TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2025 (10) TMI 890
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....14AA ibid., totally amounting to Rs.1,50,000/- (Rupees One Lakh Fifty Thousand only). 1.1. Customs Appeal No. 76114 of 2025 has been filed by Shri Shashank Agrawal [hereinafter referred to as the "appellant no. 2"], S/o. Shri Vikash Kumar Agrawal, against the Order-in-Appeal No. 5458/PAT/CUS/APPEAL/2025-26 dated 26.06.2025 seeking waiver of the penalties of Rs.35,000/- (Rupees Thirty Five Thousand only) each imposed under Sections 112(a) and 112(b) of the Customs Act, 1962, totally amounting to Rs.70,000/- (Rupees Seventy Thousand only). 1.2. Customs Appeal No. 76115 of 2025 has been filed by Shri Santosh Kumar [hereinafter referred to as the "appellant no. 3"], against the Order-in-Appeal No. 54-58/PAT/CUS/APPEAL/2025-26 dated 26.06.2025 inter alia seeking release of 100 kgs. of the Silver Granules, confiscated under clauses (b) and (d) of Section 111 of the Customs Act, 1962 read with Sub-section (1) of Section 120 of the said Act. The appellant no. 3 also sought waiver of the penalties of Rs.50,000/- (Rupees Fifty Thousand only) each imposed under Sections 112(a), 112(b) and 114AA ibid., totally amounting to Rs.1,50,000/- (Rupees One Lakh Fifty Thousand only). 2. ....
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....cer of DIU, Muzaffarpur, being a Gazetted officer. During the course of search, secret cavities were found in middle portion of the back seat and back portion of the front seat adjacent to the driver's seat of the said vehicle. Upon detailed search, 47 packets of Silver Granules were recovered from the secret cavity made in the back seat of the vehicle and 05 packets of Silver Granules were recovered from back portion of the front seat adjacent to the driver's seat of the said vehicle. Thus, 52 packets containing Silver Granules were recovered from the said vehicle, with all the packets being serially numbered. On being asked about documents related to legal possession of the recovered 52 packets containing Silver Granules, the said intercepted persons could not produce any valid documents evidencing legal possession/importation/purchase/sale/transportation, etc. of the said silver granules. 4.1. On preliminary enquiry, Shri Shashank Agrawal / appellant no. 2 had revealed that the recovered Silver Granules were smuggled from Nepal into India and he brought it from Jaynagar, which is situated near Indo-Nepal Border in Madhubani district of Bihar. The appellant no. 2 had f....
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....rawal, Shri Subhan Malik, Shri Vikash Kumar Agrawal also suggested that Shri Ajay Kumar is merely a driver and not concerned with the intercepted goods. 9. In respect of the other intercepted persons namely, (1) Shri Shashank Agrawal, S/o- Shri Vikash Kumar Agrawal, (2) Subhan Malik, S/o- Late Usman Malik, it was alleged that they had been consciously engaged in procuring, possessing, carrying & transporting of smuggled Silver Granules despite knowing that and have reason to believe that the said goods are liable for confiscation and hence they are liable to be prosecuted under Section 135 (1) (a) & (b) of the Act. Further, it was also alleged that (3) Shri Vikash Kumar Agrawal and (4) Shri Santosh Kumar were consciously engaged in purchase, carriage, selling of Smuggled silver Granules and involved in evasion of Customs duty chargeable thereon; that they were consciously involved in dealing in such smuggled goods despite knowing that the said goods are liable for confiscation and hence they are liable to be prosecuted under Section 135 (1) (a) & (b) ibid. 9.1. From the above, it appeared to the Revenue that the above said four persons namely Shri Shashank Agrawal, Shri Subha....
