Per S.S. Sekhon :

Miscellaneous application for expeditious hearing of appeals allowed as goods lying uncleared and appeals taken up for hearing for decision by this order. The appeal is against the order of the Commissioner of Customs, Kochi, wherein duty of Rs. 27,96,382 has been demanded and consignment of HSM scrap imported vide Bill of Entries No. 7724/23.11.98, 83029/31.2.98, 8593/23.12.98, 8698/28.12.98, 32/4.1.99, 33/4.1.99 and 34/4.1.99 were found liable for confiscation under Section 111 (d) and 111 (m) of the Customs Act, 1962. However, as only 655.43 MT of cargo was under seizure and therefore this amount of scrap was ordered to be confiscated under Section 111 (d) and 111 (m) of the CA'62 with option of redemption on payment of fine of Rs. 7,50,000 besides penalty of Rs. 5 lakhs was imposed on appellants-importers i.e. M/s. Pushpit Steels (P) Ltd. under Section 112 (a) of the CA and penalty of Rs. 1 lakh was imposed under Section 112 (a) of the CA'62 on Anand Kumar Garg.

2. (a) Three BEs were filed for HMS scrap and were cleared duty free on advance licences on Bill of Lading as per chart given below :

Total quantity of the HMS scrap covered by these three BEs was 436 MT out of which 356 MTs could not be located and was said to have been consumed and 70 MT was seized at the factory premises of the importer at Pondicherry.

(b) In the following BE, 585 MT of the HMS scrap was imported by the same importer through Kochi port.

These BEs were not assessed, but were taken over by the DRI officers who had developed intelligence that the said importer was misusing the Advance Licences with the help of bogus import documents and was clearing HMS scrap duty free. Enquiries were conducted by the DRI officers with the shipping agents and others, including the original exporters who were issued with the said import licences and the consequent to these enquiries, 28 containers of scrap covered by the four BEs pending clearance at Kochi Customs House were removed from Kochi Port escorted to the importer's manufacturing premises at Pondicherry, where they were examined and seized on various dates from 12.2.99 to 18.2.99. Show cause notice was thereafter issued by the Additional Director General of the DRI resulting in the above said order of the Commissioner of Customs, Kochi.

3. Appearing on behalf of the appellants, Shri Rawal, learned Counsel reiterated the grounds made in the appeal and submitted the following points.