CESTAT held that penalty under section 114A of Customs Act, 1962...

CESTAT held that penalty under section 114A of Customs Act, 1962 was improperly imposed against the importer. The tribunal found no substantive evidence of misrepresentation, noting that misrepresentation requires patent factual distortion, not mere inference. The goods were already cleared and unavailable for physical confiscation, rendering fine quantification under section 125 a futile exercise. Consequently, the tribunal allowed the importer's appeal and dismissed the Commissioner's cross-appeal, effectively setting aside the penalty and affirming that procedural requirements for penalty imposition were not satisfied.

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