Alleged contravention for routing crossborder diamond import...

Alleged contravention for routing crossborder diamond import payments outside authorised dealers and without prior RBI approval was examined; appellate tribunal applied proportionality and reduced penalty for one appellant to 50%--noting 14year delay and a prior 50% predeposit--while maintaining penalties for other appellants. The tribunal treated prior customs findings and comparable earlier matter as relevant context but decided relief based on delay, settlement history, and proportionality, thereby exercising appellate discretion to mitigate recoverable penalty for the named appellant but disposing appeals otherwise.