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2011 (4) TMI 1035 - AT - CustomsPenalty and fine for Mis-declaration of the description of the goods - short payment of duty - held that:- The part played by Shri Balbir Singh Sethi clearly amounts of abetment of illicit import and also being concerned in transportation and storage of the illicitly imported goods which he knew were liable for confiscation. - penalty under Section 112 of Customs Act, 1962 had been rightly imposed on Shri Balbir Singh Sethi. However, looking to the part played by him the penalty of Rs. 1,00,00,000/- appears to be harsh and the same is reduced to Rs. 10,00,000/-. Reduction of penalty where duty has been paid before SCN - held that:- The ratio of Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of CCE, Jaipur v. Rajasthan Spinning & Weaving Mills Ltd. (2001 -TMI - 1709 - SUPREME COURT OF INDIA) is squarely applicable to the facts of this case and just because the appellant had paid part of the duty demand prior to the issue of show cause notice, the penalty on them under Section 114A cannot be reduced to that extent. Penalty on proprietor as well as on firm - held that:- penalty can be imposed either on him or on M/s. Meerut Exim and there is no justification for separate penalty on M/s. Meerut Exim or its Proprietor Shri Ashwani Kumar Jain as a proprietorship firm and its proprietor are not separate entities but are one entity. In view of this, while the penalty under Section 112 on Shri Ashwani Kumar Jain is upheld, penalty under Section 112 on M/s. Import Exim is set aside. However, looking to the fact that penalty equal to the duty demand has been imposed on the importer firm under Section 114A, penalty on Shri Ashwani Kumar Jain under Section 112(a) is reduced to Rs. 25,00,000/-. Fine u/s 125 - goods not available for confiscation - held that:- in case of Blue Dart Express v. Commissioner of Customs (1999 -TMI - 90903 - CEGAT, NEW DELHI) it was held that no fine can be imposed under Section 125(1) of the Customs Act, 1962 in respect of the goods held to be liable for confiscation but which are not available for confiscation for the reason that the same at the time of import had been cleared unconditionally without any objection - redemption fine in lieu of confiscation under Section 125(1) is not a fine as understood in criminal jurisprudence, that it is not a penalty in that sense, that it is only an option to the person to pay an amount in lieu of confiscation and that it contains no penal connotation.
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