2009 (1) TMI 665 - AT - Customs

Appellate Tribunal overturns duty demand, confiscation, penalties due to lack of natural justice.

The Appellate Tribunal CESTAT, MUMBAI allowed the appeals, setting aside the Commissioner's orders demanding duty, confiscating goods, and imposing ... Show Cause Notice - Service of - Natural justice After dispensing with pre-deposit, appeals were taken up for summary disposal. Appellants had imported raw material under advance licence and cleared duty-free under notification 203/92-Cus; the department later alleged breach of a condition - availing input stage credit for DEEC-exported goods where there was an embargo - and issued two show-cause notices proposing recovery of duty foregone, interest, confiscation and penalty. The principal grievance was denial of natural justice: records did not bear evidence of proper service of the 'show-cause notice' or personal hearing notices (acknowledgements absent; hearing notices returned undelivered). Finding that the appellant's grievance of 'negation of natural justice' was genuine, the impugned orders were set aside and the appeals remanded. The Commissioner is directed to issue copies of the relevant show-cause notices (with relied-upon documents) and 'get them duly served on the noticee'; thereafter the matters are to be adjudicated in accordance with law and the principles of 'natural justice' and 'due process of law'. Counsel undertook that notices sent to the original address will be honoured.