https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=33366 For non-notified goods under the Customs Act, the Department bears the initial burden of proving smuggling, but it may discharge that burden through cogent circumstantial evidence where the relevant facts lie within the special knowledge of the person concerned. Unexplained possession of large quantities of diamonds, absence of vouchers and accounts, stock-book discrepancies, recovery of loose chits, and inability to explain the source of the goods were treated as sufficient corroborative material. Retracted confessional statements were not rejected because they were supported by independent evidence and the surrounding circumstances. On that basis, the confiscation and penalty findings were sustained and no writ interference was called for. en-us Thu, 23 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0530 Wed, 13 Jan 2010 17:36:00 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=33366 For non-notified goods under the Customs Act, the Department bears the initial burden of proving smuggling, but it may discharge that burden through cogent circumstantial evidence where the relevant facts lie within the special knowledge of the person concerned. Unexplained possession of large quantities of diamonds, absence of vouchers and accounts, stock-book discrepancies, recovery of loose chits, and inability to explain the source of the goods were treated as sufficient corroborative material. Retracted confessional statements were not rejected because they were supported by independent evidence and the surrounding circumstances. On that basis, the confiscation and penalty findings were sustained and no writ interference was called for. Case-Laws Customs Thu, 23 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=33366