9911796707
TMI Blog2001 (9) TMI 195X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he same on payment of redemption fine of Rs. 20,000/- for each truck. In addition, following penalties have been imposed upon various persons : Name of the parties Penalties S/Shri 1. Dungarmal Mohta Rs. 1,00,000/- 2. M/s. Jyoti Trading Co. Rs. 50,000/- 3. Shri B. Muthuswamy Rs. 50,000/- 4. N. Chandran Rs. 50,000/- 5. M/s. Venktessa Road Carrier Rs. 75,000/- 2. Briefly stated the facts of the case are that on 14-7-99 the Customs Officers intercepted one truck and asked for the documents. The driver of the said truck produced two road challans. From the said road challans it was seen that 125 bags ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... that he was not aware of any such inscription. He also deposed that the goods were of Indian origin and he used to run the business in cash. 2.2 As a follow-up action the Customs Officers made enquiries from the various persons named by Shri Dungarmal Mohta as the seller of the betel-nuts. All these persons in their statements recorded before the officers admitted having sold betel-nuts to M/s. Shyam Traders. They also disclosed that the betel-nuts are normally brought by the hawkers from Nepal where they are abundantly available. The officers also showed the betel-nuts to the local dealers and obtained their opinion to the effect that betel-nuts were of foreign origin. During the pendency of the adjudication, betel-nuts in question were ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... hat seizure memo only indicates - "some of the bags" having such inscription and the numbers of the bags have not been mentioned in the seizure memo. He further submits that if the bags in question were having such inscription, the Revenue would not have released the goods provisionally to the appellant along with the bags. All these factors, points out the learned Consultant, make it evident on the face of it that the said wordings have been introduced in the seizure memo only to strengthen the case of the Revenue. He further submits that betel-nuts are non-notified items u/s 123 of the Customs Act and before holding the same to be of smuggled character, their foreign origin is required to be established by the Revenue. The goods have been ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... subsequently by giving an asterisk mark. There is also force in the learned Consultant's submission that if the goods have been actually smuggled from Nepal the wordings "Biratnagar Nepal" would not have been written in Hindi. Further the exact number of bags having the inscription has not been disclosed in the seizure memo. All these gives rise to doubt that the said wordings have been interpolated in the seizure memo. 6. I also find force in the appellant's statement that mere trade opinion of the local dealers can not reflect upon the foreign origin of the goods especially when the betel-nuts are grown in abundance in North East area of the country. The Tribunal in a number of cases involving betel-nuts has held that such trade opinion ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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