9911796707
TMI Blog2009 (8) TMI 911X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ty and on market enquiry, their value was ascertained to be around Rs. 5/- per cent. The gaskets being exported were bearing brand name DALBROS and supporting manufacture declared by the exporter was M/s. TALBROS Inds. Ltd., Faridabad. Enquiry at the address of the exporting firm revealed that the office premises had been hired at Shree Ganesh Complex, Sanjay Place by one Shri Sandeep Jain; and it was closed for last several months and even the rent for the office premises had not been paid for the last six months. The investigating officers had earlier visited the Indian Overseas Bank, Main Branch, Agra which was the Nodal Bank of the exporter for crediting the drawback and enquiry at the bank revealed that account in the name of M/s. BI had been opened on 7-8-2000, on the basis of Pan card allotment letter to Shri Sandeep Jain. The officers also obtained the photograph of Shri Sandeep Jain available in the bank records. When this photograph of the said Shri Sandeep Jain was shown to the receptionist of Shree Ganesh complex, Sanjay Place, Agra she identified the photograph as of Shri Saneep Jain who had hired the premises in the complex. 1.2 Subsequently it was learnt that the go ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d arrived at ICD, Agra were located and same were found to be M/s. Rajdhani Goods Carrier and M/s. Shree Bhawani Transport Co. Shri Raj Narain Sharma, Partner of M/s. Rajdhani Goods Carrier and Shri Raj Kumar Jassa, an employee of Shree Bhawani Transport Co. in their statements confirmed that the consignment of gaskets had been transported by them from Delhi to Agra and the same had been delivered to Shri Deepak Lalwani of M/s. Vaspa Cargo International at Rambagh, Agra. Shri Raj Kumar Jassa of M/s. Shree Bhawani Transport also told the investigating officers that in Agra, one Shri Kuldeep Jhanjhi alias Pinki used to claim to be the owner of the goods and he had given his contact no. at Delhi as 7495695. On enquiry at Delhi, it was found that this telephone no. was installed at the premises of Shri Neeraj Kumar Jhanjhi at 12/32A East Punjabi Bagh, New Delhi. Earlier the investigating officers had also learnt that the trucks of the above mentioned transport company had been arranged by a broker named Sh. Radheyshyam. This person was located and his statement was recorded on 28-4-01 wherein he told the officers that the goods from Delhi were to be lifted from M/s. A.N. Industries's p ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ive and during that period he came in contact Shri Jasmeet Kohli; and that on the suggestion of Sh. Jasmeet Kohli, he decided to open a firm at Agra for export of fake Peter Engine Gaskets under drawback claim. In his statement giving the details as to how he opened a firm at Agra, hired premises for this firm at Sanjay Place Agra and opened a account in the name of this firm in the main branch of Indian Overseas Bank, Agra and subsequently in the Bank of Punjab Ltd., Chandigarh, he stated that during the period from Aug'2000 to Dec'2000, they had exported the goods cleared as Peter Engine Gasket under drawback claim to Canada and Nigeria and received drawback amount of Rs. 51 lakhs which was credited in the bank account at Agra, that the drawback amount of about Rs. 19 lakhs is due from the consignment export in Feb'01; that the gaskets being procured at Delhi by Shri Kuldeep Kumar Jhanjhi and Neeraj Jhanjhi that in addition to these persons, Shri Jasmeet Kohli and he himself used to look after the work of customs clearance at ICD, Agra; that the gasket exported were junk gaskets made out of leather cutting waste and cardboard sheets which were available at Rs. 3/- per piece and t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... approved. 1.10 An enquiry was made with Shri Deepak Lalwani, Partner of Vaspa Cargo, CHA wherein he stated that he himself and Sanjay Agarwal are partners; that since they do not have CHA licence; they were helping Sh. Rajesh Sharma alias Sandeep Jain alias Sudeep Jain in preparation of shipping documents only; that about a year back one Sh. Jasmeet Kohli from Delhi had met him and told him that he wants to export gaskets under duty drawback and wanted to know whether he can arrange 'setting' with some Customs officers posted ICD, Agra; that he introduced Shri Jasmeet Kohli to R.K.Saxena, Customs Inspector posted at ICD, that he was aware that Shri Jasmeet, Rajesh alias Sandeep Jain, Neeraj and Kuldeep would be exporting only junk gaskets in order to get drawback and that for each export consignment, he was getting Rs. 50,000/- per container which was being shared by him with his partner Shri Sanjay Agarwal. 