https://www.taxtmi.com/article/detailed?id=16369 Search and seizure proceedings under fiscal and penal statutes depend heavily on the evidentiary value of the panchnama, particularly where the case foundation rests on the search record, recovery, confiscation, demand, or prosecution. Section 18 of the Central Excise Act is discussed as incorporating the search safeguards of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and Section 100(4) CrPC is analysed as requiring two or more independent and respectable inhabitants of the locality searched, with witnesses from another locality permitted only when local inhabitants are unavailable or unwilling. The article explains that departures from the statutory procedure require justification and recordal. en-us Thu, 07 May 2026 07:09:10 +0530 Thu, 07 May 2026 07:09:11 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/article/detailed?id=16369 Search and seizure proceedings under fiscal and penal statutes depend heavily on the evidentiary value of the panchnama, particularly where the case foundation rests on the search record, recovery, confiscation, demand, or prosecution. Section 18 of the Central Excise Act is discussed as incorporating the search safeguards of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and Section 100(4) CrPC is analysed as requiring two or more independent and respectable inhabitants of the locality searched, with witnesses from another locality permitted only when local inhabitants are unavailable or unwilling. The article explains that departures from the statutory procedure require justification and recordal. Articles Customs - Import - Export - SEZ Thu, 07 May 2026 07:09:10 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/article/detailed?id=16369