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.... of 260 kgs of silver granules made by DRI, because he has received a phone call on 05.10.2021 intimating this seizure of silver granules in Muzaffarpur Bihar and asking for arranging Bills for that seizure but he readily denied for issuing any bill. Mr. Anil Kumar further added that there is no firm in the name and style of A N Enterprises in that address 1186, Kucha Mahajani Chandani Chowk, North Delhi-110006. It was also informed that address mentioned (Chandni Chowk, North Delhi-110096) in the said invoices Invoice No. 390, 391, 392, 397, 398 and 399 all dated 01.10.2021 was also wrong as the area of Chandni Chowk, Delhi comes under Pin code 110006 and not under Pin Code 110096. 10.2. A request was made to the Deputy Commissioner, CGST, New Delhi vide F.No. DRI/718(II) 06-Seizure/MRU/2021/566 dated 22.10.2021 to provide full details like name of proprietor, principal & additional place of business, Bank Account details, Mobile No. & Email ID of GSTIN 07DAOPA1993P1Z1 i.e., A N Enterprises, 1186, Kucha Mahajani, Chandani Chowk, North Delhi-110096 along with copy of GSTR3B, GSTR 1 & GSTR 2A from the period April 2021 onwards and also to ascertain through physical verification w....
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....ustoms House, Kolkata vide his Lab Report No. 296/SZD/ (G) dated 26:10.2021 informed that "The Sample is in the form of shinning of white metallic Granules. It is composed of Silver containing 99.9% of Silver by weight." 13. From the above, it was alleged that the seized total 52 packets containing Gross Weight of 260.67 Kg (Net weight 259.99 Kg) Silver granules packed therein recovered from the said vehicle occupied by Shri Shashank Agrawal and Shri Subhan Malik had been smuggled through off routes and illicit channels in gross defiance of the provisions of Customs Act/Rules and Notification thereof and in contravention of the other provision of the Foreign Trade Policy. The said silver granules thus appeared to have been smuggled in the country from Nepal through off routes in contravention of provisions of section 7, 11, 11 (A to F), 46 & 47 of the Customs Act, 1962; the Silver Granules was being carried, transported and dealt with in contravention and defiance to the provision of Notification No. 36/2015-2020 dated 18.12.2019 issued by DGFT, Department of Commerce, GOI and hence, such seized Silver granules is liable to confiscation in teams of provisions of section 111(b) a....
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....s was Shri Santosh Kumar. For such acts of transporting, possessing, dealing in the seized Silver granules, which appeared liable for confiscation, it was alleged that the appellant no. 3 had made himself liable to penalty for his omission and commissions in terms of provisions of Section 112 (a) and/or (b) of the Customs Act, 1962. 14. On the basis of the allegations as contained in the above paragraphs, the Show Cause Notice dated 15.03.2022 came to be issued to the appellants herein, amongst others, proposing confiscation of the total seized 52 packets containing Silver Granules having a gross weight of 260.67 kg. (Net Weight 259.99 kg.) valued at Rs.1,61,93,162.70/- under Section 111(b) and (d) of the Customs Act, 1962 as well as the seized Hyundai i-20 sportz car bearing Reg. No. BR 06CN-8740 under Section 115(2) of the Customs Act, 1962. Penalty under the provisions of Section 112(a), Section 112(b) and Section 114AA of the said Act was also proposed, inter alia, on the appellants herein for their alleged role in the present offence, as discussed in the foregoing paragraphs. 14.1. In the reply to Show Cause Notice, Shri Vikash Kumar Agrawal and Shri Santosh Kumar have i....
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....d) Rs.50,000/- (Rupees Fifty Thousand) 2 (Shashank Agarwal) Rs.35,000/- (Rupees Thirty Five Thousand) Rs.35,000/- (Rupees Thirty Five housand) - 3 (Santosh Kumar) Rs.50,000/- (Rupees Fifty Thousand) Rs.50,000/- (Rupees Fifty Thousand) Rs.50,000/- (Rupees Fifty Thousand) 16. The appellants challenged the above Order-in-Original dated 30.05.2023 before the Ld. Commissioner (Appeals), C.G.S.T. and Central Excise, Patna Commissionerate, who, vide the impugned Order-in-Appeal No. 54-58/PAT/CUS/APPEAL/202526 dated 26.06.2025, has rejected the said appeals. 16.1. Aggrieved, the appellants have filed the instant appeals. 17. During the course of arguments, the Ld. Counsel appearing on behalf of the appellants herein made various submissions, which can be broadly summarized as under: - (i) 'Silver Granules' is not a Notified item under Section 123 of the Customs Act'1962. Silver bullion is notified under Section 123 of the Customs Act 1962 vide Notification No. 103/2016-Customs (NT) dated 25.07.2016 and only silver bullion is notified for the purpose of the Section ibid. Therefore, the Revenue has to prove that the item is of foreign made and....
