https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=92585 The Department failed to prove that the betel-nuts were of foreign origin or smuggled, so confiscation and penalty could not be sustained. The Tribunal held that a shopkeeper's visual opinion, together with surrounding circumstances such as the place of booking and interception near the Indo-Nepal border, was not conclusive proof of smuggling. It also noted that the appellant's evidence of local purchase was not properly investigated or rejected on sound grounds. In the absence of substantive evidence, the statutory burden to establish the smuggled character of the goods was not discharged, and the goods were therefore not liable to confiscation or penalty. en-us Tue, 26 Oct 1999 00:00:00 +0530 Wed, 02 Nov 2011 16:37:08 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=92585 The Department failed to prove that the betel-nuts were of foreign origin or smuggled, so confiscation and penalty could not be sustained. The Tribunal held that a shopkeeper's visual opinion, together with surrounding circumstances such as the place of booking and interception near the Indo-Nepal border, was not conclusive proof of smuggling. It also noted that the appellant's evidence of local purchase was not properly investigated or rejected on sound grounds. In the absence of substantive evidence, the statutory burden to establish the smuggled character of the goods was not discharged, and the goods were therefore not liable to confiscation or penalty. Case-Laws Customs Tue, 26 Oct 1999 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=92585