clr/1989/1989_3A_981.pdf

(1980)>CLR 206 Recourse. Recourse against the decision ot the respondents by which the applicants weie preve'nted from dealing tiom customs 9S1 Remia Foods Ltd v. Dir.Cust.& Exc. &An.

(1989)goods. A. Poetis.for the Applicants. D.Papndopoulou(Mrs),Counsel of theRepublic Β ' . for the Respondents. 5 Cur. adv.vult. DEMETRIADES. J. read the following judgment. By the 10 present recourse the applicants pray for a declaration that the decision of respondent No. 1 and/or respondent No.2,which was communicated to them by letter of the first respondent dated the9th February. 19SS.and by which theapplicants were prevented from clearing from customs goods, is null and void 15 and of nolegal effect. The applicants are importers of food stuff andsimilar goods. On the 29th June. 1987, the applicants submitted the 20 necessary documents for theclearance of six pallets containing 7200 tins of dairy cream. As it appeared, however, that one of the ingredients of thecontentsof these tins was "nitrous oxide", a substance the importation of which is prohibited by the Miscellaneous Food Additives Regulations 1983- 19S6 under 25 Not. Nos. 298/83 and 5S/S

1. clearance of the said goods was refused and the applicants were informed accordingly. As a result, on the 30th June,
2. the clearing agents of the applicants wrote a letter to theSenior Collector of Customs at Limassol, requesting permission for the removal of the goods 30 to a bonded warehouse, pending re-exportation. On the 30th September.
3. the applicants addressed a letter to the Minister of Health, by which they requested the amendment of the regulations prohibiting the importation of 35 foodstuffs containing "nitrous oxide". On the 11th January.
4. a letter was addressed on behalf of the Director of Medical and Public Health Services of the Ministry of Health to Health Inspectors,copy of which was sent tothe Association of Importers of food stuff, by which they were informed that 40 the Scientific Committee for Foodstuffs had decided tosuggest the amendment of the relevant regulations so that the 9S2 3 C.L.R. Remia Foods Lid \. Dir.Cust.&. E\c.&. \n. Demetriades,J. importation ot dairy creams containing nitrous oxide be permitted and that, in view ot this, the clearance ot goods containing this substance and which were in store in bonded warehouses, be permitted. 5 No recourse was tiled against the retusa! ot therespondents to allow the clearance ot the goods, on the ground that it contained thesaid substance 10 On the 18th January,
5. apparently as a result of the contents of the letter ot the 11th January, 1988, a new application tor the clearance of the goods was deposited with the Customs Authorities but again their clearance was retused, this time on the ground that the date ot their use had expired 15 Against this decision the applicants tiled the present recourse 20 25 30 35 The applicants submitted thatthe respondents acted undera misconception ot tact in that there was no expiry date tor the use ot thegoods but what was written on themwere the words "best toruse betore " which words, they allege, donot mean that thedatewas thelast date tortheiruse but it means thatthe goods can be used and alter that date but the words give warning that they may be ot lower quality Administrative decisions \alid in law lor some other leasonmg than the one given by their author can be judicially upheldonthebasis ol otherlawful reasoning Insupport otthis principle, reference may be made to Anthoupolis Ltd. & Another v. The Republic

(1980)3 CLR 296. at ρ 303, per A Loi70u J (as hethen was). In the present case, the importation ot goods containing "nitrous oxide" is prohibited by law and this lact was a good reason tor the authorities to refuse theclearance ol the goods In the result, this recourse tails and is dismissed but. in the circumstances. Imake no order as to costs. Recourse dismissed No order ds to costs 9S"i