Delhi High Court Imposes Costs On Party For Misrepresenting New Gold Jewellery As 'Old'; Orders Release Subject To Payment Of Duty

The Delhi High Court has imposed costs on two Petitioners who falsely claimed that their old gold jewellery was seized by the Customs Department upon their arrival from Dubai.On production of the gold items before it, a division bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Renu Bhatnagar observed,“it is clear that the gold items are not used gold jewellery of the Petitioners, and the same are absolutely brand new jewellery, which is stated to have been purchased by the Petitioners in Dubai and were...

Extended Limitation Cannot Be Invoked Without Proof Of Intent To Evade: CESTAT Delhi Sets Aside Service Tax Demand On Car Parking Charges

The Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Principal Bench, New Delhi has held that the extended period of limitation under the proviso to Section 73(1) of the Finance Act, 1994 cannot be invoked in the absence of clear evidence of suppression of facts with intent to evade service tax. A Division Bench comprising Justice Dilip Gupta (President) and P.V. Subba Rao (Technical Member) allowed the appeal against the order of Commissioner(appeals) filed by the...

'Invested Substantial Savings': Delhi High Court Permits Redemption Of Labourer's Gold Bar Seized By Customs

The Delhi High Court recently permitted a labourer, working in the middle-east, to redeem gold bars confiscated by the Customs Department, after a four-year delay.In doing so, a division bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Renu Bhatnagar took note of the Petitioner's financial status, which purportedly prevented him from paying the redemption fine in time.“Bearing in mind the fact that the Petitioner is from an economically weaker section, is working as a labourer in Saudi Arabia and may...

NRI Entitled To Bring Personal Jewellery/Watch For Re-Export: Delhi High Court Orders Release Of Rolex Seized At Airport

The Delhi High Court has ordered the Customs Department to release the high-value Rolex watch of a NRI, citing Supreme Court's ruling in Directorate of Revenue Intelligence v. Pushpa Lekhumal Tolani (2017).In the said judgment, the top court had held that foreign tourists are allowed to bring into India jewellery even of substantial value provided it is meant to be taken out of India with them.A division bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Renu Bhatnagar observed,“The Petitioner being a...

No Service Tax On Cost Allocation For Pet-Care Products Of Mars International: CESTAT Hyderabad

The Hyderabad Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that Mars International is not liable to service tax on cost allocations for developing pet-care products. The bench further opined that the arrangement with the group companies did not involve a service provider-service recipient relationship, and therefore, the service is not taxable. ANGAD PRASAD (Judicial Member) and A.K. JYOTISHI (Technical Member) found that the Mars...

Tobacco Transport By Individual Truck Owners Not Goods Transport Agency: CESTAT Quashes Service Tax Demand

The Hyderabad Bench of Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has set aside service tax demand on Indian Tobacco Traders under the heading Goods Transport Agency (GTA) Service, as tobacco leaves were transported through individual truck owners. In an order dated November 28, 2025 the Bench comprising Mr. A.K. Jyotishi (Technical Member) and Mr. Angad Prasad (Judicial Member) clarified that even if a person had provided Goods Transport Service but has not issued the ...

Bunker Supply Of Fuel To ASEAN Explorer Is Duty-Free Export: CESTAT Quashes Excise Demand Against Bharat Petroleum

The Bangalore Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has stated that bunker supplies of High Viscosity Furnace Oil (HVFO) made by Bharat Petroleum to the vessel to 'cable ship ASEAN explorer' qualify as duty-free exports under Rule 19 of the Central Excise Rules, 2002, read with Notification No. 46/2001-CE(NT). P.A. Augustian (Judicial Member) and Pullela Nageswara Rao (Technical Member) examined whether the supplies of High Viscosity Furnace Oil (HVFO)...

No Service Tax On Income Received From Joint Venture: CESTAT Kolkata Sets Aside ₹5.72 Crore Demand

The Kolkata Bench of the Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that an assessee's/partner's share of income from a joint venture is not consideration for any taxable service and therefore not liable to Service Tax. R. Muralidhar (Judicial Member) and K. Anpazhakan (Technical Member) observed that the activities undertaken by a partner/co-venturer for the mutual benefit of the partnership/joint venture cannot be regarded as a service rendered by one...

CESTAT Delhi Sets Aside ₹1 Crore Interest, Penalty On Hindustan Zinc For Reversed CENVAT Credit

The Delhi Bench of Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has set aside disallowance of CENVAT credit as well as interest and penalty worth about Rs. 1 crore for electricity wheeled out to sister concerns as well as to State Electricity Board. In an order dated November 24, 2025, the Bench comprising Justice Dilip Gupta (Principal Bench) and Smt. Hemambika R. Priya (Technical Member) set aside six orders, notices creating excise duty demand on input and input ...

Importer Not Liable To Pay Customs Duty On Goods Not Received By Him: Bombay High Court Grants Refund

The Bombay High Court has held that an importer cannot be made liable to pay customs duty on goods that were never cleared for home consumption and were never received by the importer. The Court observed that, under Sections 13, 23 and 27 of the Customs Act, 1962, duty paid in anticipation of clearance becomes refundable once it is established that the goods were short-landed or lost before clearance.A division bench of Justices M.S. Sonak and Advait M. Sethna was hearing a petition filed by M/s...

S.128A Customs Act | Six-Month Timeline To Decide Appeals Not Mandatory, But Must Apply Where Possible: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has held that though Section 128A(4A) of the Customs Act, 1962 prescribes that appeals “shall” be decided within six months, the timeline is applicable only where it is possible to do so.Perusing the language in which the provision is couched, a division bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Shail Jain observed,“...it uses the word 'shall'. However, the provision also stipulates that the said period is to be adhered where it is possible to do so.”The observation was made...

GST Migration Not Taxpayer's Burden: Delhi HC Directs CESTAT To Hear Appeal After Pre-Deposit Was Made Under Excise Head Due To Portal Failure

The Delhi High Court has held that where the Service Tax portal had become non-functional after the migration to the GST regime, the taxpayer cannot be compelled to make the mandatory pre-deposit strictly under the Service Tax ledger for maintainability of an appeal. The Court observed that once the deposit has already gone to the Government exchequer under the Excise Head. A Division Bench comprising Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Saurabh Banerjee was hearing a writ petition ...