2015 (12) TMI 62 - AT - Customs

Evasion of Customs duty - Undervaluation of the goods - Held that - in the case of one of the Appellants, M/s American Almond Corporation, in Para 5.4 of their reply to the show cause notice dated 26.11.2009, read with Annexure 3 thereto, had given evidence of contemporaneous imports of poppy seeds to support the transactional value and had further called upon the Revenue to verify and satisfy itself of these particulars as well as those of other imports (which the Appellants could not furnish evidence of) but which could easily be ascertained by the Revenue by accessing the NIDB-DOV database. The impugned order does not even advert to this aspect of the matter. - appellants have made out a strong case in their favour for grant of stay. Accordingly we grant waiver from pre-deposit of dues adjudged against the appellants and stay recovery thereof during the pendency of the appeals - Stay granted.

Summary

Issues involved:
Challenging Order-in-Original regarding alleged evasion of Customs duty due to undervaluation of goods based on recovered material. Common issue in 23 appeals and stay applications.

Analysis:

1. Alleged Undervaluation of Imports:
- Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) conducted a search based on intelligence regarding under-valuation of 'White Poppy Seeds' and 'Yellow Poppy Seeds' from Turkey.
- Recovery of material including invoices, export declarations, and insurance documents led to doubts about transactional value, resulting in show cause notices for Customs duty evasion.
- Appellants responded to notices over time, disputing the allegations.

2. Group Classification and Common Issue:
- Three groups identified: RATANLAL Group, BHATIA Group, and SUNDERLAL Group, each comprising multiple entities.
- Common issue across all groups based on doubts regarding transactional value of imports.

3. Factors Supporting Allegations:
- Factors included foreign export declarations, insurance documents, source documents, public domain information, and documents from Turkish Customs.
- Tribunal referred to a previous judgment for guidance on the reliability of such factors and their evidentiary value.

4. Reliability of Turkish Customs Documents:
- Specific focus on documents received from Turkish Customs via Indian embassy, showing higher export values.
- Majority of entries in the comparative tabular statement were redacted and lacked authentication, raising doubts about their evidentiary value.
- Tribunal highlighted the importance of signed, certified, and authenticated documents for reliance in such cases.

5. Evidence Presented by Appellants:
- One Appellant provided evidence of contemporaneous imports to support transactional value, urging Revenue to verify through accessible databases.
- Tribunal noted the lack of consideration of this evidence in the impugned order.

6. Decision and Grant of Stay:
- Considering the peculiar facts and established case law, Tribunal found a strong case in favor of the appellants for granting a waiver from pre-deposit of dues and staying recovery during the appeal process.
- Parties were allowed to request early hearing of the appeals if desired.

This detailed analysis of the judgment highlights the key issues, evidence, and considerations leading to the Tribunal's decision to grant a waiver and stay in the case of alleged Customs duty evasion due to undervaluation of imported goods.