Unreliable laboratory report defeated confiscation and penalties where alleged Norephedrine evidence contained major inconsistencies.

Confiscation and penalties based on alleged concealed Norephedrine could not stand because the department's case rested entirely on a foreign laboratory report that contained material discrepancies. The report and its translation were inconsistent on the date, sample codes, description of the goods, quantity, and even the suspect's name, and those defects were not satisfactorily explained. Without a reliable and properly correlated test report, the foundation for misdeclaration failed, so the confiscation and penalties were set aside in CESTAT Chennai-AT.

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Issues: Whether the impugned order sustaining confiscation and penalty could stand when the alleged Norephedrine test report contained material discrepancies and was the sole basis for the department's case.

Analysis: The export consignment was alleged to contain concealed Norephedrine, but the finding of misdeclaration and consequent confiscation rested entirely on the foreign laboratory report. The report and its translation contained inconsistencies regarding the date, sample codes, description of the goods, quantity, and even the name of the suspect, and the department could not satisfactorily explain those discrepancies. In the absence of a reliable and correlated test report, the foundation of the proceedings failed.

Conclusion: The confiscation and penalties could not be sustained and the appeals succeeded.

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