9911796707
TMI Blog1983 (9) TMI 196X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... osed a personal penalty of Rs. 10,000/-. 2. Feeling aggrieved by the order of the Collector, the appellant filed an appeal before the Gold Control Administrator and the said appeal stood statutorily transferred to this Tribunal under Section 32K of the Gold Control Act (hereinafter referred to as Act). 3. The facts giving rise to this appeal stated briefly are : That the appellant one Shri Ram Prasad Gopilal Soni was a certified goldsmith and was carrying on his activities at Anjad in a residential cum business premises. On 25-6-1976, the officer of the Central Excise Department, Indore Division carried out a search of the said business-cum-residential premises and seized primary gold and gold ornaments from the shop premises as wel ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... naments and the primary gold found in the shop premises. With regard to the other items of gold, primary gold and gold ornaments as stated before, he directed confiscation but gave an option to redeem them. 5. In this appeal, Shri Ishwar Chand Upadhyay; Learned Advocate for the appellant vehemently contended that the Central Excise Officers have seized the gold ornaments primary gold from the residential premises without there being any reasonable belief that the appellant has committed any offence or contravened any of the provisions of the Act and therefore, the search and seizure are illegal. The second contention was that immediately after the seizure, the appellant was questioned by the Central Excise Officers and the appellant has ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d, the Collector accepted the appellant s contention that the primary gold and gold ornaments weighing about 91.600 gms. found in the shop premises belonged to the customers, and released them. In the said circumstances, the Collector was totally unjustified in directing confiscation of the ornaments and primary gold found in the residential portion of the premises in respect of which the appellant was not obliged to keep account. Finally, Shri Upadhyaya contended that the total quantity of primary gold, ordered to be confiscated, amounted to 290 gms, and under Section 42(ii) of the Act, a Certified goldsmith is entitled to keep in his possession primary gold not exceeding 300 gms. In the said circumstance, it cannot be said that the appell ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... which were found in the business premises, these were ordered to be returned and the Collector did not hold the appellant guilty of contravention of either Section 8(1) or Section 55 or Section VI of the Act. When that was so, whether the appellant could be said to have contravened Secs. either 8(1), or 42 or, 55 of the Act in respect of primary gold or gold ornaments admittedly found in the residential portion of the premises. It is for the department to establish that the residential portion was also being used or at any time being used by the appellant, as business premises. There is no evidence whatsoever that the appellant at any time used the residential portion as business premises. If certain primary gold or gold ornaments were fo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nt. It is significant to note that immediately after the seizure, the appellant was questioned and the appellant told the Central Excise Officers that the gold ornaments and primary gold found in the residential premises belonged to the women folk. For reasons best known to the Central Excise Officers, they did not choose to record the statements of the women-folk who were available for questioning. Merely because there were certain discrepancies in the affidavit filed by the brother-in-law of the appellant and statement of the appellant, the Collector was not justified in disbelieving the version of the appellant which finds support from the affidavits filed by the brother in-law, mother and others. The reasoning of the Learned Collector t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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