COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS, BANGALORE Vs. SATYANARAYANA SILK KOTI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Writ petition by the revenue under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India, directed against the order passed by the Customs, Excise and Gold (Control) Appellate Tribunal (for short, 'the tribunal')/ South Zonal Bench at Bangalore, in Appeal No. C/39/2002 dated 11-10-2002 (copy produced at Annexure-A).

(2.) Under the impugned order, the Tribunal has reversed in totality the order of adjudication passed by the Additional Commissioner of Customs, Bangalore, dated 20-10-2000 (copy produced at Annexure-C) and in part the appellate order passed by the appellate Commissioner of Customs (copy produced at Annexure-D) dated 25-1-2002, to grant full relief to the respondent-assessee, in the sense that the claim of the assessee in respect of nine bales of mulberry raw silk of foreign origin and three bales of dupion silk yarn, which the assessee had admitted to be part of imports made by it from China is a valid import, supported by material indicating a valid import and therefore, the importer should not be subjected to any penalty nor to confiscation order.

(3.) While the version of the assessee that nine bales of mulberry raw silk of foreign origin and three bales of dupion silk yarn, which had been seized by the customs authority on 29-12-1999 at the shop-cum-godown of the respondent-assessee on certain definite information that they had stored illicit goods and further action in the form of a show cause notice dated 27-6-2000 (copy produced at Annexure-B) on the premise it was illicitly imported goods of foreign origin is wrong and incorrect as commensurate duty had been paid and the goods cleared at customs port and had also asserted this position, version of the Customs Department on the other hand is that the supporting documents were not shown to the search officer at the time of search and seizure of the goods in question.