1987 (3) TMI 114

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....l items for his personal use and for the use of his family members. He was directed to pay a duty of Rs.4000/- at the Cash Counter. He, accordingly deposited the duty at the Cash Counter. However, when the Customs Authorities checked petitioners 2 to 5, it was found that they were carrying three V.C.R.s (National), 12 blank video cassettes, 1 Konica C-35 Camera and 2 Video Games. The Assistant Collector, Air Customs, Delhi Airport confiscated the said goods under Section 111 of the Customs Act, 1962 and valued the goods at Rs. 13,600/- and imposed a personal penalty of Rs. 4,000/- under Section 112 of the said Act vide spot adjudication Order No. 1935 dated 2nd May, 1983. 2. The case of the petitioners is that under the Baggage Rules, ea....

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....ere not members of the same family and should have been checked as individuals and even if petitioner No. 1 had declared only one V.C.R., the other members were standing in the Red Channel and were ready and willing to pay the customs duty. 4. The case of the respondent is that when the petitioners landed at Palam Airport, they declared themselves as one family and the goods of the five passengers were declared to be worth Rs.10,250/- collectively and the petitioners were permitted free allowance admissible under the Baggage Rules to the extent of Rs. 6,250/- i.e. Rs. 1,250/- per passenger. Since only one V.C.R. was declared, the petitioners were asked to pay Rs. 6,800/- as customs duty for the value of goods in excess of the free allowa....

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.... is the requirement of law. However, in the present case, there was no question of considering the bona fides of the petitioners because Petitioner No. 1 represented that all the petitioners were members of the same family and declared only one V.C.R. If it is a case of false declaration, then whether they belong to one family or they arrived as individuals actually did not make any difference. 6. However, there is one aspect of the matter which in my opinion, appears to have been missed by all the authorities below. Section 125 of the Customs Act, 1962 provides that the adjudicating officer has the discretion to release the prohibited goods by imposing fine in lieu of confiscation. Section 125 of the Customs Act reads as follows :- "....