Late Fee On Supplementary Bills Of Entry Cannot Be Imposed In A Routine Manner: CESTAT Kolkata

The Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) at Kolkata has recently observed that late fees for delayed filing of Bills of Entry must not be imposed routinely where the delay is not attributable to the importer.

A Bench of Judicial Member R. Muralidhar and Technical Member Rajeev Tandon set aside late fees levied on Agarwal Coal Corporation Pvt. Ltd. in six appeals arising from supplementary Bills of Entry filed for excess quantities of imported coal.

"Late fee chargeable for the delay in filing the Bills of Entry is to be considered judiciously and not imposed in a routine manner," the tribunal observed.

The dispute concerned consignments of steam coal imported by Agarwal Coal Corporation. Original Bills of Entry for the consignments were filed within the stipulated period.

After clearance of the goods, draft survey reports showed that excess quantities of coal remained at the port. According to the Tribunal, the excess cargo formed part of the same consignments for which the original Bills of Entry had already been filed.

The company requested amendment of the Import General Manifest (IGM) and the connected Bills of Entry. It also expressed willingness to pay customs duty on the additional quantity of coal. The proper officer did not permit amendment of the Bills of Entry already on record.

The proper officer did not permit amendment of the Bills of Entry already on record. Agarwal Coal then filed supplementary Bills of Entry for the excess quantity of coal found at the port.

Those supplementary filings were made beyond the prescribed time limit. Customs authorities consequently levied late fees, a decision that was later affirmed by the appellate authority.

Challenging the levy, the company contended that the delay was not of its making. It pointed out that the original Bills of Entry had been filed within time and that the excess coal formed part of the same consignments already covered by those filings.

The Tribunal found merit in that contention. On a review of the record, the Bench observed that the delay in filing the supplementary Bills of Entry could not be attributed to any fault on the part of the importer.

It noted that the original Bills of Entry had been filed within the stipulated time frame. The Bench further noted that the excess cargo formed part of the same cargo for which the company had already filed Bills of Entry.

"In the present case, the late filing of the Bills of Entry cannot be attributed due to any act or fault accruing on the part of the appellant. Under such circumstances, considering the bona fides of the appellant, the imposition of late fee in the present cases is found to be unwarranted," the bench held.

The Tribunal also examined the proviso governing late filing charges and observed that the proper officer has the authority to waive late fees in deserving cases. In the facts before it, the Bench found the matter fit for waiver.

Reference was also made to a Standard Operating Procedure issued by the Commissioner of Customs (Preventive), Bhubaneswar, dealing with delivery of excess dry bulk cargo. The order notes that the SOP provides for levy of applicable fine or penalty as deemed fit by the jurisdictional officer. The Tribunal observed that such levy should not be imposed in a routine or mechanical manner.

The bench referred to and applied the Tribunal's earlier decision in Blueleaf Trading Company v. Commissioner of GST & Central Excise, Tiruchirapalli. It also noted that a coordinate Bench had, in Kai International Pvt. Ltd. v. Commissioner of Customs (Preventive), Odisha, set aside late fees in an identical matter.

Holding the levy unsustainable, the tribunal set aside the late fees imposed on Agarwal Coal Corporation. Since neither side had disputed the quantification of customs duty paid on the supplementary Bills of Entry, that aspect was left undisturbed. The appeals were allowed with consequential relief.

For Appellant: None

For Respondent: Shri Tariq Suleman, Authorized Representative