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2016 (5) TMI 83 - HC - CustomsConstitutionality of amended Section 129E of the Customs Act, 1962 - Imposition of exemplary penalty under Section 112 of the Customs Act - Improper importation of gold bars of foreign origin - Appellant contended that penalty imposed on the basis of value of smuggled gold could not have been made as gold is not a prohibited item nor is the import thereof prohibited by virtue of any notification or order under the Act of 1962 or any other law for the time being in force. Held that:- there is a distinction between Section 111 and Section 112 of the Act. The former provides for confiscation of improperly imported goods and the latter prescribes the penalty for improper importation of goods. It is possible for a provision providing for confiscation of goods to be liberally interpreted, but when a provision provides for punishment it has to be strictly construed. The expression “goods in respect of which any prohibition is in force" in the context of Section 112 of the Act would imply goods which are prohibited from being imported and not goods which have been smuggled into the country in contravention of the procedure established by law for the import thereof. Thus, while the corresponding provision in Section 111 of the Act permits the confiscation of the goods on a broader construction of the relevant expression with reference to the definition of “prohibited goods”; the similar provision in Section 112 of the Act has to be strictly construed and confined to goods which are expressly prohibited from being imported into the country. Therefore, the order impugned in so far it imnposes the penalty on either petitioner based on the value of the goods, is set aside and the matter remanded for such limited purpose for the imposition of such other quantum of penalty that may be permissible. - Decided in favour of appellant to limited extent
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