2023 (11) TMI 72

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....hey are in the said business from the year 2020, in which Shri N.S. Balaji and his wife Smt. N.B. Anita are partners. For the purpose of conduct of the business in bullion and jewellery, the appellant is registered with the G.S.T. authorities having Registration No. 33AEGFS0250QIZU and that they have been filing their returns with the G.S.T. authorities on local purchase and sale of bullion and jewellery without any default or let on their part. 1.2 It is the further case of the appellant that on 02.02.2022, officers of the DRI conducted search and seizure operations at the premises of the appellant and that the accounts in Tally were verified with the available stock, which were apparently found to be correct. The Officers had seized 35....

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....e gold bullion as requested, appears to have approached the Hon'ble High Court by way of multiple Writ Petitions and the Hon'ble High Court vide its latest Order in W.P. No. 24141 of 2022 dated 30.09.2022, directed the lower authority to dispose of the request for release of goods by following the principles of natural justice, consequent to which the Principal Commissioner of Customs (Air Cargo), Chennai has passed the impugned order thereby again reiterating that the seized gold could not be provisionally released and thereby rejecting their application. 4. The Learned Principal Commissioner has in the impugned order held that the gold seized from the appellant's premises was allegedly procured from importers who have diverted imported....

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....nd arbitrary. He has referred to the Judgment of the Hon'ble High Court of New Delhi in Additional Director General (Adjudication) vs Its My Name Pvt. Ltd. [2021 (375) E.L.T. 545 (Del.)] to state that mere fact that imported goods, consequent on adjudication may, possibly, be held liable to confiscation at a later stage, cannot be a ground to refuse provisional release. He thus prayed that the impugned goods may be ordered to be released provisionally. 8. Shri Rudra Pratap Singh, Ld. Authorized Representative (Additional Commissioner) for the Revenue has vehemently opposed the release of the gold provisionally and has reiterated the points given in the impugned order. 9. We have gone through the facts as pleaded by both sides. We take....