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TMI Blog2006 (3) TMI 368X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 9-1-1997 for clearance and payment of duty on the said vessel was filed. It is the Revenue s case that the officers of the department gathered intelligence that the assessee importer had started breaking the vessel without paying the Customs duty thereon. When they visited the subject plot belonging to the assessee-importer, where the vessel was barged, they found that the breaking of the vessel was in progress and pipelines on deck side had been dismantled and equipments of wireless radio rooms had been removed. The Panchnama was drawn dated 14-1-1997 indicating the facts as observed on that date. A joint survey was conducted on 15-1-1997 wherein it was concluded that the breaking activities of the vessel without payment of Customs duty ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... fact of the existence of cargo in the tank No. 8 (port side) and no steps were taken to file an IGM for clearing the said goods which have been cleared as unmanifested cargo and the vessel was therefore held to be used for carrying goods liable for confiscation. (iii) As regards evasion of Customs duty on Sludge/Sediments, the same was held to be classified under sub-heading 2710.00 of the Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 and since the assessee did not supply any information with regard to commercial value, the assessable value of Rs. 26,70,933/- was arrived at by adopting Rs. 420/- per MT which was claimed to be cleared without payment of duty amounting to Rs. 13,84,543/- and the same was determined as recoverable under Section ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... and confirmed vide his letter dated 29-7-2000 that one Inspector was deputed for examination of the vessel, who at that time was also attending the work regarding destruction of Radio-Room and Wireless equipments. (iii) As regards the allegation that Shri Sanjay Mehta, Managing Director gave instruction to break the Wireless equipments and Radio-Room, it was submitted that Shri Sanjay Mehta only gave them okay to go ahead and break and had not permitted or and ordered any breaking of the said equipment by the officers. (iv) Regarding Sludge/Sediments (Slops) in Tank No. 8 (port side), it was submitted that oil, after circulating and use in machinery and engines accumulates in separate tank, which is useless, non-commercial and non ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rd s instructions. The liability to confiscation under Section 111(j) of the Customs Act, 1962 therefore cannot be upheld. 6. In this view of the matter, when no conclusive evidence would be available for upholding the confiscation under Section 111(j) as regards the liability to duty of sludge/sediments, the marketability of the said item use, has to be established and duty can be determined once it is found to be commercial quantity and was not manifested and not declared, then liability to confiscation of the vessel and the goods could be determined along with duty on such sludge/sediments. For this purpose, the orders are set aside and the matter is remitted back to determine the liability to duty and consequent confiscation and pen ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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