1999 (2) TMI 80

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....hat the petitioner had not paid the Customs duty on the gold. The respondents' further case is that the petitioner's contention that the gold which was seized was the same as was bought by them from Standard Chartered Bank is not correct, based on the identification of the gold as seized, when compared with the identification of the gold as sold by the Standard Chartered Bank. 4. During the course of arguments reliance was placed by the parties on Sections 110, 111 and 112 of the Customs Act. One thing, however which clearly emerged was that the importation of gold into India is not prohibited. The dispute, either leading to the confiscation of the gold or otherwise, is mainly with regard to the liability of the petitioner to pay the Cus....

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...., however, can only be decided finally on the completion of adjudication proceedings. It is not for me to hazard any comments about this aspect of the matter at this stage. I, however, feel that the release of the gold in favour of the petitioner shall be in conformity with the spirit of Section 125 of the Customs Act which does permit such a release in lieu of contemplated confiscation provided an order is passed ensuring that the duty of customs is paid and the interest of the respondents are properly safeguarded if ultimately the respondents do consider levying penalty. The proper safeguarding of the respondents' interests in a case like the present one can effectively be achieved by prescribing such measures which may ensure that the pe....