not been forwarded to the steamer agent in time, and the cargo was later discovered during destuffing of a container containing goods of several importers. The amendment request was made promptly after the omission came to light. The circumstances showed a routine manifest correction rather than any suspicious or contraband-related import, and the authority had itself refrained from confiscating the goods. In these facts, the statutory power to permit amendment of the manifest supported acceptance of the correction and did not justify penal action.

Conclusion: The penalty was held unsustainable and was set aside in favour of the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: Where omission from the Import General Manifest occurs due to late or non-receipt of bills of lading and the manifest is amended without suspicious circumstances, penalty for unmanifested goods is not justified.

---