Statutory penalty ceiling under cargo handling regulations restricts sanctions to the prescribed maximum for customs-area cargo operators.

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....Regulation 12(8) of the Handling of Cargo in Customs Area Regulations, 2009, caps the penalty for a cargo handling operator's acts of omission or commission at Rs. 50,000. An adjudicating authority cannot impose a penalty exceeding that statutory maximum under the Regulation, and an earlier departmental precedent cannot displace the clear ceiling. The penalty was accordingly restricted to Rs. 50,000, with the appeal partly allowed through modification of the impugned order.....