CBIC Issues Simplified Procedure For Export Cargo Returning To India After Strait Of Hormuz Closure

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has issued a circular prescribing a simplified procedure for handling export cargo that is returning to Indian ports after vessels were unable to reach their destinations due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has been disrupted amid ongoing conflict in the Gulf region, forcing several commercial vessels to turn back before reaching their destination ports.CBIC said it received representations from...

Gujarat High Court Sets Aside ₹30,000 Customs Penalty On Zaveri & Co. For Wrong Regulatory Action

The Gujarat High Court on 24 February set aside a penalty imposed on Zaveri and Co. Pvt. Ltd. for alleged violations of warehousing regulations, holding that the customs authorities had initiated proceedings under the wrong regulatory framework and failed to provide the audit report that formed the basis of the action. A Division Bench comprising Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice Pranav Trivedi passed the ruling while allowing a writ petition filed by the company challenging the penalty order...

Fox Mandal & Company Takes ₹3.9 Crore Service Tax Dispute To Supreme Court

Fox Mandal & Company has moved the Supreme Court against a CESTAT order in a service tax case involving demands of about ₹3.9 crore against the law firm. A bench of Justices Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Alok Aradhe will hear the special leave petition on April 6 after the petitioner's counsel sought time to place an additional annexure relating to reconciliation issues raised in the pleaThe dispute arose from service tax proceedings initiated against the law firm under the pre-GST...

Customs Can Levy Duty On Modular Kitchens, Not Re-Determine Value Arbitrarily: CESTAT Chennai

The Chennai Bench of the Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that customs duty is applicable to imports of modular kitchens in CKD/SKD condition, but the declared transaction value cannot be rejected or enhanced merely on the basis of a weight-based comparison or administrative valuation guidelines.The bench, consisting of Judicial Member P. Dinesha and Technical Member Vasa Seshagiri Rao, examined whether the Department was justified in rejecting the...

Denial Of Cross-Examination Justified Under Excise Act When Statements Are Corroborated: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has held that the right of cross-examination under Section 9D of the Central Excise Act, 1944 is not absolute, and may be lawfully denied in fact-specific circumstances, particularly where the witnesses are closely connected to the assessee and the allegations are supported by independent corroborative evidence.A Division Bench of Justices Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Ajay Digpaul thus dismissed the appeal filed by an assessee, holding that neither the adjudicating authority nor...

Mere Presence Of Finance Ministry, CBIC In Delhi Doesn't Confer It Jurisdiction To Entertain Petition: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has held that the mere presence of the Ministry of Finance and the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) in Delhi does not, by itself, confer territorial jurisdiction on the High Court, when the cause of action arises from summons and demands issued by authorities located outside Delhi.The Division bench of Justices Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Ajay Digpaul dismissed a writ petition filed by an exporter challenging summons issued by the Directorate of Revenue...

No Bar On CENVAT Credit Where Supplementary Invoice Is Not Linked To Suppression: CESTAT Kolkata

The Kolkata Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) on 13 February, allowed an appeal by Agrasen Sponge Pvt. Ltd., holding that CENVAT credit claimed on the basis of supplementary invoices issued by Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd. (MCL) is admissible where the additional duty arose due to an interpretational dispute and not on account of suppression or fraud. A Bench comprising Judicial Member R. Muralidhar set aside the order of the Commissioner (Appeals),...

No Excise Duty On Dolochar Generated During Sponge Iron Production: CESTAT Kolkata

The Kolkata Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that 'dolochar' generated during the manufacture of sponge iron is an inevitable waste and not a manufactured excisable product. Therefore no central excise duty is payable on its clearance. A Bench comprising Judicial Member Ashok Jindal and Technical Member K. Anpazhakan was hearing an appeal filed by Kaushal Ferro Metals (P) Ltd., challenging the confirmation of excise duty along with interest and...

MS Frame Parts, Tanks Built To Customer Drawings Not Articles of Iron & Steel; CESTAT Ahmedabad Sets Aside Excise Duty Demand

The Ahmedabad Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that MS frame parts, gland plates and MS tanks manufactured as per buyer-specific drawings for use in transformers cannot be treated as general articles of iron and steel. The Tribunal set aside the demand for differential excise duty of Rs.3.69 lakhs raised against Gayatri Engineering, along with interest and penalty.A coram of Judicial Member Ajaya Krishna Vishvesha and Technical Member...

Calcutta High Court Grants Private Companies Same Excise Fee Exemption As Public Companies For Management Changes

Holding that the State cannot create artificial distinctions between similarly placed licensees in the matter of excise fee exemptions, the Calcutta High Court has ruled that private limited companies are entitled to the same treatment as public limited companies when changes in management occur in the ordinary course of business. The Court made it clear that even though liquor trade is a regulated privilege of the State, the manner in which that privilege — or exemptions attached to it — is...

CESTAT Quashes Rs 3.47 Crore Duty Demand On Myntra Jabong, Says No Wilful Suppression

The Delhi Bench of Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) on Friday set aside a Rs 3.47 crore customs duty demand against Myntra Jabong India Pvt Ltd, holding that the extended limitation period under Section 28(4) of the Customs Act could not be invoked in a classification dispute.Allowing the appeal, The Tribunal noted that the company had deposited the entire differential duty along with interest before issuance of the show cause notice and that its failure to mention the...

S.108 Customs Act | Statements Recorded By Customs Officers Sufficient To Proceed To Trial: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has refused to discharge one of the accused in a CBI corruption case, holding that in the present case, statements recorded by Customs officers under Section 108 of the Customs Act, along with other materials constitute sufficient prima facie grounds to proceed to trial. “Thus, in the instant case, prima facie, there are materials to proceed with trial of the revision petitioner/accused No.3. No doubt, the evidentiary value of approvers and how far the same to be believed...