Bombay High Court Orders Re-Testing of Seized Cashew Consignment at CRCL, New Delhi

The 24-year-old petitioner, who is the owner of Trinity Agro Products, objected to the denial by customs officials to allow re-testing of seized cashew consignments under seizure memos. Prior to this, analogous consignments that were tested in Maharashtra labs had yielded positive results; however, in this instance, the samples were sent to a lab in Kerala, which delivered a negative report. The petitioner cited Public Notice No.97/2017 and sought re-testing by taking fresh samples.

The customs authorities protested, stating that the request fell outside the 10 days since communication of the first test results and that re-test could only be conducted on what remained of the previous samples or sealed copies. They further claimed that Kerala was selected for its proficiency in testing roasted cashews. FSSAI mentioned that there are 39 accredited labs across the country, of which seven are in Maharashtra, and assured that CRCL, New Delhi, is a government lab capable of carrying out such analysis.

Main Issue: Whether the refusal of permission for re-examination of seized cashew consignments on account of delay and limitation to remnants of earlier samples was reasonable under Public Notice No.97/2017, and whether fresh samples could be taken up and examined at CRCL, New Delhi.

HC’s Ruling: The Court held that the steps issued under Public Notice No.97/2017 are facilitation measures in trade and not hard and fast statutory requirements. Re-test should be refused in rare cases and on the grounds mentioned. It held that in the present case, the hesitation of the authorities was contrary to the guidelines and against the policy of ease of doing business.

The Court ordered new samples to be taken from the seized goods within five days in the presence of the representative of the petitioner and forwarded by FSSAI to CRCL, New Delhi. The report was to be given by CRCL within one month. The petitioner was also permitted to submit a provisional reply to the outstanding show-cause notice and approach for provisional release of goods as per orders dated earlier. While avoiding imposing burdens, the Court noted that departments should enable trade consistent with government policy.

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