9911796707
TMI Blog1986 (9) TMI 334X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 1980 duty on such goods was raised from 150% to 320%. When the appellant cleared the goods on 16-7-1980 duty was demanded at 320% which he paid under protest. This order demanding duty at 320% was upheld by the Appellate Collector of Customs under order dated 16-12-1980. The appellant preferred a Revision petition to the Government which, on transfer, is now before us as an appeal. 2. We have heard Shri N.D. Batra, Advocate for the appellant and Smt. Dolly Saxena for the Department. 3. There is no dispute that the passenger as well as the goods arrived at Bombay on 12-7-1980 but by different flights. The two articles in question arrived as unaccompanied baggage. There is also no dispute that a landing certificate was issued on 12-7-1980 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... that in the special circumstances of this case, the landing certificate dated 12-7-1980 would satisfy all the requirements of a declaration under Section 77 and hence duty should have been demanded as on 12-7-1980 only. Subsequently an affidavit dated 10-7-1986 has been filed by the appellant swearing to the correctness of the above assertion. Though time was given to the Department to controvert this assertion if deemed necessary they have not done so in spite of extension of time also. So we have to proceed on the basis that the said assertion of the appellant is true. 5. Since Shri Batra stated that no copy of the landing certificate was available (the original landing certificate having been surrendered at the time of clearance of the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ays time. The Baggage Declaration Form is not produced by the respondents even though an opportunity was granted to them. The statement now made is that the Baggage Declaration Form, if executed, was in the file which is now missing. This is a circumstance which goes against the respondents that the Baggage Declaration Form, if produced, would have gone against the case set up by the respondents. He categorically states in that letter that he had written on the said form that he desired to keep his baggage in bond for the purpose of taking the same for his further onward journey to Kathmandu. If the statement dated May 13, 1969 or the Baggage Declaration Form are not forthcoming or are not being produced by the respondents, then the adv ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... lank specimen form filed by the Sr. Departmental Representative, is a document intended to show inter alia the particulars of the goods cleared, whether on payment of duty or without payment of duty, at the time of arrival of the passenger, and is not apparently meant to be a declaration for the purpose of clearance of unaccompanied baggage, in the present case, we have to take note of two factors. One is that the departmental representative has not placed before us the statutorily prescribed form, if any, for the declaration of the contents of unaccompanied baggage; the second is the assertion of the appellant, duly sworn to in an affidavit, that all the particulars required for the purpose of assessment had been declared by him in the lan ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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