Correct Appeal Forum Depends On Officer's Actual Rank, Not What An Order Mentions: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court on 15 April 2026 held that the appellate forum under the Customs Act, 1962 must be determined by the actual rank and statutory authority exercised by the adjudicating officer, and not by any incorrect or clerical mention in the order. A Division Bench comprising Justices A.S. Supehia and Pranav Trivedi dismissed the Department's Tax Appeal and upheld the CESTAT's order, holding that the appeal was correctly filed before the Tribunal under Section 129A of the Customs Act,...

Delhi HC Refuses To Order Third Re-Test Of Shawls For Export, Says Decision Lies With Adjudicating Authority

The Delhi High Court has recently declined to direct a third re-test of goods under Customs proceedings, holding that such a request cannot be insisted upon at the mere instance of a party and that the decision lies within the discretion of the adjudicating authority, particularly where two test reports are already on record.A bench of Justices Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Ajay Digpaul dismissed a writ petition filed by an exporter seeking the quashing of a show cause notice and a direction for...

Delhi High Court Grants Importers Interest On Customs Duty Refunds After Delay In Re-Assessment By Department

The Delhi High Court has recently held that importers are entitled to interest on refunds of excess customs duty in cases where prolonged delay in reassessment is attributable to the Department. A Division Bench of Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Shail Jain observed, "For the delay in Department's passing of the re-assessment orders, the Petitioners cannot be blamed or expected to unduly suffer. Accordingly, the Court is of the view that in the said four writ petitions, the interest...

Bombay HC Quashes SCNs Against Foreign Exporter, Says Customs Act Had No Extra-Territorial Reach Pre-2018

The Bombay High Court has quashed show cause notices issued by customs authorities against a German textile machinery manufacturer and its Indian subsidiary, holding that the notices were without jurisdiction and that a foreign exporter cannot be made liable for alleged misdeclaration by Indian importers for a period prior to the 2018 amendment to the Customs Act. A Bench of Justice G. S. Kulkarni and Justice Aarti Sathe held that proceedings initiated against a foreign entity situated outside...

Kerala High Court Quashes 25 kg Gold Confiscation, Holds Denial Of Cross-Examination Vitiates Proceedings

The Kerala High Court on 3 March quashed a customs confiscation order involving 25 kilograms of gold, holding that denying the petitioners an effective opportunity to adduce evidence and cross-examine witnesses caused prejudice and violated principles of natural justice. Justice Ziyad Rahman A A, sitting as a Single-Judge Bench, allowed writ petitions challenging the Order-in-Original passed by the Customs authority, which had confiscated the gold and imposed penalties. He observed: “The...

Clandestine Gold Transport & High Purity Satisfy “Reasonable Belief” Under Customs Act: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court on 31 March restored the adjudicating authority's confiscation of 1,999.90 grams of gold, holding that clandestine transport and high scientific purity of bullion establish a “reasonable belief” of smuggling under the Customs Act. A Division Bench of Justices Rajarshi Bharadwaj and Uday Kumar allowed the Commissioner of Customs (Preventive), Kolkata's appeals, reinstated the confiscation and penalties, and set aside the Tribunal's order that had granted relief to the...

Delhi High Court Grants Interest on Delayed Customs Duty Refunds To Mobile Importers, Denies Relief To Lava

The Delhi High Court has held that mobile importers, including Intex Technologies (India) Ltd., are entitled to interest on refunds of excess customs duty paid by them.A Division Bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Shail Jain allowed a batch of writ petitions filed by multiple importers, including Jaina Mobile India, Intex Technologies, and UT Electronics (Petitioners), all of whom had been granted refunds of excess Countervailing Duty (CVD) but were denied interest.However, no interest on...

Circular Issued In Delhi Does Not Confer Jurisdiction: Delhi High Court Dismisses Plea On Goods Seized By Customs In Kolkata

The Delhi High Court has recently dismissed a writ petition filed by a steel importer challenging the detention of its goods, holding that the mere issuance of a circular or decision by an authority located in Delhi does not, by itself, confer territorial jurisdiction on the Court.A division bench of Justices Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Ajay Digpaul was dealing with a plea filed by a company engaged in the import of steel products, whose consignments had been detained at ports in Kolkata and...

Once Goods Found Of Indian Origin, Customs Seizure Arbitrary And Malafide: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court at Lucknow has expressed surprise at the seizure and detention of areca nuts by the customs authority on the ground that they were of foreign origin despite one lab test indicating Indian origin and a government laboratory test failing to determine their origin. The bench of Justice Shekhar B. Saraf and Justice Manjive Shukla was dealing with a batch of writ petitions involving seizure of the goods by customs authorities and held: “In such a situation, when the goods...

Amendment Allowing Customs Duty Exemption For Machinery Installed In Premises Applies Retrospectively: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court has held that an amendment to a customs exemption notification under the Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) scheme, which allowed installation of imported machinery in the importer's “factory or premises," will apply retrospectively, and exemption cannot be denied merely because the machinery was installed outside the factory. Allowing an importer's appeal, a Division Bench of Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice Pranav Trivedi observed that the benefit earlier denied due...

Delhi High Court Declines To Quash Customs SCN, Says Limitation Plea To Be Examined By Adjudicating Authority

The Delhi High Court has recently declined to exercise its writ jurisdiction to quash a show cause notice issued under the Customs Act, 1962, holding that the petitioner's plea regarding limitation must be decided by the adjudicating authority.A division bench of Justices Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Ajay Digpaul observed,“Once the petitioner has submitted his explanation on the issue of limitation based on the judgments referred above, it can be expected of the respondents to deal with the...

Delhi High Court Upholds CESTAT Order Restoring Customs Broker License, Faults Vague Show Cause Notice

The Delhi High Court has upheld a CESTAT order restoring an entity's customs broker licence, holding that action based on a vague show cause notice cannot be sustained in law.A division bench of Justices Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Ajay Digpaul dismissed an appeal filed by the Commissioner of Customs challenging the CESTAT order which had set aside the revocation of the respondent's Customs Broker licence.The dispute arose from an order dated February 14, 2024 by which the customs authorities had...