Statements recorded under section 108 were held inadmissible to...

Statements recorded under section 108 were held inadmissible to prove smuggling, and the finding based on those statements was set aside. In town seizure circumstances with no foreign marking and purity below 99.9%, the burden under section 123 rests on the Revenue to prove reasonable belief of foreign origin; consequence: confiscation unsupported by evidence was reversed. Seizure was invalid for lack of reasonable belief under section 110, so confiscation under the Customs prohibitions and unloading provisions could not be sustained. Because confiscation failed on merits, penalties premised on that confiscation, and penalty for alleged use of fabricated invoices, were quashed and the appeal allowed.

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