JUDGMENT
Gowri Shankar, Member (T)
1. The application is for waiver of deposit of duty of Rs. 6,53,200/-, Rs
2.00 lakhs adjudged for redemption of confiscated goods, and penalty of Rs
1.00 lakh imposed on the applicant.
2. The applicant is a medical institution, and the duty has been demanded
from it on the ground that the benefit of exemption contained in notification
64/88 would not be available to the goods imported by it for the reason that
one of the conditions subject to which the exemption is available, that free
treatment should be provided by the hospital for 40% of out door patients,
has not been complied with. The Commissioner has relied upon a
judgment of the Karnataka High Court in Medical Relief Society of South
Canara v. Union of India 1999 (111) ELT 327 in support of his finding that
the “free treatment” referred to in the notification included providing
medication to the patients, and mere production of documents and
investigation has not been done. The Commissioner has concluded that
evidence has not been produced to show that such treatment, so considered,
was provided.
3. When once goods are ordered to be confiscated, the title to them vests
with the Central government as provided in Section 126 of the Act and the
goods shall, therefore, continue to vest with in the Central government, till
such time as the option to redeem the goods on fine is exercised. That
option has not been exercised in the case before us; that is what the
representative of the applicant says. Therefore the question of deposit of
fine does not arise.
4. As far as the penalty is concerned, the issues are debatable. These
proceedings have come up a second time, the matter having been remanded
earlier by the Tribunal to the Commissioner for considering the evidence
that the importer has produced before him. In the earlier order, the penalty
imposed was only Rs. 20,000/-. Having regard to these facts, we waive
deposit of the penalty and stay its recovery.