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2015 (12) TMI 537 - HC - CustomsPower of Settlement Commission to entertain the matter pertaining to Gold - Seizure of goods - Illicit import of goods - Imposition of interest and penalty - Held that:- Respondent sought to place reliance on the decision of this Court in Commissioner of Customs v. Ashok Kumar Jain: [2013 (8) TMI 317 - DELHI HIGH COURT]. But, the decision in Ashok Kumar Jain (supra) was distinguished inasmuch as the issue of Section 123 had not been considered at all. It was finally observed, upon a plain reading of the provisions, that an application under Section 127B cannot be made in respect of, inter alia, ‘gold’ which is specifically an item to which Section 123 applies. That being the position, the application filed by the respondent under Section 127B could not have been proceeded with at all. The learned counsel for the respondent No.1 submitted that the petitioner/revenue never objected before the Settlement Commission and even accepted the penalty and fine which were imposed by the Settlement Commission. It was also contended that the petitioner had gone to the extent of issuing a release letter dated 08.06.2015 subsequent to the order of the Settlement Commission. But, we cannot agree with this submission of the learned counsel for the respondent No.1 inasmuch as there cannot be any estoppel against the statute. Once the statute is clear that where the subject matter is ‘gold’, the Settlement Commission would not have any jurisdiction to entertain the application under Section 127B, any order passed in contravention of the statute cannot be sustained on the ground of estoppel. - Impugned order is set aside - Decided in favour of Revenue.
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