9911796707
TMI Blog1971 (9) TMI 68X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 62. I impose a personal penalty of Rs. 75,000 (Rupees seventy five thousand only) on Mr. Markos Aranoutakis, Master of vessel S.T. Speedway and a penalty of Rs. 50,000 (Rupees fifty thousand only) on Mr. Karantonis Antonios, 2nd officer on board S.T. Speedway under Section 112 of the Customs Act, 1962. I also order that the import duty amounting to Rs. 22,815.00 leviable on 39 cases of whisky be paid by the master of the vessel, Mr. Markos Aranoutakis. I also confiscate the vessel S.T. Speedway under Section 115(2) of the Customs Act, 1962, but give the owners of the vessel, an option to redeem the vessel on payment of a fine of Rs. 70,000 (Rupees seventy thousand only) in lieu of confiscation, within one month or such extended period a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... then taken from the petitioner and the second officer. The second officer confessed having sold 39 cases of whisky to five persons who came on board in boats by 2 O'Clock on the night between the 7th and 8th September 1969 for 2418 U.S. Dollars. This amount as well as 930 U.S. Dollars which he had with him, totalling 3348 U.S. dollars, were placed by him inside an envelope underneath the bed of the petitioner in his cabin. After confessing all that he pulled out the envelope from underneath the bed of the petitioner. As regards 938 U.S. Dollars which belonged to the second officer it had not been declared in the private property list filed at Cochin on arrival of the vessel. The petitioner in his statement denied having had any knowledge ab ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... decide whether an offence is committed, make an order of confiscation of the goods in respect of which the offence is committed and impose penalty on the person concerned, see Ss. 168 and 171-A of the Sea Customs Act and Ss. 5 and 7 of the Land Customs Act. To such a situation, though the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Evidence Act may not apply except in so far as they are statutorily made applicable, the fundamental principles of criminal jurisprudence and of natural justice must necessarily apply. If so, the burden of proof is on the customs authorities and they have to bring home the guilt to the person alleged to have committed a particular offence under the said Acts by adducing satisfactory evidence." 7.The evi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... stance is perfectly consistent with his innocence as well. There were several persons working under him in the vessel. The second officer was in charge of the bonded store. He joined the vessel as second officer only about three months prior to arrival of the vessel at Cochin. Before he was put in-charge of the bonded store another person was in charge of the same. He was signed off by the petitioner as it was found that he had unauthorisedly sold articles inside the vessel. It was thereafter that the present second officer was put in charge of the bonded store. These statement when read together show that the petitioner had really taken all precautions against unauthorized sale of articles in the bonded store and that it was in spite of th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ggling of any goods or in the carriage of any smuggled goods". The articles inside the bonded store were imported into the country in the vessel. When they remained inside the vessel they were under Section 86 of the Act not liable to pay duty. Section 86 provides that stores imported in a vessel without payment of duty can remain on board in the vessel while in India and stores means goods for use in the vessel. Therefore when the 39 cases of whisky remained in the bonded store of the vessel they were not liable for payment of duty. They became liable for payment of duty only when they got out of the ship. They became smuggled only when they were taken out of the vessel. The vessel was not used as a means of transport in the smuggling of g ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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