CESTAT allowed the appeal and set aside the impugned order,...

CESTAT allowed the appeal and set aside the impugned order, holding the SAARC preferential Certificate of Origin (COO) valid and not shown to be forged; the adjudicating authority erred in discarding the COO without undertaking requisite verification with the issuing State and in improperly rejecting the declared Regional Value Content and origin criteria under the SAPTA rules, thereby negating entitlement under Notification No.105/1999. Electronic records seized without the statutory certificate under s.138C Customs Act and lacking s.65B compliance, and statements of third parties not subjected to cross-examination, were held inadmissible; consequently the re-valuation and duty demand failed, and penalties/confiscation were not sustained.

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