2006 (6) TMI 323

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..... by Ministry of Commerce. The appellant is availing all the benefits of a unit located in SEZ i.e. importing Gold without payment of customs duty for manufacture of jewellery for export. NSEZ customs officers on 16th February 2006 visited the appellant s unit in connection with verification of stock of gold and jewellery. The officers could conduct the stock taking of the goods in process and could not do the verification of the gold and jewellery items kept in the safe, as the keys of the safe were with proprietor of the firm. The officers then sealed the cupboard and safe in the office and recorded the statement of the Manager (Import Export) of the firm. The officers visited the unit again on 17th February 2006 for further stock taking .....

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..... could leave or enter the without being brought to the notice of the officers of the SEZ. He took me through the statements recorded to drive home the point that the keys of all safe were always with the proprietor of the firm and no one else is allowed to open the same without the permission of the proprietor. 4. The learned DR on the other hand vehemently opposes the defense of the appellant on the ground that the Manager of the appellant in his statement recorded on 16-2-2006 did not mention about any safe in the manufacturing area. It was also his submission that the gold jewellery produced by the appellant on 17-2-2006 was brought into the unit on that date to make up the shortage of the stock. It was also his submission that the st .....

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..... that the officer did not confront the authorized representative, in any way, when he produced 9112.300 grams of gold jewellery to elicit the information as to where the gold jewellery originated from or did not check for any marks that would indicate the origin of the jewellery. I also find force in the submission of the appellant that the officers, physically at the entry point, always monitor any movement of material into or from SEZ. If that be so, then the adjudicating authority should have brought on record the NSEZ entry point register/s to indicate that the representative of the appellant had brought in the 9112.300 gms of gold from outside on 17-2-2006. In the absence of any evidence to the contrary that 9112.300 gms of gold jewelle .....

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