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....nd 111(d) only. Therefore, it appears that the adjudicating authority has proceeded to confirm the proposals in the said Show Cause Notice in a lackadaisical manner without application of mind. (viii) In the Order-in-Original, the adjudicating authority confiscated the goods without giving an option to redeem the goods. As per section 125 of the Customs Act 1962 in case of goods those are not prohibited, the adjudicating authority shall give to the owner an option to pay fine in lieu of confiscation. In the instant case, the goods have not been absolutely confiscated, but any option to pay fine has also not been given. (ix) As the Department has failed to prove the smuggled character of the seized Silver Granules, the confiscation of the vehicle in question cannot be sustained in the eye of law. (x) The Ld. Commissioner (Appeals) has rejected the appeals of the appellants without giving any finding on the above point raised by the appellants. (xi) The appellants rely on the decision in the case of Commissioner of Customs, Patna vs. Lalit Krishna Agrawal [2024 (387) E.L.T. 424 (Tri. Kolkata)], wherein, in an identical case, the Tribunal has held t....
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.... Customs Act, 1962 vide Notification No. 103/2016-Customs (NT) dated 25.07.2016 and only silver bullion is notified for the purpose of the Section. Thus, it is seen that the 'Silver Granules' in question is not a Notified item under Section 123 of the Customs Act, 1962. Therefore, we are of the view that the responsibility is on the Revenue to prove that the item is of foreign make and the same has been smuggled. In the present case, we observe that the Revenue has not brought in any evidence to establish that the 'Silver Granules' in question were smuggled in nature. We also take note of the fact that there is no foreign inscription on the seized silver granules. Merely on suspicion it was held that that the same have been smuggled from Nepal. The Revenue cannot presume that such 'Silver Granules' are smuggled in nature without any corroborative evidence in support thereto. Thus, we hold that the Revenue cannot shift their responsibility and ask the appellants to prove that the 'Silver Granules' are not smuggled in nature. Thus, we are of the considered view that the appellants were not required to produce import documents at the place of seizure of the imp....
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....n that the goods are third country origin goods. Therefore, first, onus on the Revenue is to make a reasonable belief that the goods are of third country. Admittedly, no such evidence has been produced by the Revenue to allege that to make a reasonable belief, the goods are of third country origin. In the absence of that, the goods in question cannot be confiscated." 20.7. In view of the above discussions, we hold that there was no 'reasonable belief' in this case for seizure of the 'Silver Granules' in question in terms of Section 110(1) of the Customs Act, 1962. 21. Regarding the documentary evidence submitted by the appellants to substantiate their claim that the 'Silver Granules' were domestically procured, it is observed from the records that the appellants have claimed that they had purchased the said 160 kgs and 100 kgs of Silver Granules respectively from a firm by name M/s. AN Enterprises, 1186, Kucha Mahajani, Chandani Chowk, North Delhi-110096 (GSTIN 07DAOPA1993P1Z1). In support of their claim, they submitted Invoice No. 390, 391, 392, 397, 398 and 399 all dated 01.10.2021 and Delivery Challans No. 390, 391, 392, 397, 398 and 399 all dated 01.10.202....
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....nal authority and First Appellate Authority did not allow the cross examination as provided under Section 138B of the Customs Act, 1962. Thus, in these circumstances, we find that their statements have no evidentiary value against the appellants. In the present case, it is pertinent to observe that other than the statements, there is no other evidence available on record to implicate the appellants in the alleged offence. As the statements have not been tested as required under section 138B of the Customs Act, 1962, we hold that the confiscation ordered in the impugned order on the basis of such untested statements is not sustainable and hence we set aside the same. 22.1. As the confiscation of the 'Silver Granules' in the impugned order is not sustained, we hold that the imposition of penalties on the appellants is not sustainable and hence, we set aside the same. 22.2. Regarding the confiscation of the vehicle used for transportation of the 'Silver Granules', in view of the findings in the preceding paragraphs wherein it has been held that the 'Silver Granules' in question are not liable for confiscation, we hold that the said vehicle used for transp....
