TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2023 (5) TMI 264
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.... Lucknow whereby the respondents were given an option to redeem the confiscated gold on payment of redemption fine. The appeal was admitted by an order dated 21.04.2019 on the following substantial questions of law:- "A. Whether the Customs Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal, Allahabad is correct in upholding the order dated 27.08.2018 passed by the Commissioner (Appeals) without addressing itself in its final order the findings recorded by the Adjudicating Authority relating to absolute confiscation of smuggled gold and foreign currency? B. Whether the Customs Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal, Allahabad is correct in allowing to release the smuggled gold on redemption of fine and also by reducing the redemption fine?" 4. During hearing, the learned counsel for the appellant did not press substantial question No. B and he had confined his submissions to question No. A only. 5. The aforesaid question No. A has been answered in the judgment sought to be reviewed by stating that "nothing has been placed before this Court to establish that this finding of the Commissioner (Appeals) is wrong or erroneous and that gold falls within the category of 'prohibited goods'. Th....
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...."any prohibition imposed by any law for the time being in force in this country" is liable to be confiscated. "Any prohibition" referred to in that section applies to every type of "prohibition". That prohibition may be complete or partial.' 8. The next decision placed by Sri Deepak Seth before this Court is Om Prakash Bhatia v. Commissioner of Customs, Delhi, 2003 (155) E.L.T. 423 (S.C.) in which the Hon'ble Supreme Court held as under:- "8. Further, Section 2 (33) of the Act defines "prohibited goods" as under:- "prohibited goods" means any goods the import or export of which is subject to any prohibition under this Act or any other law for the time being in force but does not include any such goods in respect of which the conditions subject to which the goods are permitted to be imported or exported have been complied with." 9. From the aforesaid definition, it can be stated that (a) if there is any prohibition of import or export of goods under the Act or any other law for the time being in force, it would be considered to be prohibited goods; and (b) this would not include any such goods in respect of which the conditions, subject to which the goods are imported or expo....
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....udicating authority has not been dealt with by any higher authority, including by this Court. He has submitted that the Adjudicating Authority has recorded in his order dated 30.12.2015 that the officers of the GRP Mugalsarai had handed over to officers of DRI Varanasi the respondents along with impugned gold bars and Thai currency. In their statements, the respondents had admitted having brought the said impugned gold and Thai currency into India illegally without declaring the same at Gaya International Airport. The impugned goods were seized on the basis of a reasonable belief that the same were illegally brought into India in contravention of the provisions pertaining to its import and the same were liable to be confiscated under Section 111 of the Customs Act, 1962. The Adjudicating Authority held that the respondents had brought the impugned gold and Thai currency from a foreign country to India in contravention of the provisions of Section 77 of the Customs Act, 1962 and the notification dated 17.03.2012, as amended by the Notification dated 18.04.2012, and the said articles are liable for confiscation under Section 111 of the Act. 10. The Adjudicating Authority further hel....
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....time within six months from the date of the order, with a view to rectifying any mistake apparent from the record, amend any order passed by it under sub-section (1) and shall make such amendments if the mistake is brought to its notice by the Commissioner or the other party to the appeal". If the department was of the view that the aforesaid finding of the Tribunal was erroneous, it could have approached the Tribunal for review of the judgment under the aforesaid provision, which the department chose not to do and it chose not to assail the aforesaid finding even the appeal filed before this Court. In these circumstances, the orders passed by this Court cannot be termed as an order suffering from an error apparent on the face of record. 15. We have considered the submissions made by the learned Counsel for the parties. 16. In the present case, the Commissioner (Appeals) has held that the gold is not a prohibited item, it should be offered for redemption in terms of Section 125 of the Act. The Tribunal has recorded that the respondents had brought impugned Gold from Bangkok to Gaya International Airport without declaring the same to Customs Authorities and there was nothing to ex....