Akhil Maheshwari Vs Commissioner of Customs (CESTAT Kolkata)
The appeals challenged an order that absolutely confiscated gold bars and imposed penalties on the appellants under the Customs Act, 1962.
The case arose after officers of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Kolkata, acting on intelligence, intercepted Shri Anil Kumar Yadav on 9 August 2020 while he was boarding the New Delhi–Howrah COVID-19 AC Special Train at Howrah Railway Station. During a personal search, officers recovered four rectangular gold bars and twelve small cut pieces of gold weighing 3,651.3 grams and valued at ₹2,07,75,897, concealed in a cloth belt tied around his waist. As he could not produce documents supporting lawful possession or transport of the gold, the gold and two mobile phones were seized on the belief that the gold was of foreign origin and smuggled.
In his voluntary statement, Shri Anil Kumar Yadav stated that he had travelled to Kolkata on the instructions of Shri Akhil Maheshwari to transport the gold. He further stated that a person known as “Mr. Goldy” handed over the gold to him and that he intended to carry it from Kolkata to Meerut. He was subsequently arrested.
Later, Shri Nikhil Maheshwari claimed ownership of the seized gold by submitting job work challans issued by M/s Pooja Jewellers along with the firm’s gold register. M/s Pooja Jewellers was a proprietorship concern owned by Smt. Pooja Maheshwari, who had authorised Shri Akhil Maheshwari to act on behalf of the firm.
