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Issues involved: Customs Law violation, non-availability of NOC from Drugs Control Authorities, under-valuation allegation, heavy fine and penalty imposition, re-export of goods, waiver of pre-deposit.
Customs Law Violation and Penalty Imposition: The appellants, a small trader, were involved in their first import of bulk drugs but could not obtain a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Drugs Control Authorities, leading to the impugned goods being held by Customs. The Adjudicating Commissioner allowed re-export of the goods due to the situation. The appellants argued that the value of the goods was only Rs. 7 lakhs, significantly less than the imposed fine of Rs. 14 lakhs and penalty of Rs. 2 lakhs. The Commissioner's decision made it difficult for the goods to be released and re-exported. The appellants contended that the allegation of under-valuation was incorrect, and since the goods were to be re-exported, the determination of value was of no practical consequence as no duty needed to be paid on the goods. The Bench considered the arguments and found merit in the consultant's submission that valuation need not be addressed since re-export was the intended outcome. Given the importers' lack of prior offenses and the issue arising from the absence of the necessary certificate, a lenient approach was deemed appropriate. Consequently, the penalty was set aside, and the redemption fine was reduced to a nominal amount of Rs. 25,000, with the condition that the appellants must take possession of the consignment and promptly re-export it. The appeal was partially allowed.
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