(1.) The Commissioner of Customs has filed this petition under Section 130A of the Customs Act, 1962 , ('Act' for short) seeking a direction to the Customs, Excise & Gold (Control) Appellate Tribunal, South Zonal Bench, (now Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal, Bangalore), to refer to this Court the following questions of law said to arise from its order dated 23-8-2002 in appeal No. C/289/94:
(2.) The respondent is a Government company with two watch manufacturing units at Jalahalli, Bangalore. The officers of the customs department, on receiving information that stocks of smuggled watches and components were stored in the factory premises of the respondent conducted a search of the premises. According to the Department, the search disclosed the following:
(3.) The Customs Department was of the view that the watch movement supplied by R.R. Corporation/Vespa Trading Company were not covered by any documents showing their licit importation into India or appropriate transport documents specified for notified goods as prescribed under the Act. In regard to goods received from M/s. Lakshmi Watches (Pvt.) Limited, the Department was of the view that the said Lakshmi Watches (Pvt.) Limited who had imported the said goods from Japan had contravened the provisions of the Customs Act and the notification issued thereunder, in supplying them to the Respondent instead of itself using them for manufacturing watches. Therefore, the customs department seized the goods supplied by R. R. Corporation/Vespa Trading Company and the available stock from out of goods supplied by Lakshmi Watches (Pvt.) Limited, under a mahazar dated 26-10-1990. Thereafter, the Collector of Customs (Adjudicating Authority under the Customs Act) issued a show cause notice dated 26-2-1991 calling upon the Respondent and its suppliers to show cause :-