9911796707
TMI Blog2000 (12) TMI 196X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... imposed upon the said appellants on the ground that the appellants have connived with the main importer for unlawful importation of the goods. The appellants have contended before the Commissioner as under :- "So far as the role of the Clearing Agent and other two individuals, Shri Tapas Chatterjee and Shri Sunil Dutta is concerned, it has been submitted on their behalf by Shri S.K. Dasgupta, ld. Consultant, that it was the Clearing Agent whose employees were able to produce the President and Vice-President of M/s. Manav Kalyan Committee before the investigating officers of DRI. It is, therefore, their case that if they were truly involved in any conspiracy with the importer, they would not have taken the trouble of finding out the princi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... a serious lapse smacking of mala fide intent. It is, however, true that the Clearing Agent concerned tried to retrieve their image by co-operating with the investigation at a later stage. But the fact remains that there was a deliberate attempt not to register the subject two consignment in their case record obviously to disown any responsibility at a later stage. Admittedly also, they have not been careful in handling the documents as the eligibility certificate itself was post-dated. I am, therefore, inclined to hold that the Clearing Agent as also their two employees are liable to penalty under Section 112 (b) of the Customs Act, 1962." 3. We have heard Shri S.R. Dutta, ld. Advocate for the appellants and Shri R.K. Roy, ld. JDR for th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s not sufficient so as to conclude an adverse finding against them. The Larger Bench decision in the case reported in [2000 (121) E.L.T. 759 (T-LB) = 2000 (40) RLT 755 (L-B) Jas held that it is not duty of the Customs House Agent to verify the credential of the importer under the Customs House Agents Licencing Regulations. We also note that during the investigation stage, it was the said Clearing Agent who took pains to find out the importer and to produce the same before the investigating officers. If they would have been in collusion with the said importer, they would not have tried hard to co-operate with the investigating authorities. As such, we hold that the imposition of penalties upon the appellants was not justified. Accordingly, t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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