Prima facie doubt on confiscability justified waiver of penalty pre-deposit and conditional relief on redemption fine.

At the stay stage, the Tribunal found a prima facie doubt on whether the imported steel sheets were liable to confiscation or penal action, because the bill of entry did not clearly disclose misdeclaration and the applicability of the confiscation clauses was uncertain. The issue whether shipment date should be taken from the bill of lading or actual loading was left for final hearing. On that basis, the Tribunal waived pre-deposit of penalty and stayed recovery, while requiring a partial cash deposit and a bank guarantee toward the redemption fine.

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Issues: Whether the appellant was entitled to waiver of pre-deposit of penalty and deposit of redemption fine pending appeal, in view of the prima facie doubt regarding confiscability of the imported goods and liability under the penal provisions.

Analysis: The application concerned steel sheets imported under special licences claimed to attract exemption for goods used in manufacture of supplies to UNICEF. The question whether the date of shipment was to be taken from the bill of lading or from the actual loading of the goods on board was left for final hearing. At the stay stage, the liability to confiscation was found to be doubtful. The circumstances did not, on a prima facie view, establish applicability of the confiscation clauses or any misdeclaration in the bill of entry. In that view, the Tribunal accepted partial cash deposit and bank guarantee towards redemption fine and waived pre-deposit of penalty with stay of recovery.

Conclusion: The appellant was granted partial relief by way of waiver of pre-deposit of penalty and stay of recovery, subject to deposit of a part of the redemption fine and furnishing of bank guarantee for the balance.

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