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TMI Blog2024 (8) TMI 1288X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... anyone of which could be attracted in the first instance. Petitioner made a failed attempt to show that she did not receive any e-mail dated 04.07.2023, by placing on record the screen-shot of the inbox taken from the mobile phone. However, the same cannot be relied for the reason that as per certificate under Section 65-B of the Evidence Act filed by the petitioner, such digital record was taken out from the computer and not from the mobile phone. The screen-shot of inbox produced by the petitioner is therefore not a trustworthy document and cannot be relied upon. The gold bars were admittedly seized on 21.01.2023, while the SCN was served through e-mail to the petitioner on 04.07.2023. The SCN was served within a period of six months, as ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... letter to the Commissioner of Customs wherein she requested not to sell her gold. 5. It has been stated that no Show Cause Notice [ SCN ] has been given to the petitioner till date under Section 124 (a) read with Section 110 of the Customs Act, the said gold should therefore be returned to her unconditionally. 6. In its counter affidavit, Revenue stated that the SCN dated 03.07.2023 was issued by the Competent Authority within the stipulated time period and the same was also sent to the petitioner by email dated 04.07.2023 but petitioner did not file any reply to the same. SUBMISSIONS: 7. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that no SCN as per Section 153 of the Customs Act, 1962 was served upon the petitioner. It is submitted that t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tion (1) and no notice in respect thereof is given under clause (a) of section 124 within six months of the seizure of the goods, the goods shall be returned to the person from whose possession they were seized: Provided that the aforesaid period of six months may, on sufficient cause being shown, be extended by the Principal Commissioner of Customs or Commissioner of Customs for a period not exceeding six months. 11. Section 124 of the Customs Act deals with issuance of SCN before the confiscation of goods, which reads as under:- ..... 124. ISSUE OF SHOW CAUSE NOTICE BEFORE CONFISCATION OF GOODS, ETC.- No order confiscating any goods or imposing any penalty on any person shall be made under this Chapter unless the owner of the goods or suc ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... il address as provided by the person to whom it is issued, or to the e-mail address available in any official correspondence of such person; [(ca) by making it available on the common portal;] (d) by publishing it in a newspaper widely circulated in the locality in which the person to whom it is issued is last known to have resided or carried on business; or (e) by affixing it in some conspicuous place at the last known place of business or residence of the person to whom it is issued and if such mode is not practicable for any reason, then, by affixing a copy thereof on the notice board of the office or uploading on the official website, if any. (2) Every order, decision, summons, notice or any communication shall be deemed to have been se ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... so on the basis of her passport details, but the same was returned back on 10.08.2023 for not providing the complete and correct address of the petitioner. 16. The SCN was then sent on the e-mail address, as provided by the petitioner in her statement dated 21.01.2023 at her e-mail address [email protected], in terms of Section 153 (2) (c) of the Customs Act, 1961. It is not disputed that the aforesaid e-mail address is the correct e-mail address of the petitioner. 17. Para-2.1 of the e-mail Policy of the Government of India provides that only the e-mail services provided by the NIC shall be used for official communication by all organizations. Admittedly, notice was not sent through the NIC mail ID but through g-mail ID. The e-mail Poli ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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