11Contravention of provisions of this Act, rules, orders and foreign trade policy

¹ [11. Contravention of provisions of this Act, rules, orders and foreign trade policy.-- (1) No export or import shall be made by any person except in accordance with the provisions of this Act, the rules and orders made thereunder and the foreign trade policy for the time being in force.

(2) Where any person makes or abets or attempts to make any export or import in contravention of any provision of this Act or any rules or orders made thereunder or the foreign trade policy, he shall be liable to a penalty of not less than ten thousand rupees and not more than five times the value of the goods or services or technology in respect of which any contravention is made or attempted to be made, whichever is more.

(3) Where any person signs or uses, or causes to be made, signed or used, any declaration, statement or document submitted to the Director General or any officer authorised by him under this Act, knowing or having reason to believe that such declaration, statement or document is forged or tampered with or false in any material particular, he shall be liable to a penalty of not less than ten thousand rupees or more than five times the value of the goods or services or technology in respect of which such declaration, statement or document had been submitted, whichever is more.

(4) Where any person, on a notice to him by the Adjudicating Authority, admits any contravention, the Adjudicating Authority may, in such class or classes or cases and in such manner as may be prescribed, determine, by way of settlement, an amount to be paid by that person.

(5) A penalty imposed under this Act may, if it is not paid by any person, be recovered by any one or more of the following modes, namely:--

(a) the Director General may deduct or require any officer subordinate to him to deduct the amount payable under this Act from any money owing to such person which may be under the control of such officer; or

(b) the Director General may require any officer of customs to deduct the amount payable under this Act from any money owing to such person which may be under the control of such officer of customs, as if the said amount is payable under the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962); or

(c) the Director General may require the Assistant Commissioner of Customs or Deputy Commissioner of Customs or any other officer of Customs to recover the amount so payable by detaining or selling any goods (including the goods connected with services or technology) belonging to such person which are under the control of the Assistant Commissioner of Customs or Deputy Commissioner or Customs or any other officer of Customs, as if the said amount is payable under the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962); or

(d) if the amount cannot be recovered from such person in the manner provided in clauses (a), (b) and (c),--

(i) the Director General or any officer authorised by him may prepare a certificate signed by him specifying the amount due from such person and send it to the Collector of the District in which such person owns any property or resides or carries on business and the said Collector on receipt of such certificate shall proceed to recover from such person the amount specified thereunder as if it were an arrear of land revenue; or

(ii) the Director General or any officer authorised by him (including an officer of Customs who shall then exercise his powers under the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962) ) and in accordance with the rules made in this behalf, detain any movable or immovable property belonging to or under the control of such person, and detain the same until the amount payable is paid, as if the said amount is payable under the Customs Act, 1962; and in case, any part of the said amount payable or of the cost of the distress or keeping of the property, remains unpaid for a period of thirty days next after any such distress, may cause the said property to be sold and with the proceeds of such sale, may satisfy the amount payable and costs including cost of sale remaining unpaid and shall render the surplus, if any to such person.

(6) Where the terms of any bond or other instrument executed under this Act or any rules made thereunder provide that any amount due under such instrument may be recovered in the manner laid down in sub-section (5), the amount may, without prejudice to any other mode of recovery, be recovered in accordance with the provisions of that sub-section.

(7) Without prejudice to the provisions contained in this section, the Importer-Exporter Code Number of any person who fails to pay any penalty imposed under this Act, may be suspended by the Adjudicating Authority till the penalty is paid or recovered, as the case may be.

(8) Where any contravention of any provision of this Act or any rules or orders made thereunder or the foreign trade policy has been, is being, or is attempted to be, made, the goods (including the goods connected with services or technology) together with any package, covering or receptacle and any conveyances shall, subject to such conditions and requirement as may be prescribed, be liable to confiscation by the Adjudicating Authority.

(9) The goods (including the goods connected with services or technology) or the conveyance confiscated under sub-section (8) may be released by the Adjudicating Authority, in such manner and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, on payment by the person concerned of the redemption charges equivalent to the market value of the goods or conveyance, as the case may be.]