https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=45785 Before the special burden under section 178A of the Sea Customs Act, 1878 can be applied, the authority must independently determine that the seizure was made on a reasonable belief that the goods were smuggled; because that inquiry was not undertaken and the seizure basis was not properly scrutinised, the burden shift was unlawful. Confiscation was also unsustainable where the authorities relied on statements and further inquiry conducted behind the petitioner's back, without notice or cross-examination, since that breach of natural justice deprived the petitioner of a fair opportunity to meet the case against it. en-us Fri, 20 Aug 1971 00:00:00 +0530 Tue, 13 Jul 2010 17:42:06 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=45785 Before the special burden under section 178A of the Sea Customs Act, 1878 can be applied, the authority must independently determine that the seizure was made on a reasonable belief that the goods were smuggled; because that inquiry was not undertaken and the seizure basis was not properly scrutinised, the burden shift was unlawful. Confiscation was also unsustainable where the authorities relied on statements and further inquiry conducted behind the petitioner's back, without notice or cross-examination, since that breach of natural justice deprived the petitioner of a fair opportunity to meet the case against it. Case-Laws Customs Fri, 20 Aug 1971 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=45785