TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1998 (11) TMI 609
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....t the appellant M/s. Raj & Sandeep Co. Ltd., Ludhiana and imposed a penalty of Rs. 4 lakhs on them apart from directing payment of redemption fine of Rs. 25,000/- for release of the confiscated goods. 2. We have heard Shri Harbans Singh, ld. Advocate for the appellants and Shri P.K. Jain, ld. DR for the Department. 3. Ld. Counsel Shri Harbans Singh contended that the case relates to allegation of clandestine production and removal of M.S. Steel Ingots weighing 12.780 M.T. seized from a truck on 29-12-90. Consequent on the said seizure and further investigation, the Collector by SCN dated 19-6-91 asked the appellants to explain why the seized goods should not be confiscated and why duty amounting to Rs. 14,34,533.50 on suppre....
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....bsequent statement dated 8-1-91 stated that Truck No. JKC-7373 was owned by his father, Shri Gian Singh and not by M/s. Raj & Sandeep Co. Ltd. He had also admitted that his statement of 29-12-90 was false to that extent. Further, Shri Raj Singh had also stated on 8-1-91 that payments had been received only in respect of crossed entries in the note book maintained by him, but later in his statement dated 7-6-91, he had stated that payments had been received in respect of all the entries made in the note book. Ld. Counsel contended that the statements given by Shri Raj Singh, Driver could not be relied upon since they are mutually contradictory. As regards reliance placed on the records of octroi posts, ld. Counsel submitted that the appellan....
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....as concerned, it was submitted that the goods were cleared from the factory only after due accountal. However, it was possible that since payment for freight was made on consignment basis, the driver might be making excess entries to over-charge the consignment. Even if it is assumed that the goods had been cleared without accountal and payment of duty as detailed in Annexure E to the SCN, the same should have been reflected in the octroi receipts. Further, out of 33 entries of alleged double consignments in the driver's note book mentioned in Annexure A to the SCN, octroi receipts had been recovered only for 14 entries. For the balance 19 entries, no octroi receipts had been recovered. Reliance was placed on the Tribunal decision in Kashmi....
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....ise Act relating to the evidentiary value of documents reproduced through electronic data processing. He submitted that the evidentiary value of such documents was subject to safeguards provided in the law which have not been followed. Therefore, no reliance could be placed on the photo copies of the octroi receipts produced by the Department. He also drew attention to the fact that though the Department had relied heavily on octroi receipts, in none of the statements of the Directors, or officers of the appellant's company any explanation relating to the said entries or in the note book maintained by the driver had been sought. He also emphasises the fact that no discrepancy in the R.G.I account, raw material account or R.T. 12 returns had....
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....eight and bore the same dates. The Collector had observed that the same modus operandi had been adopted by the appellants in respect of 13 other cases out of 14 for which octroi receipts were available showing two consignments of equal weight in each case in which also the consignments were despatched on the same day under cover of only one gate pass. As regards the claim of the appellants that the octroi receipts did not bear the name of the appellants as the consignor and did not indicate any bill numbers. Collector has observed that though it may not be possible to rely on any direct evidence of production and clearance of goods clandestinely, in the facts of the case, the note book maintained by the driver and the octroi receipts would ....