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TMI Blog1991 (12) TMI 156X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d up at his premises for purchasing the air-conditioners. While one of them had loaded a national air-conditioner in his car and was carrying it away, the other stated that he was carrying the air-conditioner for testing before finalisation of transaction when Customs Preventive Officers reached the spot on 20-2-1984 after keeping surveillance on the premises. This also led to the recovery of seven more air-conditioners from the same premises. In the absence of any documents evidencing lawful import/possession/purchase/acquisition of these air-conditioners, the Customs Officer seized them under Section 110 of the Customs Act on the reasonable belief that they had been smuggled into the country in contravention of the restrictions imposed on ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... to give some explanation to indicate as if the transaction of sale had not taken place till the time the Customs Officers intercepted them, it is clear from the evidence, on record, that they had purchased the air-conditioners from the appellant in response to the newspaper advertisement. No documentary evidence of payment of customs duty on these air-conditioners was produced by the two customers at the time of their seizure. 3. It is only in reply to the show cause notice dated 13-12-1984 that the appellant submitted two baggage receipts evidencing import of the two National Air-Conditioners as baggage of two different passengers who arrived in India on 18-1-1984 and 18-2-1984. They also submitted three certificates dated 23-10-1983 and ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nor were covered by Chapter IVA, was squarely on the department which they had not discharged and, in these circumstances, whatever defence was produced by the appellant by way of documents should be accepted. 5. Shri G. Bhushan, the Ld. S.D.R., submitted that it was the appellant who had advertised in the newspaper for sale of customs-paid air-conditioners and, therefore, the burden of proving that the goods were not smuggled was squarely on him. He had not discharged this burden either at the time of seizure or later when he was summoned and the receipts were produced nine months after the seizure. He relied upon the decision of the Tribunal in the case of Collector of Customs and Central Excise, Chandigarh v. Shri Satnam Singh [1987 ( ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... The only question that can arise is whether even after having failed to support his claim till the issue of the show cause notice (six months later), the submission of certain documents issued by the auctioneer and two baggage receipts should be accepted as valid documents evidencing lawful acquisition of the air-conditioners. In the circumstances of this case, there is little doubt that the appellant had no evidence of legal acquisition of the air-conditioners when he advertised for their sale as customs duty-paid. The position of the documents, subsequently submitted by him, is discussed below : 8. So far as the baggage receipts are concerned, we observe that while receipt No. A 240807 dated 18-2-1984 for an amount of Rs. 12,925.00 pai ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... authorities. In the absence of bona fide conduct on the part of the appellant, who advertised that he had customs duty-paid air conditioners for sale, we do not consider that the goods were legally acquired by the appellant. In these circumstances, the appellant himself has chosen to take the burden of proving that his goods were lawfully imported and he has himself to squarely discharge it. We cannot be led to any other conclusion except that the contradictory stand taken by the appellant proves that the goods were not lawfully acquired and the order of confiscation was, therefore, rightly passed by the Additional Collector. By his conduct of offering to sell customs duty-paid goods for which he put an advertisement, the appellant had furt ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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