The Customs Act, 1962
42. NO CONVEYANCE TO LEAVE WITHOUT WRITTEN ORDER. –
(1) The person-in-charge of a conveyance which has brought any imported goods or has loaded any export goods at a customs station shall not cause or permit the conveyance to depart from that customs station until a written order to that effect has been given by the proper officer.
(2) No such order shall be given until –
(a) the person-in-charge of the conveyance has answered the questions put to him under section 38;
(b) the provisions of section 41 have been complied with;
(c) the shipping bills or bills of export, the bills of transshipment, if any, and
such other documents as the proper officer may require have been delivered to him;
(d) all duties leviable on any stores consumed in such conveyance, and all charges and penalties due in respect of such conveyance or from the person-in-charge thereof have been paid or the payment secured by such guarantee or deposit of such amount as the proper officer may direct;
(e) the person-in-charge of the conveyance has satisfied the proper officer that no penalty is leviable on him under section 116 or the payment of any penalty that may be levied upon him under that section has been secured by such guarantee or deposit of such amount as the proper officer may direct;
(f) in any case where any export goods have been loaded without payment of export duty or in contravention of any provision of this Act or any other law for the time being in force relating to export of goods, – (i) such goods have been unloaded, or
(ii) where the 1Assistant Commissioner of Customs is satisfied that it is not practicable to unload such goods, the person-in charge of the conveyance has given an undertaking, secured by such guarantee or deposit of such amount as the proper officer may direct, for bringing back the goods to India.
Comments
The purpose of section 42 is not to detain the conveyance unnecessarily and pass an order for its departure on prima facie satisfaction that the person incharge of the conveyance has unloaded the goods which apparently do not show the levy of penalty. Section 42 puts the restriction that no conveyance shall be permitted to depart from the customs station untill a written order to that effect is given by the proper officer; British Airways Plc v. Union of India, AIR 2002 SC 391.
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1. Subs. by Act 27 of 1999, sec. 100, for “Assistant Commissioner of Customs” (w.e.f. 11-5-1999). Earlier the words “Assistant Commissioner of Customs” were substituted by Act 22 of 1995, sec 50, for the words “Assistant Collector of Customs” (w.e.f. 26-5-1995).
