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2022 (10) TMI 964 - AT - CustomsLevy of penalty on the appellant under Section 112(b) of the Customs Act, 1962 - existence of material on record to prove that the appellant had submitted the fake gate pass or not - illegal removal of the subject container - prohibited goods or not - HELD THAT:- The findings of the Adjudicating Authority, clearly exonerates this appellant from the penal action under Section 114AA of the Customs Act, 1962, for the reason that there was no material on record to prove that the appellant had submitted the fake gate pass. The above, clubbed with the earlier portion of the order of the Adjudicating Authority that there was no evidence other than the statement of one Shri R. Suresh to suggest the involvement of this appellant in the illegal removal of the subject container, clearly indicates that the appellant has been targeted for no reason whatsoever in this case. Further, there is no material brought on record as to the role of this appellant, i.e., act or omission, that has led to the confiscation of the prohibited goods and it is a matter of record that no goods were confiscated at all in this case on hand. It is also a matter of record that the subject container was very much in the custody of the SIIB Officers since no Bill-of-Entry was ever filed and hence, the alleged removal from the CFS could only attract act of ‘theft’ under the Indian Penal Code, for which a separate police complaint was lodged and the Revenue has not placed before me the current status of the said complaint - Revenue has also not placed anything on record as to against whom such complaint has been lodged and if this appellant is one of the accused. Fastening the penalty under Section 112(b) ibid against this appellant is only a fallacy, which cannot be sustained at any stretch of imagination - Appeal allowed - decided in favor of appellant.
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