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Issues: Duty confirmation on imported goods not used for export; Penalty imposition on appellant and individual.
The judgment by the Appellate Tribunal CESTAT, Mumbai, involved an appeal against the Commissioner (Appeals) order confirming duty of Rs. 10,75,081/- on the appellants for importing 9182 Kg of Mulberry Raw silk of Chinese origin duty-free against various bills and entry against quantity-based advance licenses. The appellants failed to complete the export obligation and sold the goods in the local market, leading to the duty confirmation and penalty imposition of Rs. 5,00,000/- on the appellant Company and Rs. 1,00,000/- on an individual. Despite the absence of the appellants during the hearing, the case highlighted the breach of obligation by the importers in disposing of the imported material without fulfilling the export obligation, justifying the duty confirmation and penalty imposition. The appellants' defense in the appeal mainly revolved around the claim of likely completing the export obligation by procuring local material due to the imported material being substandard. However, the Tribunal found this defense without merit as the obligation on importers not to dispose of imported material without fulfilling the export obligation was clearly breached. The lower authorities were deemed justified in demanding duty and imposing penalties on the appellants due to the sale of imported material in the domestic market without meeting the export obligation. Consequently, the appeal was rejected by the Tribunal for lacking merit, upholding the duty confirmation and penalty imposition decisions.
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