1.11 Subsequent enquiry with Shri R.K. Saxena and other Customs Officers posted at ICD, Agra indicated the involvement of Shri R.K. Saxena, Customs Inspector, Shri Jagdish Singh, Supdt., Shri P.N. Ram, Inspector, Shri LC. Gajwani, Inspector in this fraud. Shri R.K. Saxena, in ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... back claim. (2) The statement given by Shri Neeraj had been retracted on the very next day and hence no reliance can be placed on the same. (3) It is established on record that the main brain behind this alleged fraudulent export under drawback claim is Jasmeet Kohli who along with Shri Rajesh operating under alias of Sandeep Jain and Sudeep Jain had organized the clearance of the consignments of fake gaskets with the connivance of the Customs officers at ICD, Agra. The investigating officers did not pursue the matter to apprehend Shri Jasmeet Kohli and have victimized the appellant, even though there is no evidence against him indicating that he was actively involved in this export fraud. (4) The adjudicating authority has adopted different yardsticks -while in case of R.K. Saxena, the Customs Officer who is alleged to have received Rs. 2.50 lakhs per container which he was sharing with other officers, the adjudicating authority has given a clean chit to him stating that there is no corroborative evidence, but in case of the appellant Shri Neeraj Kumar Jhanjhi, even though his statement is proved to be fallacious on the face of it, still the Ld. Adjudicating Authority has not t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s Punjab Bank Ltd. while in fact there was no such bank, (c) the export had been started in Aug '2000 and till Dec '2000, 177200 sets of gaskets with declared FOB value of Rs. 3,10,64,902/- had been exported and drawback amount of Rs. 51,22,516 had been claimed and received by the exporters and subsequently in Feb., another consignment of 67,100 sets of gaskets with declared FOB value of Rs. 17,47,594/- involving drawback about Rs. 19 lakhs had been exported under shipping bill No. 541-550 and 552-561/DBK/S/01 and it is these goods which were intercepted at Mumbai and placed under seizure and (d) the shipping documents were being signed by one Sh. S. Jain who was later on identified as Rajesh Sharma of Delhi. There is also no dispute about the fact that while the shipping bills and other related documents had been prepared by M/s. Vassapa Cargo International, Agra with Sh. Deepak Lalwani and S. Agarwal as partners, the shipping bills had not been signed by them. The point of dispute in these appeals is the role of the appellants - Sh. Neeraj Kumar Jhanjhi and S. Agarwal in this case. 4. From the facts of the case, as narrated at page 5, 6, and 7 of the adjudication order, it will ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... j Kumar Jhanji is not an innocent supplier of the gaskets. Moreover in his statement dated 28-4-01, he has clearly stated that his brother Kuldeep, he himself, Jasmeet Kohli and Rajesh Sharma were collectively engaged in the export of gaskets from ICD, Agra under drawback claim and he also disclosed the drawback amount which is pending. Though Shri Jhanjhi has retracted his statement, this retraction, in view of the other evidence, has to be rejected as an after thought - more so, when his statement is fully corroborated by the statement of his accomplish Shri Rajesh Sharma. From statement of Rajesh Sharma narrated at page 17 of the adjudication order, it is clear that what Shri Neeraj Jhanjhi was getting, was a share of the drawback not only the price of the gaskets supplied. In view of this we hold that he has actively abetted the illicit export and therefore, penalty has been rightly imposed. 5. As regards Shri Sanjay Agarwal, from the statement dated 18-5-01 of Shri Deepak Lalwani, it is seen that Shri Deepak and Sanjay Agarwal were aware of the intention of Shri Jasmeet Kohli and his other colleagues of illicit export of sub-standard gaskets but still they helped him by arran ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on the shipping bills was M/s. Talbros Industries Ltd., Faridabad, the manufacture of well known "Talbros" brand gaskets; (b) in the GR form accompanying the shipping bills, "Punjab Bank Ltd., Chandigarh" being written in hand as the name of the Nodal Bank for remittance, without any objection being raised, by any officer who checked those shipping bills; (c) not raising any objection to splitting up of a consignment into a number of shipping bills with same exporter and same consignee, so that the drawback involved does not exceed rupees one lakh - the sanction limit for Superintendent and (d) not writing to Punjab Bank Ltd. when in respect of the consignments exported, the BRCs were not produced by the exporter even after two months from the date of export, clearly indicate the involvement of other officers also mentioned in the adjudication order. We, therefore, fail to understand as to how except for Shri P.N. Ram, the then Inspector ICD, all other officers specially Shri R.K. Saxena, have been exonerated by the Commissioner for the lack of evidence. When the statement of Sh. Deepak Lalwani and Shri Rajesh Sharma, which are corroborated by statement of Shri R.K. Saxena have ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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