Recovered foreign-origin gold bars concealed in specially...

Recovered foreign-origin gold bars concealed in specially created vehicle cavities, coupled with no lawful-possession documents and fabricated supporting papers, gave customs officers reasonable ground to treat the goods as smuggled. The statutory reverse burden then shifted to the appellants, but they failed to prove lawful origin or rebut the electronic and documentary material linking them to the supplier and recipient. Applying the preponderance of probability standard, the Tribunal sustained confiscation of the gold and vehicle and affirmed the penalties. It also rejected the Section 138B objection because the statements were corroborated by independent evidence, and found no natural justice violation from denial of cross-examination, as no prejudice was shown.

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