Customs Tribunal Must First Verify Cross-Examination Request Before Setting Aside Adjudication: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court at Lucknow has recently set aside a Customs tribunal order after finding that the tribunal failed to first examine whether the noticees (taxpayers) had actually sought cross-examination before holding that the adjudication proceedings stood vitiated for breach of natural justice.A bench of Justices Shekhar B. Saraf and Manjive Shukla ruled that the procedure under Section 138-B of the Customs Act, 1962, can be said to have been breached only if a specific request for...

CESTAT Sets Aside Rejection Of Declared Import Value Over Inadmissible Statements, Emails

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) at New Delhi Bench recently held that customs authorities cannot reject the declared value of imported furniture by relying on investigation statements and email printouts unless mandatory legal safeguards are followed. The coram comprised President Justice Dilip Gupta and Technical Member Hemambika R. Priya. The tribunal said that statements recorded during an investigation do not automatically qualify as evidence and can be...

Union Budget 2026: FM Proposes Rollout Of Customs Integrated System (CIS) In 2 Years

Presenting the Union Budget 2026, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the rollout of a new Customs Integrated System to overhaul customs processes.“I propose that a Customs Integrated System will be rolled out in two years as a single, integrated and scalable platform for all customs processes,” Sitharaman said. The Finance Minister also announced expanded use of technology for cargo examination. “Utilisation of non-intrusive scanning with advanced imaging and AI technology for risk...

Budget 2026-27 Proposes Cuts On Customs Duty On Personal Imports, Exempts Cancer Drugs And Rare Disease Medicines

The Union Budget 2026–27 presented on Sunday proposed customs duty relief for personal imports and medicines used in the treatment of serious illnesses.Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, “To rationalise the customs duty structure for goods imported for personal use, I propose to reduce the tariff rate on all dutiable goods imported for personal use from 20 per cent to 10 per cent.” She also announced healthcare-specific exemptions. “To provide relief to patients, particularly those...

Customs Duty On Vessels Fixed On Import Date, Not On Foreign To Coastal Run Conversion: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court recently held that customs duty on a vessel is fixed on the date of its import and cannot be reopened later merely because the vessel is converted from foreign-going to coastal run. The court said a later change in how the vessel is operated does not create a fresh tax liability. A bench of Justice Anita Sumanth and Justice Mummineni Sudheer Kumar said the date of import is the only point that matters for determining liability under the customs law. “The critical event in...

CESTAT Holds MRI Monitors Attract 18% IGST, Sets Aside 28% Levy On Wipro GE Healthcare Imports

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) at Mumbai has set aside customs orders against Wipro GE Healthcare Pvt. Ltd. that had upheld the levy of 28% integrated GST on medical monitors imported for use with MRI systems, holding that the higher tax could not be sustained. A Bench of Technical Member C.J. Mathew and Judicial Member Ajay Sharma found that customs authorities had wrongly rejected Wipro GE's request to amend the bills of entry and had continued to assess the...

Supreme Court Issues Notice On Union's Appeal Against Bombay High Court Ruling On IGST Penalties

The Supreme Court recently issued notice on a Special Leave Petition filed by the Union government challenging a Bombay High Court ruling, which held that, prior to a 2024 amendment, the Customs Tariff Act did not permit the levy of interest, penalty, confiscation, or redemption fine on Integrated Goods and Services Tax collected on imported goods.A bench of Justice K.V. Viswanathan and Justice Vipul M. Pancholi passed the order after hearing the Additional Solicitor General for the Revenue and...

After Supreme Court Dismisses SLP, Delhi High Court Expresses Dissatisfaction Over Duty Drawbacks Withheld By Customs

The Delhi High Court has expressed dissatisfaction over the Customs Department's failure to implement its earlier judgment directing the release of duty drawback amounts to the petitioners, despite the Supreme Court having dismissed the Department's special leave petition (SLP).A Division Bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Shail Jain was hearing a batch of writ petitions seeking implementation of the Court's judgment dated February 13, 2025. The earlier judgment had quashed CBIC...

Marine Feed Mixed With Vegetable Protein Attracts Higher Customs Duty: CESTAT Chennai

On 22 January, the Chennai Bench of the Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) held that imports of marine feed mixed with vegetable protein attract higher customs duty as they are classifiable as formulated animal feed and not as simple fish or mollusc meal. A Bench comprising Judicial Member P. Dinesha and Technical Member Vasa Seshagiri Rao upheld the reclassification of imported squid-based feed products under Customs Tariff Heading (CTH) 2309 as preparations for...

Raw Aluminium Cannot Be Reclassified As 'Motor Vehicle Parts' Based On End Use Alone: CESTAT Delhi

The Delhi Bench of the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) recently set aside the re-classification of raw aluminium articles imported from Korea and Thailand as auto-parts solely on the basis of end use. On 21 January 2026, a Bench of Justice Dilip Gupta and Technical Member Hemambika R. Priya rejected the Department's attempt to classify imported aluminium tubes, pipes, and profiles as 'parts of motor vehicles'. The Tribunal held that merely because the imported...

Johnson Lifts Secures ₹1.24 Crore Relief As CESTAT Chennai Upholds Elevator Parts Classification

The Chennai Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that lift and elevator parts imported by Johnson Lifts Pvt. Ltd. were correctly classifiable as “parts suitable for use solely or principally with lifts and escalators” under Customs Tariff Heading (CTH) 8431, which attracts a lower rate of customs duty. A Bench comprising Judicial Member Ajayan T.V. and Technical Member Ajit Kumar set aside the department's differential customs duty demand exceeding...

CBIC Revises Gold Tariff Values, No Change in Edible Oils, Brass Scrap & Areca Nuts

In a notification dated 22 January 2026, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has updated tariff values for gold while keeping tariff values unchanged for edible oils, all types of brass scrap, silver, and areca nuts. The notifications stated that from 23 January 2026 tariff rates are effective at USD 1,567 per 10 g for gold and USD 2,950 per kg for silver. The notification also specifies tariff values for various edible oils, brass scrap, gold, silver, and areca nuts. These...