WEIZMANN LIMITED Vs. COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These two appeals were admitted on 7 th September, 2006 on the following four identical questions of law :

(2.) The appellant/assessee was dealing in the foreign currencies as Full Fledged Money Changer (FFMC, for short) after obtaining requisite permission from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI, for short) under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Regulations Act, 1973 (FERA, for short).

(3.) In July, 1997 the assessee in the ordinary course of the business sold foreign currency to hotel Zam Zam and M/s Tiruchi Enterprises on receipt of pay orders equivalent to the Indian Currency. Before the said pay orders could be encashed, the Officers from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI, for short) seized the pay orders from the custody of the assessee on 16th/17 th July, 1997 and later on encashed the same. According to the DRI, the amounts under the pay orders were the sale proceeds of the smuggled goods which were liable to be confiscated under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962 (1962 Act, for short).