9911796707
TMI Blog2001 (11) TMI 888X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... yment of redemption fine of Rs. 60,000/-. In addition, a penalty of Rs. 2,000/- has been imposed on Shri Sudarshan Singh who is in-charge of M/s. Pawan Carrying Corporation, a penalty of Rs. 5,000/- on Shri Cheddu Prasad who is driver of the truck under seizure and of Rs. 10,000/- on Shri Binod Kumar Bajpayee who is proprietor of M/s. Pawan Carrying Corporation and has also claimed the ownership of the seized betel nuts. 2. Briefly stated the facts of the case are as under :- (i) On the basis of an information, the Customs Officers intercepted one truck on 31-1-99 in the morning hours when the same was passing through Bailey Road, Patna and was moving towards Danapur. On being asked about the goods loaded in the said truck, the dri ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Company, no office copy of the six bilties produced by the driver was found therein. On inquiry, Shri Sudarshan Singh conceded that the aforesaid six bilties were issued from a duplicate bilty book which is meant for such type of consignments. The officers resumed the various documents being maintained by them in the said transport company. (iv) Shri Sudarshan Singh in his subsequent statement recorded by the Officers under the provisions of Section 108 of the Customs Act, 1962, deposed that the betel nuts in question were brought by an un-known person from Nepal and they were aware of this fact. They have charged Rs. 2,000/- more than the normal fare for transportation of the contraband goods up to Kanpur. (v) In the course of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... attention to the various earlier decisions of the Tribunal setting aside the confiscation of the betel nuts on the ground of lack of evidence produced by the Revenue showing the foreign origin of the same. Shri D.K. Bhowmik, ld. JDR appeared on behalf of the Revenue and submitted that it is a case where a lot of circumstantial evidence indicating that the betel nuts in question have been smuggled through Nepal is available. If such circumstantial evidence is taken into account, there would not be any doubt that the betel nuts are of contraband nature. 5. After considering the submissions made from both sides and from the narration of facts in the preceding paragraph, it becomes evident that all the persons concerned with the transport of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ides from which it can be reasonably inferred that the betel nuts in question are not out of indigenous stream of our own country cultivated product. The fact that they were covered by the bills issued by a non-existing firm showing the goods to be paints etc. is also indicative of the appellants guilty intention. Another interesting factor is also available on record. As per the claim of Shri Bajpayee, the said betel nuts consignment generated from Assam and was destined for Tamil Nadu. As rightly observed by the adjudicating authority for reaching Tamil Nadu, the normal route from Assam is via Kolkata and there was no need for the truck to take unusual route from Patna. Even the driver and in-charge of the transport company at Patna has ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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