Prolonged non-payment of import dues was treated as a deferred...

Prolonged non-payment of import dues was treated as a deferred payment arrangement and external commercial borrowing under the RBI circulars and the Borrowing or Lending in Foreign Exchange Regulations; the absence of a formal loan agreement did not alter that character, so FEMA contravention was sustained. Post-facto RBI remittance letters were limited to foreign-exchange permission and did not condone the breach. The Tribunal also upheld liability of the directors for the company's contravention, finding no due diligence defence. It rejected the argument that absence of mens rea barred civil penalty under FEMA, though it reduced the penalties.

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