TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2015 (2) TMI 129
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....t of penalty imposed by the ld. Commissioner on the following persons:- Sl. No. CASE NO. NAME OF THE APPLICANT PENALTY IMPOSED 1. C/S/71346/13(C/A/71301/13) M/S. K.C.P.J. INTERNATIONAL AGENCY (CHA) Rs.5.00 lakh 2. C/S/71357/13(C/A/71313/13) Shri Shambhu Das Rs.8.00 lakh 3. C/S/71359/13(C/A/71315/13) Shri Ritesh Rs.10.00 lakh 4. C/S/71362/13(C/A/71317/13) Shri Anupam Nanda Rs.5.00 lakh 2. Brief facts of the case are that acting on an intelligence that a group of persons was attempting to smuggle out red sander log, a prohibited item, in the guise of Jute Hessian Cloth, the Officers of DRI, Kolkata, off-loaded two containers of consignments at N.S.Dock, Kolkata, cleared ....
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....lder), the employee of CHA, to do the clearing job in consultation with Shri Shambhu Das. According to Shri Nandi, the export documents at Haldia Port were handed over to him by Shri Das, who also arranged for the transportation of goods. It was stated by Shri Shambhu Das that one Shri Mahendra Nath Laha had engaged him for Customs clearance of the impugned export consignments, asking him for engaging some CHA. Invoices and Packing Lists were provided by Shri Laha for preparation of the Shipping Bills. Shri Nandi contacted one Shri Anupam Nanda (Applicant herein), Marketing Manager of M/s. World Gate Express Lines (Freight Forwarder), Kolkata, who arranged for pick-up of the containers from M/s. TLPL Shipping, Kolkata. Shri Nanda collected ....
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....xport. Accordingly, a Show Cause Notice was issued to the Applicants for imposition of penalty on them and for confiscation of the impugned goods. During adjudication proceedings, the ld. Commissioner found that all the charges leveled against the above-mentioned Applicants, were proved, indicating that the action/omission on the Applicants part resulted into export of prohibited goods in contravention of the provisions of the EXIM Policy read with the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962, and therefore, the impugned export goods are liable for confiscation and the penalty is imposable on the Applicants involved in the export of impugned goods. He, therefore, confiscated the goods absolutely, and imposed penalty on the Applicants. 3. At t....
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.... predeposit. 3.2. Shri A.D.Roy, ld. Advocate appearing for the Applicant, Shri Anupam Nanda, submitted that the Applicant is admittedly a freight forwarding agent, who had arranged for a container. He is not associated with any of the acts of commissioning, resulting into export of red sanders, as his job was only to supply empty containers and therefore, merely because he accepted the charges for arranging empty containers, his role in smuggling of red sanders is not proved. He submits that the Show Cause Notice nowhere alleges that the Applicants did not check up credential of the Exporter. He had been merely charged with the offence of abetting the smuggling, as he had accepted the amount in cash for supply of the empty containers. ....
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....ed. It is noted that none of the Applicants have challenged the confiscability of the impugned goods. They have, however, objected to the imposition of penalty. It is submitted that the invoices and packing list of the impugned export consignments were handed over to M/s. K.C.P.J. International Agency, CHA (Applicant herein) by another Applicant, Shri Shambhu Das who in turn had received the said documents from one of the noticees, Shri Mahendra Nath Laha. Shri Mahendra Nath Laha received these documents from Shri Ritesh Jha (Applicant herein). Shri Nanda (Applicant herein) had arranged the containers. It is pleaded on behalf of all the Applicants that they had acted in bonafide. We find that M/s. Sheth Commercial Company in whose name the ....