Confiscation cannot rest on a ground not stated in the show cause notice under the Transfer of Residence Scheme.

Confiscation cannot be sustained on a ground not stated in the show cause notice. The notice proceeded on the basis that goods imported under the Transfer of Residence Scheme could not be sold to another person, and the appellate authority also treated the non-transfer condition as waived by Board Circular No. 63/95-Cus. dated 07.06.1995. The Revenue then sought to justify confiscation on a different contention, namely that the goods were not the same as those declared under the transfer of residence declaration. That new basis was outside the notice and could not support confiscation.

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Issues: Whether the Revenue could sustain confiscation on a ground not stated in the show cause notice.

Analysis: The notice proceeded on the basis that the goods imported under the Transfer of Residence Scheme could not be sold to another person. The appellate authority had also proceeded on the footing that the non-transfer condition stood waived by Board Circular No. 63/95-Cus. dated 07.06.1995. The Revenue, however, sought to support confiscation on a different contention, namely that the goods were not the same as those mentioned in the transfer of residence declaration. That ground was not one of the grounds forming the basis of the show cause notice.

Conclusion: The Revenue could not sustain confiscation on a new ground not contained in the show cause notice.

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