Confiscation and penalty cannot rest on bare non-accountal or missing invoices without supporting grounds or reasons.

Confiscation of seized copper wire bars and penalties on the firm and its partner were held unsustainable because the show cause notice was confined to non-accountal and absence of invoices. On the material before the Tribunal, the mere lack of immediate register entry or invoices did not justify confiscation under Rule 173Q or penal action. The appellate order was also faulted for sustaining confiscation and penalty without recorded reasons, and the stated grounds for seizure and confiscation did not support the result reached by the lower authorities. The confiscation and penalties were therefore set aside.

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Issues: Whether the confiscation of the seized copper wire bars and the penalties imposed on the firm and its partner were sustainable when the allegations in the show cause notice were limited to non-accountal and absence of invoices.

Analysis: The Tribunal held that the facts stated in the show cause notice did not furnish a sufficient basis for confiscation or penalty. The mere absence of immediate entry in the register or absence of invoices, on the material placed before it, was not enough to justify confiscation under Rule 173Q or penalties on the firm and the partner. It was also found that the appellate order sustained confiscation and penalty without recording reasons, and the proposed basis for seizure and confiscation did not support the conclusion reached by the lower authorities.

Conclusion: The confiscation and penalties were not sustainable and were set aside in favour of the appellants.

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