9911796707
TMI Blog2023 (9) TMI 773X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... gold items and levy not only duty but also impose fine/penalty apart from declining to redeem/release the goods. However, decision in the aforesaid case decided by this Court does not come in the way of the petitioner for grant of appropriate relief in law since, firstly, it is evident that the respondent has not followed the procedure prescribed in the Act. Reference can also be invited to a decision of our own High Court in the case of JATINDER KUMAR SACHDEVA VERSUS THE UNION OF INDIA AND ORS. [ 2016 (12) TMI 523 - DELHI HIGH COURT] wherein a gold kara (bracelet) seized from the petitioner on arrival in India and detained for more than a year without any notice was held to be unsustainable in law and the gold item was ordered to be released to the petitioner. It is relevant to indicate that the procedure for sale of goods and application of sale proceeds is governed by section 150(1) of the Act, which provides that where any goods not being confiscated goods are to be sold or disposed of under any provision of the Act in terms of section 110(1A), a notice must be issued to the owner. At the cost of repetition, the gold chain had since been deposited in the Government Mint, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... g reliefs: (i) To issue a writ of mandamus order direction thereby directing the Respondent to unconditionally release the Gold chain of the Petitioner which was seized/ detained by the Customs officers on 18.10.2017 belonging to the petitioner. (ii) To pass such other or further order/s which this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper in the interest of justice. 3. Notice was issued to the respondent and a short affidavit of Mr. Ashok Kumar Dahiya, Assistant Commissioner (Legal) dated 29 August 2019 has been filed wherein inter alia it is deposed that the petitioner was issued a notice dated 19 February 2018 to obtain release of the detained goods from the office of the answering respondent on payment of necessary duty but the same was not replied to; and consequently the gold chain was inventorized and after it was appraised by the Jewellery Appraiser and the gold item was deposited with the Government Mint at Mumbai on 26 June 2018 for conversion into standard gold and for further sale to the State Bank of India, Mumbai as per the standard procedure. Incidentally, the said aspect was brought to the notice of this Court on 27 May, 2019 and on directions the rec ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... zure of goods, documents and things. (1) If the proper officer has reason to believe that any goods are liable to confiscation under this Act, he may seize such goods: Provided that where it is not practicable to seize any such goods, the proper officer may serve on the owner of the goods an order that he shall not remove, part with, or otherwise deal with the goods except with the previous permission of such officer. 1 [(1A) The Central Government may, having regard to the perishable or hazardous nature of any goods, depreciation in the value of the goods with the passage of time, constraints of storage space for the goods or any other relevant considerations, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify the goods or class of goods which shall, as soon as may be after its seizure under sub-section (1), be disposed of by the proper officer in such manner as the Central Government may, from time to time, determine after following the procedure hereinafter specified. (1B) Where any goods, being goods specified under sub-section (1A), have been seized by a proper officer under sub-section (1), he shall prepare an inventory of such goods containing such details re ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ) may at the request of the person concerned be oral. 7. A conjoint reading of the above referred provisions bring out that Section 110(2) categorically provides that where any goods have been seized under Sub-Section (1) and no notice thereof is given under Clause (a) of Section 124 within six months of the seizure, the goods are liable to be returned to the person from whose possession they were seized. Further, in terms of Section 110(2) read with its Proviso, the maximum period for which the goods can remain seized without issuance of a notice under Section 124(a) is one year. There is no dispute that the seizure for the initial period of six months has not been extended by the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner of Customs by a further period not exceeding six months. In the instant matter, the gold chain was detained on 18 October 2017 and till the date of filing of the petition or thereafter, no notice under Section 124(a) of the Act has admittedly been issued. 8. The plea of learned counsel for the respondent that the gold item was detained at the request of the petitioner himself as is evident from the detention slip is also not palatable. Anyways, there is no pr ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... petitioner, we notice that detailed guidelines are in place in terms of a notification [F.No. CBIC-50711/5/2021-INV-Customs dated 03.12.2021] for the procedure to be followed for the sale of seized/confiscated gold that inter alia provides for engagement of SPMCIL [Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Ltd] in consultation with the RBI except that Clause 3.1 1 thereof provides for disposal of seized/confiscated gold (other than gold ornaments/jewellery/articles). Evidently, the aforesaid circular does not provide any guidelines for handling of gold ornaments/jewellery/ articles. However, there is a subsequent notification 2 whereby vide clause 3.1.2 3 guidelines are provided for evaluating the amount to be refunded in lieu of gold which has been disposed of. In our opinion, although there are no specific guidelines with regard to evaluation of gold ornaments/jewellery/articles as involved in the instant case, the latter notification lays down a fair and logical premise that valuation of the gold article would be assessed based on the tariff value of gold on the date of transfer of the gold items to the RBI. RELIEF 13. In view of the foregoing dis ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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