TMI Blog2017 (9) TMI 758X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ta, Jarnail Singh Chaudhary, Sanjay Sachdeva and Ms Anuradha Diwan have played their part in fabricating WPC licences which were handed-over and used for import of equipments. The various individuals have also admitted their role in the fraud in their respective statements. The penalty imposed on (1) M/s Aricent Holdings Ltd (2) M/s Hughes Communication India Ltd and (3) M/s Hughes Network Systems India Ltd upheld - The penalties imposed on various functionaries of ASL are fully justified and are upheld - appeal dismissed - decided against appellant. - C/53911, 54434, 54435, 54464, 54679, 54680, 55382-55387/2014 and 50729/2015(DB) - C/A/55965-55977/2017-CU[DB] - Dated:- 18-8-2017 - (Dr.) Satish Chandra, President And Mr. V. Padmanabhan, Member (Technical) Present for the Appellant : Ms Nupur Maheshwari, Advocate (SN 10-12), Sh. VR Sethi, Advocate (SN 13 22), Sh. Himanshu Sharma, Advocate (SN 14-15) Ms Reena Rawat, Advocate (SN 16-22) Present for the Respondent: Sh Govind Dixit, DR ORDER Per V. Padmanabhan These appeals are filed against Order-in-Original No.28/2014 dated 05.05.2014 and 32/2014 dated 16.05.2014. The Directorate of Revenue In ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... stated that he forged the signature of DoT officers on the directions of Shri Ashok Gupta, Chairman and Shri Sanjay Sachdeva, CEO. He also identified the forged import licenses. ii) Shri Sanjay Sachdeva, CEO (ASL) in his statement dated 06.09.2011 stated that if DoT did not issue the import license for which ASL had applied and in case of emergency, they have prepared the import license by forgery i.e. by typing the license in their office and stamping the same with the stamp of DoT which they made on their own; that such forged licenses were signed by Sh. Jaspal Singh Chaudhary, Manager, as per the directions of Shri Amit Gupta, Chairman. iii) Shri Amit Mahajan, ex-Manager, ASL in his statement dated 07.09.2011 stated that in 2007-08 at the time of release of equipments from customs, the CHA told him that Customs Appraiser was asking for WPC license for shipment meant for M/s ASL; that he immediately discussed this issue with Mr Sanjay Sachdeva (Director CEO) of M/s ASL who was handling the Govt. liaisoning and regulatory issues; that he (Sanjay Sachdeva) told him that they would apply for the same with DoT and get the licence; that within 4-5 days, they provided the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... itting and receiving apparatus imported using forged licences, DRI officers seized such equipments and allowed provisional release. 6. Shri Rajiv V.S., Sr Manager, M/s Hughes Communications in his statement dated 07.12.2007 also confirmed that they had procured WPC licences through M/s ASL. After identification, the equipments imported using fraudulent WPC licences DRI Officers seized seized such equipments, allowed provisional release thereof. 7. Show Cause Notices were issued to the appellants separately proposing confiscation of goods imported using forged import licences. These came to be decided through the impugned Orders-in-Original which are subject matter of present appeals. 8. It has been argued on behalf of M/s Aricent Technologies Holdings Ltd and M/s Hughes Communication India Ltd that no penalty can be imposed on them under Section 112(a) since they were not Involved in the activity of forging WPC import licences. They claimed that they were under the bonafide relief that the licences were genuine and submitted the same for import of goods. We have carefully considered the statements made by the appellant. The goods imported by the appellants require an ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nty, expressed or implied. It is beyond all about that, by the general rules of law there is no warranty of quality arising from the bare contract of sale of goods, and that where there has been no fraud, a buyer who has not obtained an express warranty, takes all risk of defect in the goods, unless there are circumstances beyond the mere fact of sale from which a warranty may be implied. (Bottomley v. Bonnister, [1932] 1 KB 458 : Ward v. Hobbs, 4 App Cas 13). (Latin for Lawyers). 26. No one ought in ignorance to buy that which is the right of another. The buyer according to the maxim has to be cautious, as the risk is his and not that of the seller. 27. Whether the buyer had made any enquiry as to the genuineness of he license within his special knowledge. He has to establish that he made enquiry and took requisite precautions to find out about the genuineness of the SIL which he was purchasing. If he has not done that consequences have to follow. These aspects do not appear to have been considered by the CESTAT in coming to the abrupt conclusion that even if one or all the respondents had knowledge that the SIL was forged or fake that was not sufficient to hold that t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... their clients by supplying the WPC import licences purported to had been issued by DoT within a short span of time compared to their competitors in the trade. The forged WPC import licences were entirely prepared by them through forgery and were typed by Sh. Jaspal Singh Chaudhary and Ms Anuradha Diwan on the behest/directions of Sh. Ashok Gupta, Chairman and Sh. Sanjay Sachdeva, CEO of M/s ASL. S/Sh. Sanjay Sachdeva and Jaspal Singh Chaudhary in their respective statements rendered under Section 108 of the Customs Act, 1962 had admitted that such forged WPC import licences were signed by Sh. Jaspal Singh Chaudhary on the behest/directions of Sh. Ashok Gupta and Sh. Sanjay Sachdeva. The examination of the laptop used by Sh. Jaspal Singh Chaudhary and Ms Anuradha Diwan also resulted in retrieval of documents which contained the WPC import licences purported to be issued by DoT. Sh. Sanjay Sachdeva was looking after the day to day affairs of the noticee no.2 and two rubber stamps were also recovered from his cabin which were used for forging the WPC Import licences on his directions. The WPC Import licences were also forged on the directions of Sh. Ashok Gupta who was Chairman of M/ ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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