2004 (9) TMI 509

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....roprietorship concern of Shri Sudhir Malik who is to carryout out export business. One container containing the export consignment of PVC soles, after clearance by the Customs officers from the Inland Container Depot, was intercepted on 25-3-99 by the officers of the DRI on receipt of information that the consignment was grossly over-invoiced. The container was brought back in the premises of ICD. The driver of the trailer who was carrying that container to Mumbai, was questioned by the officers. The container was opened and the goods PVC soles were examined. On examination, it was found that 570 cartons of PVC soles of 57,000 pairs approximately valued at Rs. 2.36 crores (FOB value) were being exported by the firm appellant No. 1. The repr....

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....fore, the impugned order regarding the confiscation of the goods deserves to be set aside, on this ground alone. He has place reliance on the ratio of law laid down in G.P. Jaiswal & Others v. CC, Lucknow [2004 (167) E.L.T. 206 (T) = 2004 (112) ECR 461]. But we are unable to subscribe to this contention of the learned Counsel being wholly mis-conceived. The Apex Court in the case of Om Prakash Bhatia v. CC, Delhi [2003 (155) E.L.T. 423] has defined the expression 'prohibited goods' attempted to be exported, as appearing in Section 113(d) of the Customs Act. It has been observed by the Court "that where the goods attempted to be exported had been over-invoiced, those would fall within the ambit of 'prohibited goods' under Section 113(d) of t....

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....at those invoices were bogus and even the said firm did not exist at all at the given address. The market enquiry rather revealed that the goods were in fact procured from Agra by the firm appellant No. 1 and the same were made out of re-cycled scrap. The market price was much less than the declared value in the invoices and shipping bills. The learned Counsel has not been able to challenge the findings of the adjudicating authority in this regard on any ground before us. 6. The Counsel has, however, lastly contended that the firm appellant No. 1 acted in a bona fide manner in declaring the price of the goods sought to be exported and there was no intention to defraud the Government. But in our view, this contention of the Counsel i....