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2016 (12) TMI 894 - AT - CustomsRecovery of 4879.90 gms of gold jewellery concealed in 'metal sheet design cutting die' and 'bottle hydraulic jack' which was confiscated - the courier company failed to maintain due diligence and violated regulation 13(a),(c) of Courier (Imports and Exports) Clearance Regulations, 1988 - Held that: - It is observed that the beneficiaries of the illicit import of gold jewellery are the shipper and the consignee. Courier companies typically book packages which are then transported to the destination airport where the local associate of overseas courier completes customs formalities and undertakes delivery of the consignments. Failure to deliver at the correct address is can, at least, be a dispute of civil nature between the shipper and the courier company. The appellant is a local associate of the overseas courier company; there is no client in India nor is any payment received from the consignee. The duty liability, if any, is also discharged before the courier packages are removed from the custody of the Customs. The utilisation of a sub-contractor for undertaking local delivery is a business decision which is beyond the scope of Courier (Imports and Exports) Clearance Regulations. In the present instance the goods were still under Customs custody when the investigation was conducted and there is no scope for an allegation that the appellant had, at any stage, abetted in the import of the contravening goods. For the above reason the impugned order has failed to discharge its obligation to render a finding with sufficient evidence. Appeal allowed - penalty set aside - decided in favor of appellant.
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