Appellants not liable for customs duty due to payment made through CHA, fraud responsibility lies with CHA.

Per: Shri P. Dinesha

These Appeals are filed against a common impugned Order-in-Original No.40603/2015 dated 30.07.2015 passed by Commissioner of Customs, Chennai; since the issue involved in all these Appeals is identical, these Appeals are bunched together for common disposal.

2. Facts as we could gather from the impugned Order-in- Original dated 30.07.2015 and the Show Cause Notice 12.04.2000 inter-alia, are that:

2.1 Revenue’s case is that their Intelligence has gathered that the raw material imported for manufacture of bulk drugs by some drug manufacturers were allowed for warehousing under Section 59 of the Customs Act, 1962 and same was substituted with fake materials and that the original material was sent to the importers by the CHA, M/s. Far Port International, Chennai, without payment of duty. It was also gathered that such substituted fake material was still lying under customs bonded warehouses pending clearance.

2.2 The scrutiny of the records maintained at Bonds Department (Customs) and warehouses located at C.W.C., Thiruvottiyur, ICBC - I, Manali, ICBC - II, Tollgate revealed that there were four time-expired bonds in respect of the importers M/s. Vera Laboratories Ltd., Hyderabad (1^st Appellant herein, now known as Mylon Laboratories Ltd.) as given below:-

2.3 The goods lying in the above warehouse were examined in detail by the officers of SIIB, Custom House, Chennai in the presence of representatives of the Importer and CHA, and representative samples were drawn for the purpose of testing. Accordingly, the goods covered under pending bonds were seized in accordance with the provisions of Customs Act, 1962 .

2.4 The samples drawn were tested at the Customs House Laboratory, Chennai and as per the test report two pending Bond Nos. 3827/17.4.95 and 3836/17.4.95 contained (substituted and fake material) "Calcium Carbonate with Traces of Silica" as compared to the original imported material viz., 3,4,5 Trimethoxy Benzal Dehyde. Goods in respect of Bond No. 11517 dated 06.10.95 containing Thiophene and Bond No. 14387 dated 12.11.95 containing Triazole 1,2,4 1H were in original condition and the Importers have informed that they are in the process of clearing the same.

2.5 A list of 184 Bills of Entry along with the copies obtained from M/s. Vera Laboratories Ltd., Hyderabad (1^st Appellant) pertaining to clearances made through Custom House, Chennai has been forwarded by Assistant Commissioner, SIIB, Air Cargo Complex, Chennai. The Bills of Entry were scrutinized with reference to cash numbers available on each of the Bill of Entry and as per the entries in the cash registers at Custom House, Chennai. It was found that the cash numbers available on two ex-bond Bills of Entry Nos. 4165 dated 18.4.95 and 5720 dated 22.5.95 pertaining to the above two bonds i.e., No. 3827 dated 17.4.95 and 3836 dated 17.4.95 were incorrect. On verification, it was noticed that these cash numbers pertain to payments made by some other importers for paying duty on their imports. It was also noticed that the above two Bills of Entry though filed and assessed, the Customs duty endorsements were forged by affixing fabricated rubber stamps and indicating unconnected cash numbers. These two ex-bond B