COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS Vs. ALOK OVERSEAS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal of the department is against an order passed by the Commissioner of Customs, ICD, Tughlakabad (New Delhi) on 8 -12 -2000 in adjudication of a show cause notice dated 10 -3 -2000 issued to M/s. Alok Overseas, Shri P.K. Jain (partner of Alok Overseas) and M/s. Hoegh Lines. Initially the appeal was filed against M/s. Alok Overseas only. Subsequently, Shri P.K. Jain and M/s. Hoegh Lines have been impleaded as respondents 2 and 3 at the instance of the appellant vide Misc. Order No. 109/2003/NB(A), dated 30 -5 -2003 and Misc. Order No. 148/2003/NB(A), dated 21 -7 -2003.

(2.) The facts of the case are briefly as under : - M/s. Alok Overseas had imported goods in Container No. TRLU -2637741 which arrived at ICD, Tuglakabad on 23 -3 -99. The container belonged to the 3rd respondent, M/s. Hoegh Lines. The imported consignment was covered by a Bill of Lading dated 30 -1 -99 wherein the contents of the container were declared as "Brass Scrap ISRI Honey" and the weight thereof was declared as 20,223 Kgs. The consignment had been supplied by M/s. First American Metal Co., Houston, USA. As the importer had not filed any documents seeking clearance of the goods for more than six months, the Customs authorities developed a suspicion, consequent to which the container was weighed, destuffed and its contents examined in September, 1999. The results indicated that the total weight of the goods stuffed in the container was 28,230/ - Kgs. (against what was declared as 20,223 Kgs. in the Bill of Lading) and that the consignment consisted of 18,230/ - Kgs. of Brass Scrap in tightly packed bundles and 10,000 Kgs. of Tin Ingots concealed within the bundles of Brass Scrap. The Brass Scrap, Tin Ingots and the container were seized under a Panchnama dated 15 -9 -99 on the basis of the belief that all of them were liable to confiscation under the provisions of the Customs Act. In the course of further investigation, a statement of Shri P.K. Jain was recorded on 28 -1 -2000 under Section 108 of the Customs Act and some correspondences between the foreign supplier, M/s. Hoegh Lines, M/s. Alok Overseas (importer) and Customs authorities were gathered. The relevant invoice dated 30 -1 -99 issued by the supplier to the importer was also among the documents recovered by the authorities. On the basis of the investigative results, the department took the view that M/s. Alok Overseas (importer) had contravened Section 30 of the Customs Act by misdeclaring the weight of Brass Scrap and not declaring Tin Ingots in the Bill of Lading with intent to evade Customs duty on the goods. It was felt that the seized goods were liable to confiscation under various provisions of Section 111 of the Act and, further, that the M/s. Alok Overseas and Shri P.K. Jain were liable to penal action under Section 112 of the Act. The show cause notice dated 10 -3 -2000 followed. The proposals for confiscating the container and the goods and for imposing penalties on the importers were contested. The Commissioner of Customs, who adjudicated the disputes, passed the impugned order, the operative part of which reads as under : -

(3.) We have heard both sides and considered their submissions.