Penalty imposed upon appellant for contravention of section 9 on basis of that statement was justified

FERA : Where statement of appellant was recorded in his own handwriting and was corroborated by other independent statements, statement of appellant could not be said to be obtained under coercion and penalty imposed upon appellant for contravention of section 9 on basis of that statement was justified
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[2014] 48 taxmann.com 85 (ATFFE - New Delhi)
APPELLATE TRIBUNAL FOR FOREIGN EXCHANGE, NEW DELHI
Prakash Kumar Ishwarlal
v.
Special Director, Enforcement Directorate, New Delhi
DR. S.D. SINGH, MEMBER
APPEAL NO. 241 OF 1995
MAY  19, 2014
Section 9, read with section 72, of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973 - Restriction on Payments - Appellant-'P' was charged for contravention of section 9 for receipt and distribution of certain amount to persons who were not authorized dealers in foreign exchange on behalf of one, 'A' of Abu Dhabi, a person resident outside India without previous, general or special exemption of Reserve Bank of India - On search, Indian currency and certain incriminating documents were seized - Statements of several persons alongwith appellant were recorded - Special Director initiated proceedings against appellant and imposed penalty upon him for contravention of section 9 - Whether since statement of appellant was recorded in his own handwriting and was corroborated by other independent statements, statement of appellant could not be said to be obtained under coercion - Held, yes - Whether bill of telephone installed at appellant's premises revealed calls having been made to Abu Dhabi and same when read alongwith statement of appellant corroborated deposition made by appellant - Held, yes - Whether since penalties imposed on appellant were commensurate with amount involved in confiscation and were not excessive, impugned order was to be upheld - Held, yes [Paras 33,36 & 39]