Permitting third-party use of an Import Export Code (IEC)...

Permitting third-party use of an Import Export Code (IEC) contrary to the Foreign Trade Act and Rules renders the imported goods liable to confiscation and attracts penalty under Section 112(a) of the Customs Act; the tribunal relied on the appellant's voluntary admission that he lent his IEC to a syndicate to support that finding and upheld the penalty. Separately, knowingly making, signing or using false or incorrect declarations satisfies the ingredients of the penalty provision for false declarations and the tribunal upheld the penalty under Section 114AA on that basis.