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....ce (Original For Pecepient) A N ENTERPRISES Invoice fin 391 01-Oct-2021 Waterterms of Payment Suppliers Pet Buyer's Ördier Fo Datnej 01-Oct-2021 Despatch Document fig trolvery tinta Date Despatched through Diestration Bihar Terms of Delivery 1186,KUCHA MAHAJANI. CHANDNI CHOWK, NORTH DELHI-110096 GSTIN: 07DAOPA1993P1Z1 Buye AGRAWAL GOLD HOUSE GARIB ASTHAN ROAD, CHATA BAZAR MUZAFFARPUR-842001 GSTIN/UIN : 10AAPPA6373H3ZV State Name : Bihar SI Description of Goods HSN'SAC GST Rate Quantity Rate Amourt 1 STANDARD SILVER 7106 3% 60.100 60.320.00 K 36,25.232.00 (SILVER GRANULES) 36.25.232 00 3 Output IGST @ 3% +0.04 Round Off Tota Rs.37,33,989.0 Amount Chargeable(in words) E. 80 E INR Thirty Seven Lakhs Thirty Three Thousand Nine Hundred Eighty Nine Only HSN SAC 7106 Taxable Value Integrated Tax Tots Amount Race Amount Tax Amount 36,25,232.00 3% 1,08,755 96 1.09.756 96 Total 36,25,232.00 1,08,756 96 1,08,756.96 Tax Amount (in words) : INR One Lakh Eight Thousand Seven Hundred Fifty Six Only FOR A.N.ENTERPRISES for A N ENTERPRISES Declaration We declare that this ....
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....akhs Eighty Two Thousand Five Hundred Twenty Seven Only Taxable Valve Integrated Tax Teor Tax Amount 54,830.88 Amount Amount 15.27,696.00 54,830 28 11,27,696.00 54.830.88 54.830.88 HSN SAC 710% Tota Tax Amount (in words) : INR Fifty Four Thousand Eight Hundred Thirty Only Declaration We declare that this invoice shows the actual price of the goods described and that all particulars are true and correct FOR AN ENTERPRISES for A N'ENTERPRISES Prepared by SUBJECT TO DELHJURISDICTION Document 5 Tax Involed A N ENTERPRISES 390 01-Oct-2021 Del very finde Suppler's Frf Buyer's Orter Nin 01-Oct-2021 Despatch Document No. Despatched through Destination Bihar Terms of Delivery 1186,KUCHA MAHAJANI, CHANDNI CHOWK, NORTH DELHI-11009G GSTIN: 07DAOPA1993P1Z1 AGRAWAL GOLD HOUSE GARIB ASTHAN ROAD, CHATA BAZAR MUZAFFARPUR-842001 GSTINJUIN : 10AAPPA6373H3ZV State Name : Bihar S Description of Goods HSWSAC GST Rata Quantty Rat Amount 1 STANDARD SILVER (SILVER GRANULES) 7106 3% 29.600 60.320 00 K 17,85.472.00 53,564.15 Output IGST @ 3% -0.16 Round Off Rs.18,39,036.0 Total Rs.18,39,036.0 E. 60 E A....
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....2.00 1. 397 01-10-2021 R Bihar N 18,82.527.00 10,27,696.00 398 01-10-2021 F Bihar 18,39,036,00 17,85,472.00 399 01-10-2021 Bihar 24,91,397,00 24,18,832.00 BACK C 2025-26 Goods and Services Tax Network Designed & Developed by GSTN Site Last Updated on 24-06-2025 Site best viewed at 1024 x 768 resolution in Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome 49+, Firefox 45+ and Safari 6+ Skip to Main Content U A Goods and Services Tax Government of India, States and Union Territories & VIKASH KUMAR AGRAWAL 10MAPPA637JHIZV Dashboard > Search Taxpayer > Search by GSTIN/UIN Search Taxpayer * indicates mandatory fields GSTIN/UIN of the Taxpayer* 07DACPA1993P1Z1 SEARCH Search Result based on GSTIN/UIN : 07DAOPA1993P1Z1 Note: . Wherever data of % of Tax Payment in Cash is displayed for Composition Taxpayer, it pertains to the period where such Taxpayer was registered as a Normal Taxpayer. Legal Name of Business ANIL Trade Name A N Enterprises Additional Trade Name View Profile Place of Business Administrative Office (JURISDICTION - CENTER) State - CBIC Zone - DELHI Commissionerate - DELHI NORTH Division - OLD DEL....