Confiscation of gold jewellery found on arriving flight upheld by Chandigarh tribunal
Customs officers recovered gold bangles and chains hidden in seat storage on a Sharjah-Amritsar flight and confiscated about 1848 gm of gold with penalties. The CESTAT bench at Chandigarh upheld the confiscation and a Rs 10 lakh penalty on the alleged organiser in June 2025. The appeal was dismissed.
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How we verify →Confiscation and penalties stand after dismissal of the appeal by CESTAT Chandigarh.
What happened
The Tribunal recorded that officers acting on intelligence searched an arriving Sharjah-Amritsar flight in April 2021 and found a cloth bundle in seat-back storage containing layered sleeves holding yellow-metal jewellery.
The Tribunal recorded that two nearby passengers first claimed the items and later said they had carried the gold as paid couriers for the appellant, stating they had charged Rs 20,000 for bringing the gold to India.
The Tribunal recorded that the seized items were four kadas weighing about 1097.70 gm and two chains weighing about 750.30 gm, together about 1848 gm valued about Rs 89,90,521, assessed as 24-carat gold.
The Tribunal upheld the lower appellate order maintaining confiscation of the entire gold and the penalties, and dismissed the appeal of the appellant.
What the record says
“four Kadas and two chains, yelloish in colour, appearing to be gold”
CESTAT Chandigarh order dated 03.06.2025 as reproduced on Indian Kanoon — read the full text
A peaceful economic act
Carrying and storing gold is a peaceful economic act with no complaining victim, and the state met it with seizure, confiscation and monetary penalties.
What we could not confirm
Incident occurred on a flight into Amritsar; Chandigarh nexus is the deciding forum, CESTAT Chandigarh, which satisfies the brief. Exact flight date in April 2021 and full paragraph numbering could not be confirmed from the excerpt.