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2017 (10) TMI 306 - HC - CustomsSmuggling - Absolute confiscation - Sandal Wood Chips - penalty - Section 129 (E) of the Customs Act - The appellant mainly objected the adjudication on the ground that Section 125 of the Customs Act, 1962, requires exercise of judicial discretion by the adjudicating authority and grant option to the exporter or importer to redeem goods. He explained that the goods were sandalwood chips and were procured from genuine sources and not attempted to smuggle - Held that: - if the party was prevented from appearing due to sufficient cause and when the cause shows the prevention of the party from appearing before the authorities, the Tribunal or Court may take into consideration of recalling the order. The show cause notice was issued in the year 1992 and the original authority passed confiscation order and imposed penalty. Even after a lapse of 25 years, the authority was not able to implement the order till date, which would go to show that the appellant, was not interested in pursuing the adjudication and tried to protract the matter in one way or the other either before adjudicating authority or before this court - the appellant, in one way or the other, has protracted the proceedings, right from the year 1992, till date and on perusal of the application made before the authority for recalling the order, it would show that no sufficient cause was established for preventing the person from appearing before the authority. Without establishing sufficient cause for non-appearance before the authority, that too, when the appellant has filed a petition to recall the order when he all along, agitated the case before the authorities, his non-appearance before the Appellate Authority in his appeal, this Court, is not convinced with the reason given in the application for recalling the order - decided against appellant.
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