Clandestine manufacture and clearance allegations require...

Clandestine manufacture and clearance allegations require sufficient tangible evidence establishing a reliable chain from unaccounted inputs and production to transport, buyers and receipt of sale proceeds. Loose handwritten sheets, WhatsApp printouts, Tally data and transporter records maintained or recovered from third parties cannot substantiate a demand unless their authorship, provenance, custody, preservation, integrity and nexus with the manufacturer are proved. Unretracted statements showing a marketing or distribution connection do not remedy defects in electronic evidence. Inferences drawn through assumed material consumption, manufacture and removal are impermissible successive presumptions. Unverified records may justify further investigation but cannot, without independent corroboration, sustain duty, interest or penalties.