CESTAT upholds quashing of Confiscation of Silver ornaments and Silver Boondi on ground of absence of evidence of Smuggling [Read Order]

The Kolkata bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) upheld the quashing of the confiscation of silver ornaments and silver boondi on the grounds of the absence of evidence of smuggling. 

Lalit Krishna Agrawal, the respondent-assessee dealing with the contraband goods and a trader in silver ornaments/silver boondi. The revenue appealed against the order passed by the Commissioner (Appeals), who set aside the adjudication order and held that the seized goods are not liable for confiscation the Indian Currency was not liable for confiscation, and a penalty imposed on the assessee was also set aside. 

Tariq Sulaiman, the counsel for the revenue contended that Silver Jewelry and silver Boondi recovered from the assessee were of third-country origin, and no such documents for importation of the said goods were produced by the respondent. In those circumstances, the silver ornaments and Silver Boondi were liable to be confiscation. Therefore, the impugned order was to be set aside. 

H.K.Pandey, the counsel for the assessee contended that the evidence was presumed by the Revenue as third country origin, but no such evidence had been produced by the Revenue to allege that these are third country origin. 

The Bench observed that the confiscation of goods and the penalty imposed against the use were not as per the law and there was no evidence proved by the revenue that the goods were smuggled in nature and the quashing of the confiscation of goods and penalty was as per the law and liable to be upheld. 

The two-member bench comprising Ashok Jindal (Judicial) and Rajeev Tandon (Technical) upheld the order passed by the Commissioner (Appeals) while dismissing the appeal filed by the revenue. 

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