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2018 (5) TMI 1625 - CESTAT ALLAHABADSmuggling - Foreign origin Gold - Town Seizure - Confiscation - Penalty - the whole case of revenue is based on the retracted statement (s) of appellant S.A. Khan and father of the other appellant Shri Mridul Agarwal. Held that: - Gold is not a prohibited item and can be imported upon payment of duty. Further, it is a case of town seizer and the customs officers have seized the Gold on the suspicion of smuggling, without there being any actual evidence of smuggling - these persons are not examined in the adjudication proceedings and as such their statements are not admissible, as evidence under the provisions of Section 138B of Customs Act. Penalties - Held that: - the appellants namely Shri Mridul Agarwal and Shri Satish Kumar have categorically denied their connection with the seized Gold and in absence of any corroborative evidence the imposition of penalty on them is bad and fit to be set aside - penalty imposed on Shri S.A. Khan, as smuggling is not established. Absolute confiscation - Held that: - as the appellant Shri S.A. Khan have not discharged the burden of proof under Section 123 of the Act (the presumption of gold being smuggled), the confiscation is upheld but the absolute confiscation is set aside by the learned Commissioner. Appeal allowed in part.
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