“Resources Completely Wasted Away”: Delhi High Court Fines Customs For Delaying Release Of Seized Goods Despite Order

The Delhi High Court has criticised the Customs Department for wasting public resources by withholding seized goods despite an adjudication order already having directed its unconditional release, eventually leading to avoidable litigation.A Division Bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Shail Jain observed,“The present is a case which shows how the resources of the Customs Department are completely being wasted away in such matters.”The Court was dealing with a petition moved by a traveller...

Levy Of Service Tax On 'Access To Amusement Facilities' Unconstitutional: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court held that the levy of service tax on 'access to amusement facilities' is unconstitutional, as the entire activity squarely falls within the State's taxing power under Entry 62 of List II (entertainments and amusements) of the Constitution of India.Justices A. Muhamed Mustaque and Harisankar V. Menon stated that the provisions of the Entertainments Tax Act also seek to impose tax on the entire consideration received by the assessee from their clients/customers. The question...

Customs Act | Penalty Cannot Be Sustained Solely On S. 108 Statements Without Compliance Of S. 138B: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court held that statements recorded under S. 108 of the Customs Act cannot form the basis for imposing penalties unless the mandatory procedural safeguards under Section 138B are complied with.Justices A. Muhamed Mustaque and Harisankar V. Menon opined that Section 138B is essentially in the form of a procedural safeguard regarding the admission of statements under Section 108 in evidence. When the safeguards under Section 138B have not been complied with, no question of...

Service Tax | Pairing & Testing Smart-Cards For Set-Top-Boxes Qualifies As Job Work: Bombay High Court Allows Credit

The Bombay High Court has upheld the Mumbai Tribunal's decision allowing Dish TV to retain CENVAT Credit on imported smart cards, which were used for testing and pairing with Set Top Boxes. A Division Bench comprising, Justice Vibha Kankanwadi and Justice Hiten S. Venegavkar dismissed the appeal filed by the Service Tax Department against order by the Mumbai, Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) that after verifying accounting records held in favour of Dish TV....

Central Excise | Packaged Drinking Water Cannot Be Assessed On MRP Basis U/S 4A: CESTAT Chennai

The Chennai Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) held that packaged drinking water is not liable to be assessed on MRP basis under Section 4A of the Central Excise Act unless it is specifically covered by a statutory notification. Section 4A of the Central Excise Act, 1944, provides a special procedure for the valuation of excisable goods based on their Retail Sale Price (RSP) or Maximum Retail Price (MRP), rather than the standard transaction value...

Excise | Captive Exemption Cannot Be Denied When Final Products Are Partly Cleared On Duty Payment & Partly Under Exemption: CESTAT

The Chennai Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) held that the captive exemption under Notification 67/95-CE remains available even if the final product is partly cleared on duty payment and partly under exemption. Central Excise Notification No. 67/95-CE provides an exemption from excise duty for specified inputs and capital goods that are manufactured and captively consumed within the same factory for the production of final, dutiable products. P....

Delhi High Court Flags Customs' Practice Of Mentioning Communicating Officer's Name In Order Instead Of Deciding Officer

The Delhi High Court has disapproved of the Customs Department mentioning the name of such officer in the order who communicated it to the party, instead of the officer who actually passed the order.A division bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Shail Jain observed,“Orders which are passed have to be signed by the Officials who pass the said orders. The communication of the same can be done by anyone else but the name and designation of the Official who is actually passing the order has to...

Customs | Attending Weddings Can't Justify Indian Origin Foreigner Bringing Half Kilogram Gold Jewellery: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has made it clear that under the garb of attending weddings where wearing gold jewellery is a common affair, a foreigner of Indian origin cannot be permitted to bring half kg gold jewellery to India.A division bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Renu Bhatnagar further added that there was no explanation for the Petitioner, a US citizen, to bring 17 high value mobile phones (iPhones) to India and walk through the green channel.“A total of 17 mobile phones were brought by...

Export Held Up Due To Conflicting Lab Reports: Delhi High Court Asks Customs To Decide Pan Masala Exporter's Plea

The Delhi High Court has asked the Customs authorities to consider releasing the bank guarantee of a city-based pan masala exporter, forfeited after conflicting lab reports about adulteration of its export products with tobacco.A division bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Shail Jain observed that when no objections were found in the first lab test report (CRCL), “the circumstances which warranted the issuance of the second CRCL report are completely unknown and it does not specify as to...

Customs | Bird Feather Used In Fashion Accessories, Ready-To-Wear Items For Luxury Brands Classifiable As 'Dyed': Mumbai AAR

The Mumbai, Customs Authority for Advance Ruling (CAAR) has held that import of Dyed Feathers, wherein dying activity took place in France was classifiable as 'Dyed Feather' in terms of the General Rules of Interpretation. In a ruling dated December 15, 2025 Shri. Prabhat K. Rameshwaram on classification clarified that imported Feathers were intended for use as ornamental materials in embroidery for luxury brands and they underwent 'working' viz. washing, steam drying and dying...

Customs Act | CESTAT Mumbai Quashes Aluminium Metal Scrap Valuation Enhancement; Says Rule 12 Safeguards Mandatory

The Mumbai Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has set aside orders enhancing the value of scrap consignments merely on the basis of National Import Data Base (NIDB) data and a Directorate General of Valuation (DGoV) circular. A Bench comprising Mr. S.K. Mohanty (Judicial Member) and Mr. M.M. Parthiban (Technical Member) stated that the customs authorities could not discard the declared transaction value without strictly following Rule 12 of the...

Customs Brokers Cannot Be Punished For Bona Fide Classification Claims Made On Basis Of Importer Instructions: CESTAT Mumbai

The Mumbai Bench of the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has set aside a penalty imposed on a licensed Customs House Agent (CHA), holding that merely claiming an exemption or classification as per the importer's instructions does not amount to misdeclaration or misconduct. A Bench comprising Dr. Suvendu Kumar Pati (Judicial Member) and M.M. Parthiban (Technical Member) allowed the appeal filed by the assessee, Narendra Forwarders Pvt. Ltd., a Customs Broker,...