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,...

Customs Act | No Time Bar For Shipping Bill Conversion Under Section 149: CESTAT Mumbai

The Mumbai Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has dismissed an appeal filed by the Customs Department against ADF Foods Ltd., holding that exporters can seek conversion of shipping bills from one export incentive scheme to another even after several years, as long as the law does not prescribe any time limit. A Bench comprising Dr. Suvendu Kumar Pati (Judicial Member) and M.M. Parthiban (Technical Member) upheld the earlier relief granted to the...

Service Tax | Windmill Installation, Commissioning Services Construable As 'Input Service', Credit Admissible: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court has allowed CENVAT credit of service tax paid on input used in setting up of a Windmill, away from factory premises, on the strength of nexus of the inputs with output activity, electricity generation. A Division Bench comprising, Justice Bhargav D. Karia and Justice Pranav Trivedi in twin writ petitions has set aside order of CESTAT Ahmedabad that disallowed CENVAT credit on the ground that credit of inputs and input services utilized away from the factory site...

CESTAT Delhi Cancels Customs Broker's Licence For Helping Export Prohibited Goods Using Another Person/Firm's Name

The Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), New Delhi, has upheld the cancellation of a Customs Broker's licence after finding that the broker helped export prohibited goods by filing documents in the name of a firm that had never hired it. A Bench of Justice Dilip Gupta (President) and P.V. Subba Rao (Member–Technical) dismissed the appeal filed by the assessee, M/s Anax Air Services Pvt. Ltd. and confirmed the order passed by the Commissioner of Customs, New...

Service Tax | Extended Limitation Cannot Be Invoked Without Mens Rea, Deliberate Intent To Evade Duty To Be Proven: CESTAT Chandigarh

The Chandigarh Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has set aside a service tax demand of ₹18.95 crore raised against the assessee, KEC International, holding that the Department wrongly invoked the extended period of limitation without establishing any intent to evade tax . A Bench comprising Hon'ble Mr. S.S. Garg (Judicial Member) and Hon'ble Mr. P. Anjani Kumar (Technical Member) allowed the appeal filed by the assessee and quashed the...

Customs | Alleged Export Through Non-Specified Routes Must Be Proved; Presumption Insufficient To Uphold Seizure: CESTAT Kolkata

The Kolkata Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) held that seizure of goods cannot be sustained merely on the assumption that they were intended for export through non-specified routes. In the absence of any corroborative evidence establishing intent to export illegally, such presumption alone is insufficient to justify such seizure. Rajeev Tandon (Technical Member) opined that the mere presumption that the goods were meant for export to Nepal through...

Customs | Refund Cannot Be Rejected Merely For Not Filing Chartered Accountant Certificate In Prescribed Format: CESTAT

The Chennai Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) held that a refund claim cannot be rejected solely because the Chartered Accountant certificate was not submitted in a prescribed or revised format. The bench opined that the format prescribed under the public notice is only indicative, and once the assessee has produced documents evidencing payment of VAT/CST, the refund cannot be denied merely due to a technical lapse in the format of the Chartered...