9911796707
TMI Blog1990 (6) TMI 178X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... toms Act, 1962. In this appeal, the appellant has prayed for setting aside of the impugned order of the Additional Collector and release of the aforesaid cloves in his favour. 2. The brief facts of the case are that acting on information received through intelligence, the Customs officers searched the residential premises of the appellant on the strength of a search warrant, and found 10 bags of cloves weighing 274 Kgs. valuing Rs. 54,800/-, which were of third country origin. The appellant was not present in the house and the other inmates could not produce any valid document to evidence legal acquisition of the said goods and the officers seized the same under Section 110 of the Customs Act, 1962. 2A. The appellant was thereafter summ ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... .R. Shri A. Choudhury justified the order. He contended that there was reasonable belief and the Tribunal may not sit on judgment on the reasonable belief of the officer. He also contended that the seized cloves were of foreign origin and they were banned for importation and are liable to be confiscated. It was also contended that necessary verification was done with respect to the bill produced by the appellant and that the connection with the bill and the cloves in question were disproved. He also contended that there is discrepancy between total quantity of cloves purchased and the cloves seized. He also contended that such huge quantity of cloves could not be brought in car and it is not acceptable. He, therefore, contended that these a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Zanzibar and Pemba (Tanzania), Indonesia, Penang, Malagasy and to a lesser extent in the Seychelles, Reunion, Mauritius and Sri Lanka (Ceylon). In India, it is grown in Tamil Nadu (the Nilgiris, Courtallam and Kanniyakumari) and Kerala (Kottarakara, Chengannur, valleys of Pamban and Manimala rivers, and gardens of Pidavoor and Kottayam areas). The total area under clove tree in India is estimated to be c.80-81 hectares. The number of trees may not exceed 2,000; of these, 452 trees are found in Burliar, 680 in Courtallam area, and 826 in Kerala. Fresh plantings are reported to have been made in Courtallam (270 trees), Burliar (200 trees) and in Blackrock Estate, Kanniyakumari district (1,000 trees), but little information is available on the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ealed that there is no connection with the seized cloves of foreign origin and the cloves which he is reported to have received from Delhi. But the enquiry and the verification dates were not spelt out in the show cause notice and the same was not made available to the appellant. This has violated the principles of natural justice and such an order cannot be upheld. In this connection, the learned Barrister Shri S.K. Roy relied on the following decisions :- (1) 1981 E.L.T. 184 (2) 1983 E.L.T. 216 (3) 1983 E.L.T. 742 Thus, the order is a nullity as it has violated the principles of natural justice by relying on certain verifications made behind the back of the appellant and the appellant was not given an opportunity to rebut the same. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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