9911796707
TMI Blog2003 (11) TMI 471X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ods as Forged Carbon Steel Blind Flange in the name of State Bank of India, Bangalore, notify Intech Engineering, Bangalore. Preliminary investigations with the State Bank revealed that they had never dealt with the consignee shown on the airway bill which was a small workshop engaged in the production of steel hoses, and lathe machines; one Veer Bhadra Rao was the owner of the said company and he said that he had nothing to do with the consignment and the company had never imported any goods. Thereafter the consignment was cut open and examined, and 1832 gold bars of 10 tolas each bearing foreign marking, totally weighing 213.72 kgs., was found concealed in it. The gold was seized under a reasonable belief that it had been smuggled into ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e was issued on 19-10-1994, proposing imposition of penalty on Gulf Air and Air India on the ground that 18 earlier consignments which had arrived by Gulf Air and subsequently handled by Air India were found to be missing and unaccounted in the records of both the carrier as well as the handling agent. These consignments were similar in description, weighment and destination, and therefore presumably contained contraband gold in concealed manner which was surreptitiously removed from the custody of Air India at Mumbai. The notice was adjudicated by the Commissioner who imposed penalty of Rs. 25 lakhs on M/s. Gulf Air and Rs. 1 crore on M/s. Air India under the provisions of Section 112(b) of the Customs Act, 1962 in addition to ordering abs ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... , cannot be said to be sufficient to arrive at the conclusion that in the previous consignments also gold was concealed. The appellants herein can be held liable to penalty only if it was brought out that they had knowledge or reasonable belief that those consignments contained contraband. When the basic requirement, namely, that the earlier consignments also contained contraband gold, has not been established, the provisions of Section 112 of the Customs Act cannot be invoked against the appellants. Further no knowledge or reasonable belief on the part of the appellants that the goods carried/handled by them were liable to confiscation is brought out by the material on record. (The Commissioner has held that the basic responsibility is tha ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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