Issue notice before selling seized goods – Board tells the field
Often Customs offices sell seized goods, especially the perishable ones immediately after the seizure. Later the victims go to appellate authorities and get the seizure/confiscation vacated and then they are offered the sale proceeds. But they find that the sale proceeds are too low and the courts often ask the government to pay much higher amounts than the sale proceeds. In the whole exercise, the government ends up with a huge loss because some bright intelligent officer on the basis of intelligence gathered had seized some goods. So now Board cautions the field , “It is impressed upon field formations that where any goods, not being confiscated goods, are to be sold under any provision of the Customs Act, they shall be sold by public auction or by tender or in any other manner after notice to the owner of the goods” Prevention is better than seizure.
F.NO. Dated : February 14, 2006