Provisional release conditions must be proportionate; CESTAT reduced onerous bank guarantees while retaining full-value bonds

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Full Text of the Document

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....In provisional release of seized imported goods, the CESTAT held that the adjudicating authority must exercise discretion judiciously under Section 110A and cannot impose bank guarantee conditions merely by executive instruction; finding the original demand disproportionately onerous, it retained a bond for the full value but reduced the bank guarantee. In the re-export context, the Tribunal held that security conditions at the provisional stage must be moderated where goods are not cleared for home consumption and final liability is undecided; it again retained a full-value bond while substantially lowering the bank guarantee, subject to adjudication.....