2003 (11) TMI 168

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..... ore East Regional Bench as the applicants/appellants are residents of Calcutta. Accordingly, I allow the applications and take up the appeals itself for disposal with the consent of both the sides after allowing the stay petitions. 2. Vide the impugned order Commissioner of Customs, Lucknow has imposed penalty of Rs. 1,00,000/- upon the first appellant M/s. Vikas Road Carriers and penalty of Rs. .....

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..... so Bangladeshi cigarettes totally valued at Rs. 6,00,000/-. The said cigarettes of foreign origin and goods of Indian origin along with the truck were seized by the customs officers on the ground that the foreign origin cigarettes have been illegally imported into India and the Indian origin goods have been used to conceal the said smuggled cigarettes. During the post-seizure investigations statem .....

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..... -existent firm. However, I find that there is no evidence on record to show that it is M/s. Vikas Road Carriers who arranged for fake invoices. Noting has been pointed out in this regard in the impugned order of the Commissioner. Merely arranging a truck between the two transport companies, by itself, cannot be made the basis for penalising the said appeal. Accordingly, by extending the benefit of .....

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..... the involvement of the appellant in the transportation of the contraband cigarettes. However, the above fact by itself cannot be made the basis for penalising the appellants inasmuch as the address given by him is the same as given in the driving licence of the driver. Accordingly, I set aside the penalty of Rs. 25,000/- imposed upon the said appellant. 7. M/s. New Tobacco Company is aggrieved w .....

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..... (T) has drawn the difference between the "concealment" and the "coverage". Unless it is shown that the said Indian origin goods were used for concealing the Bangladeshi cigarettes, mere coverage of the foreign origin goods by the said Indian origin goods cannot be made the basis for confiscating the Indian origin goods. Accordingly, I set aside the confiscation of 100 cartons of Indian origin goo .....

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