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TMI Blog1983 (5) TMI 251X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... pellant to produce evidence to show that the silver in question has been licitly imported into India. The appellant, however, failed to produce any evidence. Further, in his statement before the Customs Officer, the appellant was alleged to have stated that the silver lumps were sold to him by an unknown person and he had not paid the price and that he was taking the silver to Calcutta for sale after which he intended to pay the seller. After complying with the provisions of the Customs Act, the Deputy Collector held that the silver had been illegally imported in contravention of Section 3(1) of the Imports Exports (Control) Act and Section 11 of the Customs Act and therefore, confiscated the silver, but however, permitted the appellant to redeem the same on payment of fine of ₹ 7,000/-. He also imposed a penalty of ₹ 1,000/- under Section 112 of the Customs Act. 3. Feeling aggrieved by the order of the Deputy Collector the appellant filed an appeal before the Appellate Collector of Customs unsuccessfully. Thereafter, the appellant preferred a revision before the Government of India and this revision stood statutorily transferred to this Tribunal. 4. In the revi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... orders are liable to be set aside. 6. Shri A.K. Chatterjee, J.D.R. contended that at the earliest point of time, namely, at the time of search of the person of the appellant, he had made a statement wherein he has admitted that the silver lumps were sold to him by an unknown person and he was yet to pay the price and he was taking the same to Calcutta for sale and thereafter, intends to pay back the seller. The Deputy Collector as well as the Appellate Collector have disbelieved this version and the version given is unbelievable. He further urged that the appellant does not give any explanation as to how he came into possession of such large quantity of silver. The contention of the appellant that he is not required to disclose anything, is incorrect and Section 106 of the Evidence Act is attracted. It is then urged by Shri Chatterjee that the possession of the appellant cannot be innocent because he had hidden the silver lumps in a jacket which is specially made for hiding the lumps and he was wearing this jacket inside his shirt. Lastly, he contended that the three silversmiths who have examined the silver lumps have opined that no villagers had ever sold silver in such form ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... that under law, he was not required to disclose the name of the person or the source from which he acquired this silver. The story given by the appellant at the time of seizure, is an incredible story. If the above facts and circumstances are satisfactorily established then the inference drawn by the Deputy Collector and the Appellate Collector that the silver in question had been illegally imported, cannot be held to be unreasonable or unwarranted. 11. With this, we shall now come to the contention urged by the learned Advocate, Shri S.N. Mukherjee for the appellant before us. His first contention is that the so-called statement made by the appellant before the Customs authorities at Balurghat is not his statement and it was falsely recorded and under coercion. The appellant in his revision petition and the learned Advocate at the time of argument, vehemently urged that the mother of the appellant has been suffering from a mental disease for a considerable time. To meet the medical expenses, the family has to sell its gold ornaments and after the sale of the gold ornaments, it has to sell the silver ornaments. For that reason, the appellant got melted the silver ornaments and m ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... sign is unbelievable. The so-called affidavit is not at all presented before the Magistrate. Considering all aspects of the case, we are unable to accept the contention of the appellant that the statement recorded by the Customs Officer was either obtained by coercion or it was falsely recorded. 12. The contention of the learned Advocate that the Deputy Collector and the Appellate Collector have based their conclusion on imagination and assumption and that there was no proof that the silver in question was illicitly imported into India, it is true that there was no direct evidence of import of the silver in question. As has been stated earlier, there is no burden cast on the department to establish as to when the silver was imported or who imported it. The Department has satisfactorily established several circumstances from which inference should be drawn that the silver in question has been illegally imported into the country. 13. Now coming to the other contention that the opinion of the silversmiths did not establish that the silver is of foreign origin and that the appellant had no opportunity to cross-examine those silversmiths, suffice it to say that the appellant did n ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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