CESTAT Ahmedabad Quashes Penalty On Gujarat Trader Over Urea Imports on High Sea Sales Basis Through MMTC

The Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) at Ahmedabad has set aside confiscation and penalties imposed on Deep Traders, Gujarat, holding that its import of technical-grade urea through a State Trading Enterprise on a high sea sales basis did not violate the Foreign Trade Policy. In a high-seas sales transaction, the State Trading Enterprise imports the goods and sells them to an Indian buyer while the shipment is still at sea, with the buyer completing customs clearance....

CESTAT Mumbai Rules Importer Entitled To DEPB Benefit Despite Subsequent Cancellation Of Scrips

The Mumbai bench of the Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal has held that Saguna Poultry Farm Ltd. cannot be denied duty exemption on imports made using DEPB scrips that were valid at the time of use, even if those scrips were cancelled later. DEPB (Duty Entitlement Pass Book) scrips are transferable licences issued to exporters that can be used to pay customs duty on imports. “The scrips were valid when they were utilized by the appellant. Subsequent cancellation would have no...

Bluetooth Earphones Are Earphones For Customs Classification, Not Data Transmission Devices: CESTAT New Delhi

The Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) in New Delhi on Wednesday held that Bluetooth earphones remain earphones for customs classification and do not become data transmission devices merely because they use wireless connectivity. A bench of President Justice Dilip Gupta and Technical Member P.V. Subba Rao held that the primary function of such devices is sound output, which makes them earphones.“Bluetooth Wireless Earphones are, objectively and physically,...

State VAT Exemption Cannot Override SAD Liability On Imports: CESTAT Chennai

The Chennai Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) on 24 April dismissed an appeal filed by Enterprise International Ltd., holding that exemption from VAT in Uttar Pradesh cannot be used to avoid payment of 4% Special Additional Duty (SAD) on imported silk fabrics. A Bench comprising Judicial Member P. Dinesha and Technical Member Vasa Seshagiri Rao examined whether SAD liability can be avoided on the basis of a state-level VAT exemption and whether a demand...

Delhi High Court Dismisses Pleas Against Customs SCNs On AIFTA Benefits For Copper Imports

The Delhi High Court has dismissed as premature petitions challenging show cause notices denying duty benefits under the ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement on copper imports from Vietnam for allegedly failing the 35% value addition requirement. A Division Bench of Justices V. Kameswar Rao and Vinod Kumar held that the petitions were not maintainable at this stage, noting that the challenge was to show cause notices which initiate adjudicatory proceedings and do not conclusively determine rights ...

Gold Chains In Running Lengths Are Jewellery, Not Semi-Manufactured Gold: CESTAT Bengaluru

The Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) at Bengaluru has recently held that gold chains imported in running lengths are to be treated as articles of jewellery and not as semi-manufactured gold, ruling that minor processes like cutting and attaching hooks do not alter their essential character. A coram of Technical Member Pullela Nageswara Rao said the goods had already taken the form of finished jewellery: “I find that the goods as imported, 'gold neck chains' though...

CESTAT Mumbai Dismisses Gamco Appeal In Customs Dispute, Says Imported Marble Slabs Were Actually Limestone

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Mumbai, has dismissed the appeal filed by Gamco International in a customs classification dispute involving alleged misdeclaration of imported marble slabs. It upheld confiscation, redemption fines, penalties, and denial of exemption after finding that the goods were actually limestone. The tribunal held that, in this case, there was clear misdeclaration of both the nature and quantity of the imported goods. It said the customs...

CESTAT New Delhi Allows Toyota Boshoku's Appeal, Holds Seat Components As 'Parts Of Seats'

The New Delhi Bench of the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) on 21 April held that goods specifically classifiable as parts of seats cannot be reclassified under a general entry for motor vehicle parts, and accordingly allowed the appeal filed by Shiroki Automobiles India Pvt. Ltd. (now known as Toyota Boshoku Device India Pvt. Ltd.). A Bench comprising President Justice Dilip Gupta and Technical Member P.V. Subba Rao set aside the order of the Commissioner...

Delhi High Court Refuses Writ Against Gold Chain Confiscation, Cites Alternate Remedy Under Customs Act

The Delhi High Court has recently refused to entertain a writ petition challenging the confiscation of a gold chain under the Customs Act, 1962, reiterating that writ jurisdiction under Article 226 cannot be invoked to bypass an available statutory remedy of appeal.A Division Bench of Justices Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Ajay Digpaul dismissed the petition filed against an order confiscating a 100-gram gold chain from the Petitioner on his return to India from Bangkok.The petitioner was intercepted...

Delay Beyond 90 Days Not Condonable Under Customs Act: CESTAT Mumbai Reiterates

The Mumbai Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) on 17 April, held that the Commissioner (Appeals) cannot condone delay in filing an appeal under Section 128(1) of the Customs Act beyond the original 60-day limitation period and the additional condonable 30-day period. A Bench comprising President Justice Dilip Gupta and Technical Member P. Anjani Kumar dismissed the appeals filed by Parekh Cranes and Machinery and its partner, and upheld the confiscation...

CESTAT Mumbai Allows Release Of Seized Drone Parts, Says Separate Consignments Not Complete Drones

The Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) at Mumbai has ordered the provisional release of seized drones and drone components, holding that Customs cannot deny release by treating separate consignments of parts as complete drones without establishing a one-to-one correlation and that the parts were capable of being reassembled into complete units. A coram of Judicial Member Dr. Suvendu Kumar Pati and Technical Member M.M. Parthiban held that the Department failed to show...

Customs Public Notices Cannot Be Issued In A Manner Diluting FTA Benefits Or Overriding Law: Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court recently observed that Commissioner of Customs cannot issue public notices in a manner that dilutes the benefits under free trade agreements or overrides statutory provisions and CBIC circulars, while setting aside an order denying preferential duty to Covestro India Pvt. Ltd. The dispute arises from a public notice issued in March 2024 by the Commissioner of Customs at Nhava Sheva, which prescribed additional documentation requirements in cases involving third-party...