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TMI Blog2007 (3) TMI 150X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ppeal of the department, the Hon'ble High Court answered the question "whether the element of mens rea is required for imposition of punishment under the Customs Act", in the negative and, after setting aside our earlier Final Order No. 19/2004, directed us to dispose of the appeal before us afresh on merits. 2. The appeal is against the Commissioner's order (a) confiscating 198.673 MTs Tin Plate Waste of width 600 mm under Section 111(m) of the Customs Act with option for redemption against payment of a fine of Rs. 25.00 lakhs (b) imposing penalty of Rs. 5.00 lakhs under Section 112 of the Act and.(c) demanding differential duty of Rs. 14,12,161/- under Section 28 of the Act. Learned Commissioner found the above quantity of goods to ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the appeal. 3. After examining the records and hearing both sides, we find that misdeclaration of 198.673 MTs of tin plate waste by the appellants is an established fact. Hence the said quantity of goods are liable for confiscation under Section 111(m) of the Act. Indeed this liability was implicitly upheld by the Hon'ble High Court inasmuch as, unless the goods are liable for confiscation, its importer will not be liable for penalty. Penalty under Section 112(a) of the Act depends on whether the importer, by his commission or omission, has rendered the goods liable for confiscation under Section 111 of the Act. By directing this Tribunal to proceed to determine the penal liability of the appellants, the Hon'ble High Court was proceedi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n disputed in quantitative terms. Under the proviso to Section 125(1) of the Customs Act, redemption fine shall be the present market value (PMV) of the goods less the any amount of customs duty paid thereon. In view of the above data, we think no redemption fine can be imposed in this case. Therefore, while upholding the confiscation, we set aside the redemption fine. 4. Learned Commissioner has imposed a penalty of Rs. 5.00 lakhs on the party under Section 112. In this connection, it is the appellant's case that they had not made any deliberate misdeclaration of the goods and that their suppliers had by mistake shipped to them goods which they had not ordered for. We find that, out of the above quantity of goods, 178.15 MTs were impor ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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