Invalid import licence for a non-existent entity leaves goods unauthorised and supports confiscation with upheld redemption fine

A licence obtained in the name of a non-existent entity was held invalid in law because no real contractual relationship existed between the Government and the supposed licencee. Imports made under such a licence were therefore unauthorised and liable to confiscation. The cancellation provisions in the Imports (Control) Order did not validate imports already made under a licence that never came into legal existence. The redemption fine was also upheld, as the value of the goods and surrounding circumstances gave no basis for interference with the quantum fixed by the adjudicating authority.

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Issues: (i) whether goods imported under a licence obtained by fraud or misrepresentation and cancelled thereafter could still be treated as covered by that licence; (ii) whether the redemption fine imposed on confiscation required reduction.

Issue (i): Whether goods imported under a licence obtained by fraud or misrepresentation and cancelled thereafter could still be treated as covered by that licence.

Analysis: The reasoning distinguished cases where a licence is merely voidable until cancelled from the present situation, where the licensing authority found that the licencee itself was fictitious and the licence had been issued to a non-existent party. A licence issued on the basis of a non-existent applicant could not rest on any real consensus between the Government and the supposed licencee. The cancellation provisions in the Imports (Control) Order did not make such a licence valid for imports already made, but the more fundamental defect here was that no valid licence ever came into existence in law.

Conclusion: The imports were not protected by a valid licence and were liable to confiscation.

Issue (ii): Whether the redemption fine imposed on confiscation required reduction.

Analysis: The value of the goods and the surrounding circumstances did not show any basis for interference with the quantum fixed by the adjudicating authority.

Conclusion: The redemption fine was upheld.

Final Conclusion: The appeal failed in full, and the confiscation and fine were maintained.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a licence is issued to a non-existent entity, the absence of a real contracting party renders the licence invalid in law, and imports made under it are unauthorised.

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