2022 (1) TMI 61

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..... ollector of Customs and Central Excise, Bhubaneswar, to this Court. 2. The background facts are that on the basis of intelligence gathered by the officers of the Headquarters Preventive Units, Bhubaneswar, the silver shop-cum-residential premises of the Respondent, who was a proprietor of a jewelry shop in Aska and Ganjam, was raided and searched on 24th February, 1984. Apart from gold items recovered from the shop, some equipments used for testing and weighing gold and gold ornaments were also seized. Thereafter, the residential portion of the joint premises was searched from where the officers recovered 1690.400 grams of new gold ornaments, which were kept in an aluminum box. That box was in the wall almirah of the bed room. The gold orn .....

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..... levied on the Respondent under Section 74 of the Act for contravention of Section 8(1), 27(1) and 39(1) of the Act. 5. The Court has been informed that as far as the gold ornaments are concerned, the Respondent redeemed the same by paying a fine of Rs. 25,000/-. 6. The Respondent's appeal was dismissed by the First Appellate Authority i.e. the Collector of Customs & Central Excise (Appeals), Calcutta by the order dated 26th September, 1988. Thereafter, the Respondent-Assessee filed an appeal before the CEGAT, Calcutta, which by the order dated 19th November, 1991 allowed the appeal. It was observed that once the Respondent made a statement on the very first date that the primary gold was a result of melting of gold ornaments belonging to .....

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..... ms may allow, such gold, conveyance or animal shall be returned after the expiry of that period to the person from whose possession it was seized. Explanation.-Where any fresh adjudication is ordered under this Act, the period of six months specified in the second proviso shall be computed from the date on which such order for fresh adjudication is made." 10. A plain reading of the above provision reveals that a notice to the 'owner' is a mandatory requirement prior to passing an order of confiscation of gold or levying any penalty etc. In the present case, as far as the quantity of primary gold is concerned, it has been factually determined that on the very first day of raid on the premises and his shop, the Respondent disclosed that th .....

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