Mere intention to sell gold is not enough; actual sale or proved attempt is needed to trigger licensing and confiscation rules.

Mere possession of gold nose pins with an asserted intention to sell them does not, by itself, amount to commencing or carrying on business as a dealer under the Gold Control Act. The text distinguishes intention from attempt: intention is only a state of mind, while attempt requires an overt act directed to sale. Section 27 is attracted only where actual selling or a proved attempt to sell is shown. On the facts described, no offer for sale or attempted sale was established, so confiscation under Section 71 was not sustainable.

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Issues: Whether mere possession of gold nose pins and an asserted intention to sell them amounted to commencing or carrying on business as a dealer so as to attract Section 27 of the Gold Control Act, 1968 and justify confiscation under Section 71 of the Act.

Analysis: The evidence showed that the respondent was found sitting in the shop of another jeweller and was not shown to have offered the goods for sale or to have made any attempt to sell them. The distinction between intention and attempt was material: intention is only a state of mind, while attempt requires an overt act directed towards the commission of the offence. Section 27 targets commencement or carrying on of business as a dealer, which in this context requires actual selling or at least a proved attempt to sell, not a mere purpose to sell in future. On the facts found, Section 71 could not be invoked because no contravention or attempted contravention of the licensing requirement was established.

Conclusion: The respondent did not commit a contravention of Section 27, and confiscation under Section 71 was not sustainable.

Final Conclusion: The appeal failed because the department did not establish that the respondent had commenced or carried on business as a gold dealer, or even attempted to do so, on the facts proved.

Ratio Decidendi: Mere intention to sell gold does not amount to commencing or carrying on business as a dealer, and without proof of actual sale or a proved attempt to sell, the licensing and confiscation provisions under the Gold Control Act are not attracted.

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