ARDF Report Unreliable: Betel Nut Seizure Quashed for Lack of Foreign Origin Proof

Priyanka Devi Mourya Vs Commissioner of Customs (CESTAT Kolkata)

These appeals challenge Order-in-Appeal No. KOL/CUS/CCP/KS/137-138/2023 dated 17.02.2023, which upheld the confiscation of betel nuts, redemption fines, and penalties imposed on the appellants. The dispute arose from a Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) investigation into 54 containers of betel nuts suspected to be of foreign origin and smuggled into India without duty payment. Samples were drawn from 51 containers and sent to the Arecanut Research & Development Foundation (ARDF). Based on ARDF’s reports,

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