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2013 (9) TMI 250 - AT - CustomsForged licences - the show cause notice and the earlier round of litigation that the entire case starts on the basis of clearance of consignments based on forged/tampered licence Held that - licences were not available for defence of the assessee or the person the forged/tampered licences were not available even at the time of investigations and could not be produced before the Bench. Waiver of pre deposit of penalty u/s 112(a) - Stay petition - the assessee had made out a case for waiver of pre-deposit of the amounts involved court allowed the waiver of pre deposit - decided in favour of assessee.
Issues:
Delay in filing appeal before Tribunal, waiver of pre-deposit of penalties under Section 112(a) of Customs Act, 1962. Analysis: The judgment addresses the condonation of delay in filing appeals before the Tribunal, which ranged from 3 to 5 days. The delays were considered marginal, leading to their condonation, with directions for the Registry to accept the Stay Petitions and appeals. Subsequently, the Stay Petitions for the waiver of pre-deposit of penalties imposed under Section 112(a) of the Customs Act, 1962 were taken up for disposal. The appellants in question were Clearing House Agents involved in clearing consignments from Kandla Port. The Revenue alleged that the appellants facilitated clearance based on forged/tampered licenses. The adjudicating authority's findings, part of a third round of litigation, revealed that the forged/tampered licenses crucial to the case were not available even during investigations or before the Bench. The entire case hinged on the clearance of consignments using these forged/tampered licenses. As the defense of the appellants relied on these missing documents, the Tribunal found merit in the waiver of pre-deposit of the amounts involved. The appellants needed to defend against accusations of involvement in importing goods cleared with forged/tampered invoices. Consequently, the Tribunal allowed the applications for the waiver of pre-deposit of the amounts in question and stayed the recovery until the final disposal of the applications. The judgment underscores the significance of access to crucial documents for a fair defense and the need for a balanced approach in cases involving allegations of using forged/tampered licenses for clearing consignments.
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