2026 (3) TMI 1463

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....d an intelligence to the effect that Canadian origin green peas were being illegally smuggled into India through Indo-Nepal border, intercepted four trucks at the godown and office of the Appellant on 12.10.2021. On completion of an enquiry/ investigation, a Show Cause Notice dated 08.04.2022, seeking confiscation of 45655 kgs of Green Peas alleged to be of foreign origin and the four trucks which were loaded with the green peas under various sub-sections of Section 111(b) of the Customs Act, 1962, was issued. Additional Commissioner, vide Order-in-Original dated 23.03.2023, upheld the proposals in the SCN and imposed penalty of Rs.5lakhs on Shri Rakesh Pandey and imposed penalties on various persons involved. On an appeal filed by the Appe....

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....putedly, the seizure has not taken place at any customs station or near the international border so that the officers could entertain reasons to believe that the impugned goods were smuggled. We find that other than merely alleging that the goods are smuggled, revenue did not establish the place, the method, the time and the persons involved in the smuggling of the impugned green peas. Moreover, we find that green peas are not notified under Section 123 of the Customs Act, 1962 and therefore, the burden of proof is on the revenue to prove that the green peas are of smuggled nature. We find that the adjudicating authority has not examined the persons whose statements had been relied upon in terms of Section 138 B of the Customs Act, 1962, fo....

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....ually covered by the documents or not. Mere fact that foreign origin of goods does not ipso facto lead to inevitable conclusion that the same are of smuggled character, as held in the following case laws: (i) Commissioner of Customs v. Monoranjan Bainik - 2004 (165) ELT. 237 (Tri - Kol.). (ii) Godari Rai v. Commissioner of Customs - 2003 (160) E.L.T. 1027/2003 taxmann.com 1389 (CEGAT - Kol.). (iii) Dipak Deb- 2003 (157) E.L.T. 237 (Commr. APPT) (iv) Jitendra Pawar v. Commissioner of Customs - 2003 (156) E.L.T. 622/2003 taxmann.com 908 (CEGAT - New Delhi) (v) Naveed Ahmed Khan - 2005 (182) E.L.T. 494 (Tri.-Bang.). In the liberalized economy, foreign goods have free entry and found in the ....