The Ahmedabad bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) quashed the penalty imposed under sections 112 and 114 of the Customs Act,1962 on illegal import of hoods on the grounds of absence of admissible evidence.
Rafeek K.T, the appellant assessee challenging the order issued by the Adjudication Authority imposing penalty on the assessee under Section 112 and 114 of the Customs Act, 1962 for the allegation of abetting the importer Pushpa Telecom to import goods illegally by resorting to undervaluation.
M.S. Sajeev Kumar, the counsel for the assessee contended that without any corroborative evidence, the retracted statement of Mohandas Rangasamy cannot be considered admissible evidence to allege the involvement of the assessee in illegal import.
K. Vishwanath, the counsel for the department relied on the decisions made by the lower authorities and contended that the assessee had abated the importer Pushpa Telecom to import goods illegally by resorting to undervaluation.
The Bench observed that in the case of Commissioner of Customs (ACC and Import), Mumbai V/s Gibson Guitar Corpn, the court held that there was no evidence to allege that the assessee was actively involved in the illegal import of goods by communicating with overseas agencies or by transferring any amount though illegal channel.
A single-member bench comprising P A Augustian (Judicial) quashed the penalty imposed under sections 112 and 114 of the Customs Act against the assessee.
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