1980 (4) TMI 123 - CGOVT - Customs

Penalty for Transporting Silver Without Documentation: Clarification on 'Export Goods' under Customs Act

The petitioners were penalized under the Customs Act, 1962 for transporting silver without proper documentation. They disowned the silver, claiming they ... Silver - Whether 'export goods' not liable to confiscation Issues:1. Imposition of penalty under the Customs Act, 1962 on petitioners for transporting silver without proper documentation.2. Interpretation of the term 'export goods' under the Customs Act, 1962.Analysis:1. The petitioners were intercepted while transporting silver without the required transport voucher in a specified area. The Collector of Customs confiscated the silver and the jeep, imposing a penalty on the petitioners under the Customs Act, 1962. The petitioners disowned the silver, claiming they were asked to transport it by an individual who could not be traced. Their appeals were rejected, leading to the revision before the Government solely against the penalty imposition. The petitioners pleaded guilty in a separate prosecution case under section 135 of the Act. The Counsel raised a legal question during the revision, arguing that the silver did not qualify as 'export goods,' challenging the penalty under section 114 of the Act.2. The Government analyzed the definition of 'export goods' under the Customs Act, 1962, emphasizing that goods specified under Chapter IVB are deemed as 'export goods' for the Act's purposes. The provisions of Chapter IVB aim to prevent illegal export, with 'specified goods' being those identified by the Central Government for special measures against illegal export. The legal fiction created by these provisions considers specified goods as 'export goods' within the specified area, even if not intended for actual export. Therefore, the impugned silver, specified under Chapter IVB, falls under the definition of 'export goods' and is subject to confiscation under section 113(1) of the Act. The argument that the silver must be intended for export to qualify as 'export goods' was dismissed, as the legal fiction deems specified goods as such. Consequently, the revision applications challenging the penalty imposition were rejected by the Government.This judgment clarifies the application of penalty under the Customs Act, 1962 and the interpretation of 'export goods' within the context of specified goods under Chapter IVB. The legal fiction created by the Act deems specified goods as 'export goods,' irrespective of their actual export intent, for the purpose of confiscation and penalty imposition.