IN THE CUSTOMS, EXCISE & SERVICE TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL, CHENNAI Customs Appeal No. 41089 of 2025 (All appeals arising out of Order in Appeal Seaport C. Cus. II No. 801 to 806/2025 dated 15.7.2025 passed by the Commissioner of Customs (Appeals – II), Chennai and Corrigendum dated 04.08.2025 to Order-

in-Appeal Seaport C. Cus. II No. 801 to 806/2025 dated 15.7.2025)

Shri Navnath Zanje Appellant No. 1/1, Muthiyal Naicken Street Purasawalkam, Chennai – 600 007.

Vs.

Commissioner of Customs Respondent Chennai III Commissionerate Customs House, 60, Rajaji Salai Chennai – 600 001.

With (i) Customs Appeal No. 41090/2025 (Shri Nilesh S Patole)

(ii) Customs Appeal No. 41091/2025 (Shri Maruti Halladakeri)

(iii) Customs Appeal No. 41107/2025 (Mrs. Anjana Uttam Patankar –

legal heir of Shri R. Uttam Kumar Patnkar)

(iv) Customs Appeal No. 41108/2025 (Shri Suryakant U Patankar)

(v) Customs Appeal No. 41184/2025 (Shri Shrikant U Patankar)

APPEARANCE:

Shri N. Viswanathan, Advocate for the Appellant Smt. Anandalakshmi Ganeshram, Authorised Representative for the Respondent CORAM Hon’ble Shri M. Ajit Kumar, Member (Technical)

Hon’ble Shri Ajayan T.V., Member (Judicial)

FINAL ORDER NOS. 40349 - 40354/2026 Date of Hearing: 27.02.2026 Date of Decision: 13.03.2026 Per M. Ajit Kumar, These appeals are filed by the appellants against Order in Appeal Seaport C. Cus. II No. 801 to 806/2025 dated 15.7.2025 passed by the Commissioner of Customs (Appeals – II), Chennai (impugned order).

2. Briefly stated, acting on specific intelligence, officers of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Chennai intercepted Shri Nilesh Savala Patole, Shri Maruti Halladakeri and Shri Navnath Zhanje at the premises of M/s. RU Gold, Singhvi Complex, Sowcarpet, Chennai, on 16.04.2024. They were found carrying 3 gold bars, one without any marking and two with the marking ‘RU999’. A search of the premises resulted in the recovery of 5 gold bars along with assorted gold bits etc. and some cash from the safe. The gold bars carried the markings ‘RU999’. No documentary evidence supporting lawful possession of the gold or cash was allegedly produced by the said persons. The entire weight of 8 bars of gold along with bits etc. weighed 6,821.85 grams of gold and cash amounting to ₹25,61,200/-, found in the safe were seized under a mahazar on the reasonable belief that the same related to smuggled goods and the sale proceeds thereof. A desktop computer and a scandisk pen drive were also seized. The seized gold was assayed and found to be of 24 carat purity. After following due process, the Ld. Adjudicating Authority ordered absolute confiscation of 6,821.85 grams of gold and confiscated the Indian currency. Penalties of ₹1,50,00,000/- each were imposed on Shri R. Uttam Patankar, Shri Shrikant U. Patankar and Shri Suryakanat U. Patankar, and penalties of ₹15,00,000/- each on Shri Nilesh Savala Patole, Shri Maruti Halladakeri and Shri Navnath Zhanje under Section 112(a) of the Customs Act, 1962. The appeals filed before the Ld. Commissioner (Appeals) were dismissed. Hence, the present appeals.

The early hearing petition filed by the appellants was allowed.

3. The learned Advocate Shri N. Viswanathan appeared for the appellant and Ld. Authorized Representative Smt. Anandalakshmi Ganeshram, appeared for the respondent.

3.1 Shri N. Viswanathan Ld. Counsel for the appellants, during the public hearing, submitted that the entire proceedings initiated by the DRI are founded on mere presumption and assumption that the seized gold was of foreign origin, which is both factually and legally unsustainable. The appellants are migrant workers from Maharashtra employed by ‘RU Gold’, a firm engaged in refining impure gold into 24-carat gold, for monthly wages. The seized gold were bearing only the appellants own brand/ markings ‘RU 999’. The officers failed to consider the statements of the appellants explaining the true facts and instead wrongly rejected the books of accounts and records produced by the employ