TMI Blog2016 (12) TMI 1024X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... international convention on protection of wild flora & fauna. As a signatory to CITES it is the duty of member countries to be strict while dealing with endangered plant & animal species. In the absence of any certificate of origin from the an appropriate authority it can not be said that feathers used in the silk fabrics were from non prohibited area. Export of consignment valued at ₹ 1,51,303/- has thus been correctly confiscated. Imposition of penalty - Held that: - it is observed that appellant did not play any role when the consignment of feathers was imported & received. The consignment of imported feathers processed through courier Agency was never got cleared by the Appellant - Ostrich feathers are not a prohibited item und ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ra 7 8 of the OIO dt 26/11/2012. That as per Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna Flore (CITES) only Ostrich (Struthio camelus) feathers from Algeria, Burkina, Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad Modi, Mauritania Morocco, the Niger, Nigeria, Senegal Sudan are covered under CITES. That appellant received Ostrich feathers from Spain without any knowledge of being prohibited. That department has failed to establish that imported goods contained in finished fabric at the time of export were of prohibited area origin. That neither the export goods are liable to confiscation under Sec 113 (d) of the Customs Act 1962 nor appellant is liable to penalties under Sec- 114 (i) Sec 114 AA of the Cu ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s (Only the populations of Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Mali Mauritania, Morocco, the Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and the Sudan; all other populations are not included in the Appendices) 5.1. Ostrich is a flightless bird of African origin all the countries specified above in CITES are African countries. If the imported feather were of imitation nature or of non African origin then supplier of the feathers was required to produce a certificate from the appropriate authorities in Spain that the same were of non prohibited nature, to honour international convention on protection of wild flora fauna. As a signatory to CITES it is the duty of member countries to be strict while dealing with endangered ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ds. The judgments relied upon by the Union reveal a liberal construction of a provision in favour of the State to deal with the mischief for which the statute and the provision have been enacted. However, such construction may not apply to a penalty as the cardinal rule for construing a penal provision is otherwise. It is possible for a provision providing for confiscation of goods to be liberally interpreted, but when a provision provides for punishment it has to be strictly construed. 15. The Expression goods in respect of which any prohibition is in force in the context of Section 112 of the Act would imply goods which are prohibited from being imported and not goods which have been smuggled into the country in contravention of t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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