9911796707
TMI Blog1990 (3) TMI 223X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s after payment of fine of Rs. 40,000.00 and imposed a penalty of Rs. 10,000 on him. 2. The brief facts of the case are that on 20-1-1987 the Customs officers, Motihari, intercepted two trucks bearing registration No. URO-9073 and URO- 9517 at Ramgarhwa coming from Raxaul loaded with M.S. Scraps. One occupant disclosed his name as Sri Bindeshwari Prasad accompanying the truck and claimed himself to be the owner of the said M.S. Scraps. He was asked to produce the documents. The drivers of both the trucks S/Sri Ganesh Mishra and Rajendra Prasad Sukla produced transport documents. The truck No. URO-9073 accompanied by Invoice Serial No. 5 dated 19-11-1987 for 119.10 quintals of M.S. Scraps valued at Rs. 24,772.80 inclusive of B.S.T. at the r ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Authority has relied on the statements of the consignees - M/s. R.K. Steel Corporation and M/s. Vaidya Enterprises without giving a copy of the statements to the appellant and thereby violating the principles of natural justice. He also relies on a decision of this Tribunal passed in Order No. SO-Cal/90-80 dated 6-2-1990 [1990 (49) E.L.T. 61 (Tribunal)] in the case of Shri Amar Dutta v. Collector of Customs (Prev.) W.B. Calcutta. Relying on the above decision he contended that in proceeding for confiscation the burden is initially heavy on the Department and the burden cannot be held to have been discharged by visual inspection. He also contended that there cannot be a presumption that these are smuggled goods and the Department has establi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... y them to different parties for melting them in the mini steel plants. It is also contended that there is shortage of M.S. Scraps all over the country in the mini steel plants. Therefore, if the appellant had acquired the said scraps from Raxaul he must not have shown the same in the transport challan that the goods had been discharged to Kanpur from Bettiah. 7. Countering this argument of the learned Junior Departmental Representative Shri Mukhopadhyay, learned Advocate for the appellant, contended that the appellant's firm is in Bettiah and the invoices in question were printed with name - Bettiah, as under those invoices the goods were sent, though they were loaded from Raxaul. Therefore, he contended that there is no such mala fide int ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e Department to prove the smuggled character of the goods in question. In the decision reported in 1986 (25) E.L.T. 811 (Tribunal) in the case of Jain Enterprises v. Collector of Customs, Madras, which has been relied on by the learned J.D.R., Shri Jain, it was held by the Tribunal that when there was a bulk seizure under reasonable belief and when there is an inculpatory statement of the party, the burden has shifted on to the appellant to prove that the goods are not smuggled in nature. I agree with the contention of the learned J.D.R. and the principles of law enunciated in the above case. But in this case the seizure was made on suspicion and not on reasonable belief. There is also no statement taken under Section 108, which is inculpat ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... be given sufficient time to meet the allegations raised by the authority. But this has not been done, There is nothing mentioned in the order that the appellant had sought to cross-examin the other co-accused. The appellant should have been given sufficient time to consider all these statements and appellant should be given an opportunity to meet the same, either by production of other materials or by cross-examining the party. The appellant cannot be made to take a decision suddenly on the personal hearing and to choose and say that he requires cross-examination of the witnesses in question, as he never had any knowledge of the two statements made by those two firms. In such circumstances, I am unable to agree with the contention of the l ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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