A concession-based statement in Amba Lal was treated as...

A concession-based statement in Amba Lal was treated as non-binding because the Supreme Court had not independently decided the legal issue, so it could not govern the appellant's claim for release of imported goods for home consumption. The Tribunal then applied the principle that a beneficial amending notification operates retrospectively: although confiscation and penalty were justified when the goods were prohibited, the later notification changed their status to restricted before the order was passed. Redemption should therefore have been allowed for home consumption, subject to payment of enhanced value, duty and interest, rather than confining the goods to re-export.

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