https://www.taxtmi.com/highlights?id=103720 Reverse burden for notified gold arises only when seizure rests on an honest, bona fide reasonable belief, supported by objective material that the gold was smuggled; suspicion, re-melted form, purity, or absent foreign markings do not suffice. Contemporaneous invoices, supplier confirmation and banking records may discharge the burden by establishing domestic procurement on a preponderance of probabilities unless rebutted through investigation. Retracted customs statements require independent corroboration, and material contradictions between a seizure record and electronic toll records undermine reliance on the seizure narrative. Denial of cross-examination of material witnesses prejudices natural justice. Without proof of illegal importation or knowledge of confiscability, confiscation and consequential penalties cannot stand; the departmental appeal was dismissed. en-us Mon, 14 Sep 2026 08:32:11 +0530 Mon, 14 Sep 2026 08:32:12 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/highlights?id=103720 Reverse burden for notified gold arises only when seizure rests on an honest, bona fide reasonable belief, supported by objective material that the gold was smuggled; suspicion, re-melted form, purity, or absent foreign markings do not suffice. Contemporaneous invoices, supplier confirmation and banking records may discharge the burden by establishing domestic procurement on a preponderance of probabilities unless rebutted through investigation. Retracted customs statements require independent corroboration, and material contradictions between a seizure record and electronic toll records undermine reliance on the seizure narrative. Denial of cross-examination of material witnesses prejudices natural justice. Without proof of illegal importation or knowledge of confiscability, confiscation and consequential penalties cannot stand; the departmental appeal was dismissed. Highlights Customs Mon, 14 Sep 2026 08:32:11 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/highlights?id=103720