Restricted import licence requirement upheld for imported populated PCBs; confiscation and penalty sustained under Customs law.

Imported populated PCBs were treated as restricted goods and, in the absence of a specific import licence, the import was held to offend Customs law. Confiscation was justified under Section 111(d), and penalty was sustained under Section 112(a) on the basis that the goods were imported contrary to the licence requirement. The analysis also records that the assessed margin of profit and licence market value supported the confiscation and penalty, while absence of mens rea was held irrelevant for penalty under Section 112(a).

---

---

Issues: Whether imported populated PCBs were liable to confiscation and penalty for import without a specific licence under the Customs law.

Analysis: The goods were found to fall within the restricted import category, and the lower authorities had assessed the margin of profit and the market value of the licence while confirming confiscation and penalty. The absence of a specific import licence rendered the import contrary to Section 111(d). The penalty was held to fall under Section 112(a), and the absence of mens rea was held to be irrelevant for that provision.

Conclusion: The import was rightly treated as offending the Customs law, and the confiscation and penalty were upheld.

---