Confiscation of carrier vehicle failed where foreign marking alone did not prove smuggled goods or owner knowledge.

Confiscation of a carrier vehicle was found unsustainable where the only basis for treating the goods as smuggled was a foreign marking on an old, used hand tractor. The record contained no independent evidence proving smuggling, and no material showed that the driver, khalasi or vehicle owner knew of any smuggling activity. On that factual basis, the link between the conveyance and any illicit import was not established, so confiscation of the vehicle and the penalties on the owners were set aside.

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Issues: Whether the confiscation of the carrier vehicle and the penalties imposed on its owners were sustainable when the only basis for treating the goods as smuggled was the foreign marking on an old and used hand tractor and no other evidence showed smuggling.

Analysis: The vehicle had merely been hired for carriage of the hand tractor. The record did not contain evidence to establish the smuggled character of the goods beyond the foreign origin marking. In the absence of material indicating that the driver, khalasi or owner of the vehicle knew of any smuggling, the basis for confiscating the conveyance and imposing penalties was not made out.

Conclusion: The confiscation of the carrier vehicle and the penalties imposed on the appellants were set aside.

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