Burden of proof for non-notified goods: Customs must prove illegal importation with positive evidence before confiscation stands.

For non-notified goods, the initial burden remained on the Customs Department to prove smuggled nature or illegal importation before confiscation or penalty could stand. The seized zinc ingots were sufficiently linked to import documents, and the brand-name discrepancy was treated as a typographical error. The Department failed to prove foreign origin of the copper cathodes, and its transport documents for copper scrap were found unreliable without credible evidence displacing the bills of entry produced. Confiscation and penalty were therefore unsustainable, and release of the copper cathodes and copper scrap was upheld.

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Issues: Whether the Department proved that the seized zinc ingots, copper cathodes and copper scrap were smuggled or illegally imported so as to justify confiscation and penalty under the Customs Act, 1962.

Analysis: The seized goods were not notified goods under section 123(2) of the Customs Act, 1962, so the initial burden remained on the Department to prove unauthorized importation. The evidence on record showed substantial correlation of the zinc ingots with the import documents, and the discrepancy in the brand name was found to be a typographical error that did not displace the import link. For copper cathodes, the Department failed to establish foreign origin or any material showing illicit import. For copper scrap, the transport documents relied upon by the Department were found unreliable, and no credible evidence showed that the goods in the godown were unrelated to the bills of entry produced.

Conclusion: The Department failed to discharge the burden of proving smuggled nature or illegal importation of the seized goods; confiscation and penalty were unsustainable, and the release of the copper cathodes and copper scrap was upheld.

Ratio Decidendi: In cases involving non-notified goods, confiscation can be sustained only when the Customs authorities adduce positive and tangible evidence proving unauthorized importation, and the burden cannot be shifted to the person from whom the goods are seized merely because possession or documents create suspicion.

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