Gold smuggling penalties depend on proved seizure, corroboration and nexus; untested statements alone are insufficient in customs adjudication.

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....Customs adjudication in gold smuggling matters turns on the proved seizure, corroboration and nexus, not on untested allegations of a larger conspiracy. The Tribunal treated retracted statements under Section 108 as usable only where supported by independent material such as call data, travel records, recoveries, money trails and other surrounding circumstances, and it held that cross-examination is not an absolute right in quasi-judicial proceedings. Where the department proved a nexus, penalties and confiscation were sustained or reduced; where corroboration was absent, penalties and related confiscations were set aside.....