CUSTOMS
One-Year Limit In 2022 Notification Inapplicable To Pre-2022 Conversion Of Shipping Bills: CESTAT Kolkata
The Kolkata bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has ruled that the one-year time limit introduced in 2022 for converting Free Shipping Bills into EPCG Shipping Bills cannot be applied to exports made before the rule came into force.The bench of Judicial Member R. Muralidhar and Technical Member K. Anpazhakan held that the time limit under the 2022 notofication has no retrospective effect. “Therefore, the time limit given therein cannot be applied for the...
Notification Prescribing Time Limit For Post-Export Shipping Bill Conversion Cannot Apply Retrospectively: CESTAT Ahmedabad
The Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Ahmedabad has held that a 2022 notification prescribing a time limit for post-export conversion of Shipping Bills cannot be applied retrospectively to exports made before it came into force.A coram comprising Judicial Member Somesh Arora and Technical Member Satendra Vikram Singh ruled that the notification had no application to Metalloys Recycling Ltd.'s exports made between October 2019 and January 2022.The tribunal observed,...
Madras High Court Directs Provisional Release Of 119 Machines, Rejects Retrospective Customs Rule
The Madras High Court on 3 August held that a Customs notification that came into force after the shipment of imported goods could not be applied retrospectively to deny provisional release of the goods. Justice Hemant Chandangoudar directed the Customs authorities to consider the request of S.P. Associates, represented by its proprietor Yogendra Pratap, for provisional release of 119 used digital multifunction printing, copying and scanning machines imported under a Bill of Entry dated 17 July...
Delhi High Court Upholds Customs Broker Licence Revocation For Using Another Broker's Credentials
The Delhi High Court has upheld the revocation of a Customs Broker's licence after finding that it had consciously undertaken clearance-related activities using the credentials of another Customs Broker in relation to goods which were prohibited for import.The Division Bench of Justices Anil Kshetrapal and Shail Jain held that the consent or knowledge of the Customs Broker whose credentials were used could not authorise another broker to undertake Customs Broker functions using those...
Madras High Court Quashes Vital Wheat Gluten Seizure, Cites Earlier Ruling On DFIA Exemption
The Madras High Court has recently quashed a seizure memo issued against Bhansali Chematics Private Limited over its import of Vital Wheat Gluten. The court held that there was no legally sustainable material to form the requisite belief that the goods were liable to confiscation.A Single Bench of Justice Hemant Chandangoudar held that wheat gluten falls within the description of “wheat flour” for the purposes of the Duty Free Import Authorisation (DFIA) Scheme. The court relied on earlier...
Madras High Court Calls CESTAT Order 'Very Cavalier', Restores ₹90 Lakh Customs Penalty On Steamer Agent
The Madras High Court has recently restored a ₹90.15 lakh customs penalty imposed on MSC Agency India Pvt. Ltd. It found that the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) had dealt with the matter in a “very cavalier fashion”, despite the fact that the actual weight of goods unloaded from 150 containers was only 12.5% on average of the declared weight.“We find that the Tribunal failed to note that admittedly, 150 containers were shipped through the same shipping line and in...
Delhi High Court Grants Limitation Relief To Importer After Supreme Court's ITC Ruling Changed Customs Refund Rules
The Delhi High Court recently granted limitation relief to an importer whose customs refund remedy became ineffective following the Supreme Court's decision in ITC Limited v. Commissioner of Central Excise, Kolkata-IV.The top court in the case had held that a refund claim could not be entertained unless the underlying assessment or self-assessment had first been modified in appeal or under another provision of the Customs Act.The division bench of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Shail Jain held...
Customs Law Does Not Recognise 'Substantial Compliance' In Matters Of Warehousing: CESTAT Hyderabad
The Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Hyderabad, has recently ruled that Customs law does not recognise the concept of “substantial compliance” in warehousing. It rejected Oswal Minerals Ltd.'s argument that its imported manganese ore substantially remained under the custody of the same warehouse operator.“Customs law does not recognise the concept of “substantial compliance” in matters concerning warehousing. What the statute requires is deposit of the imported goods...
Laser Imagers Are Accessories, Not Diagnostic Apparatuses For Customs Duty Purposes: Supreme Court
The Supreme Court has recently ruled that a laser imager used to print images generated by MRI, CT, X-ray and other diagnostic machines cannot itself be treated as a “diagnostic apparatus” for determining customs duty.“Admittedly, the laser imager has no diagnostic skill or capability of its own and must necessarily receive inputs from diagnostic equipment to carry out its function of printing films. In effect, it is an 'accessory' to the diagnostic equipment from which it receives inputs, as it...
Madras High Court Orders Provisional Release Of Vimpro Tech Goods Pending Adjudication
The Madras High Court on 5 August held that pendency of a Customs investigation by itself cannot be a ground to deny provisional release of imported goods when Section 110A of the Customs Act, which specifically permits provisional release of detained goods subject to conditions, applies. Justice Hemant Chandangoudar set aside the Customs order rejecting Vimpro Tech's request for provisional release and directed the authorities to release the goods subject to conditions, while allowing the...
Two Customs Show Cause Notices From Same DRI Investigation Retain Separate Legal Identity: Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court has held that two show cause notices issued pursuant to the same investigation by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) retain their separate legal identity and can be adjudicated independently, even where they have been assigned to the same adjudicating authority and taken up together for hearing.The division bench of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Shail Jain observed that the mere fact that two SCNs emanate from the same investigation, or that they are entrusted to a...
CESTAT Mumbai Holds CCSP Suspension Must Be Preventive Not Punitive, Restores ICTPL Licence
On 10 August, the Mumbai Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that the power to immediately suspend a Customs Cargo Service Provider (CCSP) approval under Regulation 11(2) of the Handling of Cargo in Customs Areas Regulations, 2009 (HCCAR) is preventive and not punitive, and can be exercised only where a demonstrable and continuing threat requires immediate action. A Bench comprising Judicial Member Ajay Sharma and Technical Member A K Jyotishi set aside the...