TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2020 (2) TMI 1360
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..... Sometime early in November, 1994, the writ petitioner was apprehended outside his shop in Bowbazar with eleven gold biscuits. The seizure list, a copy whereof appears at pages 78 to 80 of the appeal papers, reveals the total weight of the seized material to be 1283.650g. There was one piece which weighed 116.52g. and all the other pieces weighed, at least, 116.67g. The biggest one weighed 116.77g. 3. Immediately upon the seizure of the goods, a statement was obtained by the Customs authorities from the writ petitioner. However, it is not necessary to go into such statement, as the petitioner claimed at the foot of such statement that the statement was recorded without the consent of the writ petitioner. Subsequent undisputed st....
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....ds being sought from the writ petitioner, but the writ petitioner cited health grounds to delay the hearing and, ultimately, to not produce the records. 6. Thus, what is evident from the facts is that upon the writ petitioner being found with eleven gold biscuits suspected to be of foreign origin in late November, 1994, he cited a bill of February, 1993 as being the source of such gold. For one, it is inconceivable that ten gold biscuits could have metamorphosed to eleven without them being melted. It is equally inconceivable that any of the ten gold biscuits laid a golden egg for the total weight to increase from 1166g to 1283g. 7. It is possible that the bullion which is obtained by a trader is melted and different items produ....
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....a dishonest defence that the writ petitioner had raised before the authorities and the authorities, adept at receiving such specious excuses, disregarded the transaction between the writ petitioner and G. Seal & Co. as the origin of the goods recovered from the writ petitioner's person in November, 1994. It is in such circumstances that the adjudicating authority and the Tribunal may have felt that there was no need to elaborate on the reasons for disbelieving the essential ground of defence raised by the writ petitioner. 10. The writ petitioner accepts that once the material was discovered from the writ petitioner's person, the burden lay on the writ petitioner to demonstrate how he obtained the goods. It is also accepted that upon t....
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....e very little room to detract therefrom. 13. An alternative argument has been attempted by the writ petitioner at this stage by referring to Section 125 of the Act of 1962. According to the writ petitioner, since it was not prohibited to import or export gold at the time when the seizure was effected from the writ petitioner, the adjudicating authority ought to have given the writ petitioner the option in terms of such provision before attempting to confiscate the goods. 14. It does not appear that such a case was made out in the writ petition. No ground appears to have been taken in the writ petition that even if the adverse findings against the writ petitioner were not interfered with, the erroneous exercise of jurisdiction of....