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TMI Blog2005 (2) TMI 581X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e impugned orders confiscated the goods, imposed redemption fines and also imposed penalty on the person from whose possession the goods were seized. Hence these appeals. 2. The details of the appeals are summarised in a tabular form below : Appeal No. Description of goods Quantity in MT Value of goods (Rs.) Duty (Rs.) Redemption fine (Rs.) Penalty (Rs.) C/151 Imported stainless steel coils 16.8 10,31,875/- 6,92,248/- 1,10,000/- 28,400/- C/170 -do- 25.780 15,83,437/- 10,62,270/- 1,70,000/- 42,454/- C/148 -do- 28.960 17,78,756/- 11,93,303/- 1,90,928/- 47,732/- C/167 -do- 21.940 13,47,580/- 9,04,043/- 1,44,647/- 36,161/- C/105 Stainless steel CR/HR sheets SS coils 19.260 5.730 12 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... sed them from various stockists/importers in Mumbai. The department thereupon contacted the stockists/importers and enquired with them whether they have sold the goods found in the appellants' premises. They in their statements recorded under Section 108 denied having sold the goods in question to the appellants. The Commissioner in the impugned orders mainly relied on the fact that the appellants could not explain the possession of the imported goods nor were they in a position to explain as to where they got the goods from nor were they in a position to say whether duty had been paid on the goods or not. To come to the conclusion that the goods are smuggled and therefore were liable to confiscation, the Commissioner relied on the above ev ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the fact sought to be proved. The Commissioner also relied on the Supreme Court's decision second cited above to say that the customs authorities discharged the burden cast on them by falsifying any material particulars of the story put forward by the appellants. The court also held that it cannot be disputed that a false denial could be relied on by the customs authorities for the purpose of coming to the conclusion that the goods had been illegally imported. 4. The Commissioner also discussed the various case law filed by the appellants before him and distinguished those cases in the light of what has been stated by the apex court in the two decisions cited above. He proceeded to confiscate the goods in the light of these observatio ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... o local market, the proper authority to adjudicate the case would be the Commissioner in charge of the port through which the goods were imported and not the Commissioner, Mumbai; and that in any view of the matter, the department failed to establish that the goods were smuggled into the country and on the basis of mere presumptions and assumptions the goods cannot be confiscated under Section 111(d) of the Customs Act. 7. We have carefully considered the rival submissions and perused the records. We observe that the customs authorities have powers to investigate cases irrespective of whether the goods involved are notified or non-notified. In the present case, the officers on gathering certain intelligence made investigations to find ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... raise a presumption in its favour with regard to the existence of the fact sought to be proved when the owners of the goods refused to divulge correctly as to where they got the goods from. That the goods are of foreign origin is not denied by the appellants. The Supreme Court also observed in Kanungo's case that a false denial could be relied by the customs authorities for the purpose of coming to the conclusion that the goods had been illegally imported. Thus, when the appellants claim that they have purchased the goods from some persons and when the latter deny having sold the goods to the appellants, it can be concluded that the appellants were making a false statement. The conduct of the appellants also is relevant to draw a presumpti ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... (d). We observe that if the goods are brought by a person who does not have an I.E. code, they are liable to confiscation. In this case since the allegation is that the goods have been removed without payment of customs duty, they are liable to confiscation under Section 111(d) of the Customs Act. 9. The Commissioner imposed various penalties on the persons from whose possession the goods had been seized under Section 112(b) of the Customs Act. It is now well established that mens rea is an important ingredient for imposing a penalty on the persons enumerated in Section 112(b) of the Customs Act. The goods may be liable to confiscation for contravention of the provisions of the Customs Act but the person who is in possession of the go ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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