RAJU, J.

The above reference came to be made under Section 130(1) of the Customs Act, 1962 at the instance of the applicant - Company to refer the following question for our consideration :

"Whether the Tribunal was correct in holding that nomens reawas required for levying personal penalty under Section 112(a) of the Customs Act, 1962 ?" *

2.The relevant facts to be noticed in appreciating the question referred for our consideration are that the applicant imported palmolein by m.v. Tai Tung which arrived at Madras Port on 6-1-1979 and got them cleared under "Open General Licence"(OGL) appearing against Sl. No. 8 of Appendix 10 of the Import Trade Control Policy for the period April, 1978 to March, 1979. The date of shipment of the consignment was shown by the importer on the bill of entry as 29-11-1978 as found on the relative bill of lading which bore that date. In the light of the above, declaration under Section 46(4) of the Customs Act (hereinafter referred to as "the Act") which purported to show that the goods were shipped within the validity period of the O.G.L., the goods were allowed clearance by the proper officer under Section 47 of the Act under the authority