Samsuddin Sheikh vs Collector Of Customs (Prev.) on 11 September, 1989
In this connection, we may refer to a decision of the Tribunal in the case of Arvind Singh Kocher v. Collector of Customs, reported in 1986 (26) ELT 792 (Tribunal). In that decision the Tribunal held that the initial burden lies with the department when the goods are I neither notified under Chapter IV-A nor under Section 123 of the Customs Act, 1962 and even if it is assumed that the goods were of foreign origin that by itself would not be sufficient to order confiscation in the absence of clear evidence that they were smuggled goods. On this point we conveniently extract the observations found in the abovesaid decision which is as follows :-