Burden of proving smuggling defeated confiscation of foreign-origin mobile phones where no conclusive evidence was produced.

Confiscation of foreign-origin mobile phones was found unsustainable because the Revenue did not discharge the burden of proving that the goods were smuggled. The phones were treated as non-notified goods, stated to be freely importable and available in the market, and no conclusive evidence established illicit import or possession contrary to law. In that setting, confiscation could not be upheld without proof of the essential ingredients of smuggling. The Revenue's challenge therefore failed.

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Issues: Whether confiscation of the foreign-origin mobile phones was legally sustainable in the absence of conclusive proof that the goods were smuggled.

Analysis: The dispute turned on whether the Revenue had discharged the burden of proving smuggled nature. The mobile phones were treated as non-notified goods and were stated to be freely importable and available in the market. In that setting, and in the absence of conclusive evidence showing involvement in smuggling activity, the order of confiscation could not be sustained. The reasoning applied the principle that confiscation cannot stand where the department fails to establish the essential ingredients showing illicit import or possession contrary to law.

Conclusion: The confiscation was held unsustainable and the Revenue's challenge failed.

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