Kailash Pareek Vs Commissioner of Customs (Preventive) (CESTAT Kolkata)
CESTAT Kolkata held that imposition of penalty under section 112(b)(i) of the Customs Act, 1962 not justified since there is no evidence available on record to show that the gold bars were of foreign origin and smuggled into the country.
Facts- On 7th of March, 2019, the officers of DRI, Guwahati Zonal Unit intercepted a truck. On search of the said truck, the said officers recovered some yellow metal bars from inside a cavity under the backseat of the driver’s cabin. The samples of the bars on being chemically tested were later ascertained to be made of gold and the total value of said 40 pieces was also ascertained as Rs. 2,18,40,500/-. The officers seized the said 40 gold bars under the ‘reasonable belief’ that the said gold bars were smuggled into the country without payment of appropriate duties of customs.
Accordingly, show cause notice was issued. The said SCN was adjudicated by the Additional Commissioner of Customs (Preventive), vide his Order-in-Original dated 09th February, 2021, wherein, absolute confiscation was ordered and penalty u/s. 112(b)(i) of the Customs Act was levied.
Commissioner (A) upheld the penalty. Accordingly, being aggrieved, the present appeal is filed.
