Customs confiscation and penalty set aside where baggage import, duty payment, and gifting were supported by the record.

Customs confiscation and personal penalty were held unsustainable where the factual record showed the VCR and cassette had been imported by a third party as baggage, duty had been paid, and the subsequent gift transaction was corroborated by customs investigation. On those facts, liability to confiscation was not established, so the impugned customs order could not stand. The confiscation and penalty were therefore set aside in favour of the assessee.

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Issues: Whether the confiscation of the VCR and cassette and the personal penalty imposed under the Customs law were sustainable when the goods were claimed to have been imported as baggage, duty paid, and subsequently gifted.

Analysis: The factual record was found to support the claim that the goods had been imported by a third party as baggage and that the gift transaction was corroborated by the customs investigation. On that basis, the basis for treating the goods as liable to confiscation was not established. The challenged order was therefore not maintainable on the facts proved before the Authority.

Conclusion: The confiscation and penalty were set aside in favour of the assessee.

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