1998 (10) TMI 260

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....icers on 18-4-1995 when he was about to board the bus along with 4 packages of gunny bags. The search of the said packages resulted in recovery of foreign origin air-conditioners, compressors, condensers and car freshners along with some Indian made goods. The same were seized by the officers under the provisions of Customs Act, 1962 on the reasonable belief that they were smuggled ones. Shri Sujay Biswas in his statement admitted the recovery and deposed that he was carrying the said goods for booking to Orissa under the instruction of M/s. Auto Rexine Agency who were dealing with the sale-purchase of motor parts and Shri Makhanlal Gupta and Shri Sisir Kumar Gupta, the appellants were the partners of the said Agency. During the post seizur....

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....ds except car air freshners and the Indian goods. He also imposed personal penalty of Rs. 3000/- each on the appellants. On appeal against the above order, the same was upheld by the Commissioner (Appeals). Hence the appeals before the Tribunal. 3. I have heard Shri N. Banerjee, ld. Advocate for the appellants and Shri T.P. Kumar, ld. SDR for the Revenue. 4. The main contention of the appellants is that the goods in question are neither notified under Chapter IVA of the Customs Act nor under Section 123 of the Act. As such, the burden to prove that the goods were of smuggled nature lies very heavily upon the Department. The mere fact that the goods were of foreign origin does not prove the smuggled character of the same. In ....

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..... In the instant case also, I find that the goods are neither notified under Chapter IVA nor under Section 123 of the Customs Act. The supplier of the goods in his statement has admitted the supply of the same to M/s. Auto Rexine Agency and has also produced the invoices showing his procurement of the goods. The suppliers of the supply have not come forward and admitted the supply. This fact itself will not lead to the conclusion that the goods under question are of tainted character. I also find that the Order No. A-984-985/Cal/1996, dated 27-12-1996 passed in the case of S/Shri Anjan Kumar Agarwal and R.K. Agarwal, it was observed by the Tribunal that the adjudicating authorities' observations as regards the shifting of the burden of proo....