Investigation statements relied upon for clandestine-clearance...

Investigation statements relied upon for clandestine-clearance allegations require compliance with the statutory relevancy procedure, including examination-in-chief and an opportunity for cross-examination; untested statements cannot reliably support a duty demand. Computer-generated data and printouts from CPUs or pen drives require satisfaction of statutory evidentiary conditions and the prescribed certificate before admission. Clandestine manufacture and removal must also rest on tangible, independent corroboration, such as evidence relating to production capacity, raw-material procurement, buyers, transport, labour and electricity consumption. In the absence of admissible statements, compliant electronic records and corroborative material, the clandestine-clearance charge, duty demand and consequential penalties were set aside.