TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2021 (2) TMI 659
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....xcise Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Chennai in Final Order No.1403 of 2008. 2. The appeal was admitted on 04.12.2009 on the following substantial question of law: "1. Whether the Tribunal was right in granting the benefit of redemption based on its earlier decisions by ignoring the fact that in the cases cited by CESTAT, the goods confiscated were only foreign currencies and not Travellers Cheques hence the above fact has lost sight of the second respondent?" 3. We have heard Mr.A.P.Srinivas, learned Senior Standing Counsel appearing for the appellant. 4. Though the respondents were initially represented by a counsel, subsequently they withdrew their appearance and the Court had ordered notice, which was not ser....
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.... Exchange Management (Export and Import of Currency) Regulations, 2000 prohibits export and import of foreign currency without the general or special permission of the Reserve Bank of India. Regulation 7 deals with Export of foreign exchange and currency notes. It is relevant to extract both the Regulations, which are as follows: "Prohibition on export and import of foreign currency. 5. Except as otherwise provided in these regulations, no person shall, without the general or special permission of the Reserve Bank, export or send out of India, or import or bring into India, any foreign currency. 7. Export of foreign exchange and currency notes. (1) An authorized person may send out of India forei....
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....e confiscation. We find, in the present case, the passenger has concealed the currency of 55,500 US dollars and other currencies, attempted to be take it out of India without a special or general permission of the Reserve Bank of India and this is in violation of the Rules. The fact that it was procured from persons other than authorized person as specified under the FEMA, makes the goods liable for confiscation in view of the above-said prohibition. Therefore, the Original Authority was justified in ordering absolute confiscation of the currency. The key word in Regulation 5 is prohibition of import and export of foreign currency. The exception is that special or general permission should be obtained from the Reserve Bank....
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....business purpose, the fact remains, that the said drawal of the foreign currency should be only from an authorized person in terms of Rule 2(b) of the Foreign Exchange Management (Current Account Transactions) Rules, 2000. The passenger, in this case, attempted to take the money out of India without a proper declaration and has not obtained from an authorized person, thereby, he has violated the Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Currency) Regulations, 2000. Therefore, the Department was justified in rightly invoking the said provision. The Tribunal, without adverting to the prohibition imposed under Regulation 5 of the Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Currency) Regulations, 2000 has come to the erroneous con....