Corroboration is essential for confiscation of alleged smuggled sale proceeds; a retracted statement alone is insufficient.

Confiscation of foreign currency and a scooter, together with penalty, was found unsustainable where the alleged sale proceeds of smuggled goods were not proved by independent corroboration. The appellant's statement under section 108 of the Customs Act had been promptly retracted and, by itself, was insufficient to establish the smuggled origin of the gold, the identity of the parties to the alleged transaction, or the factual basis needed for confiscation and penalty. The text states that suspicion or an uncorroborated admission cannot replace cogent proof of the underlying smuggling transaction.

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Issues: Whether the confiscation of foreign currency, the confiscation of the scooter, and the penalty imposed on the appellant were sustainable in the absence of independent corroboration and proof that the currency represented the sale proceeds of smuggled goods.

Analysis: The finding of liability rested mainly on the appellant's statement recorded under section 108 of the Customs Act, but that statement was retracted promptly and was not supported by independent evidence. The evidence did not establish the alleged smuggled origin of the gold, the identity of the buyer and seller, or the factual basis required to invoke the provisions relating to sale proceeds of smuggled goods. The department also failed to secure corroboration from material witnesses or to prove the alleged transaction in the manner necessary to sustain confiscation and penalty. In these circumstances, the seizure and the consequential orders could not be upheld on the basis of suspicion or uncorroborated admission alone.

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

Ratio Decidendi: Confiscation of currency as sale proceeds of smuggled goods requires cogent proof of the underlying smuggling transaction and a reliable, corroborated basis for the conclusion; a retracted statement, without independent support, is insufficient.

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