Section 28 FCRA 2010: Confiscation of Article, Currency or Security

Section 28 of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 deals with confiscation after an article, currency or security has been seized under Section 25. Confiscation does not follow merely from seizure: the property must be adjudged under Section 29 to have been received or obtained in contravention of the Act.

Text of Section 28

Any article or currency or security which is seized under section 25 shall be liable to confiscation if such article or currency or security has been adjudged under section 29 to have been received or obtained in contravention of this Act.

In simple terms: Section 28 connects seizure with confiscation. Section 25 deals with the power to seize specified property connected with a suspected contravention, while Section 29 provides for adjudication. The confiscation consequence under Section 28 depends on that adjudication.

How Section 28 operates

The provision should be read with the surrounding provisions in Chapter V of the FCRA. It creates a statutory sequence rather than a stand-alone confiscation power.

First, seizure under Section 25: an authorised gazetted officer may seize an article, currency or security in the circumstances specified by that section.
Second, adjudication under Section 29: the question of confiscation is adjudged by the authority specified in the Act.
Third, liability to confiscation under Section 28: the seized property becomes liable to confiscation when it is adjudged to have been received or obtained in contravention of the FCRA.

Meaning of confiscation under Section 28

For the purpose of Section 28, confiscation is the statutory consequence that may follow where the seized article, currency or security is found, through the adjudication contemplated by Section 29, to have been received or obtained contrary to the FCRA. The wording of Section 28 therefore makes the adjudication an important safeguard between seizure and confiscation.

Sections connected with Section 28

Sections 25 to 30 form the immediate statutory context for seizure, handling and confiscation. Readers dealing with a confiscation issue should read these provisions together, particularly Sections 25, 29 and 30.

Practical point

A seizure and a confiscation are not the same stage of action under the FCRA. When examining a Section 28 matter, check the legal basis of the seizure under Section 25, the adjudication under Section 29 and the procedure applicable to confiscation under Section 30. The facts and orders in an individual case remain important.

Official FCRA resources

For the authoritative statutory text, amendments, notifications and online FCRA services, refer to the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Government of India FCRA Online Portal.