Statutory stock records and unexplained register alterations can justify duty, confiscation and penalty for excess goods.

Excess finished goods and aluminium scrap, together with incomplete RG 1 records and unexplained cuttings and overwriting, supported confirmation of duty, confiscation and penalty. The explanation that the omissions were merely clerical was rejected because statutory stock records were not contemporaneously maintained and the register alterations were not intimated to the department. On that basis, the non-entry of goods in the statutory register was treated as a substantive lapse, not a condonable technical defect, and the lower authorities' findings were upheld.

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Issues: Whether the excess stock of finished goods and aluminium scrap, together with deficiencies and alterations in the RG 1 register, justified confirmation of duty, confiscation and penalty.

Analysis: Physical verification revealed excess pressure cookers and aluminium scrap vis-a -vis the recorded balances. The statutory entries in the RG 1 register were not updated up to the date of inspection, and there were cutting and overwriting in the registers without any intimation to the department. The explanation that the lapse was merely technical or clerical was not accepted, as the failure to maintain contemporaneous statutory records and the unexplained alterations in the register showed no valid basis to disturb the findings of the lower authorities.

Conclusion: The non-entry of goods in the statutory register was not a condonable lapse, and the confirmation of duty, confiscation and penalty was upheld against the assessee.

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