CESTAT Chennai Rejects Customs Department's Bid To Classify Imported Supari As Split Areca Nuts

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Chennai, has rejected the Customs Department's attempt to reclassify imported unflavoured supari as split areca nuts, upholding the importer's declared classification. A Bench of Judicial Member Ajayan T.V. and Technical Member Vasa Seshagiri Rao held that the Department had failed to produce sufficient evidence to establish that the goods should be classified as split areca nuts. The dispute concerned four consignments imported...

CESTAT Kolkata Sets Aside Penalty After Authority Relied On Undisclosed Emails, Inapplicable DRI Alerts

The Kolkata Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has set aside a ₹12.59 lakh customs duty demand and an equivalent penalty imposed on an importer for allegedly wrongly claiming preferential duty benefits under the India-Malaysia trade agreement. The tribunal found that the adjudicating authority relied on emails that were neither mentioned in the show-cause notice nor provided to the importer for an explanation. “Moreover, in the adjudication order, the...

CESTAT Hyderabad Says Missing Invoices Alone Do Not Prove Smuggling, Sets Aside Gold Confiscation

On 29 October, the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Hyderabad held that the absence of purchase invoices for gold does not, by itself, establish that the gold was smuggled into India. A Bench comprising Judicial Member Angad Prasad set aside the confiscation of 377.08 grams of gold worth Rs. 19.12 lakh and the penalty of Rs. 3.83 lakh that Customs authorities imposed on Mohammed Abdul Razzak, proprietor of Iqbal Jewellers, under the Customs Act, 1962. The Tribunal...

Different Views On Import Classification Do Not Establish Broker Misconduct: CESTAT New Delhi

On 28 October, the New Delhi Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) held that a difference of opinion over the classification of imported goods does not, by itself, establish misconduct by a Customs Broker. A Bench comprising Officiating President Dr. Rachna Gupta and Technical Member P. V. Subba Rao allowed Anubhav Cargo Movers' appeal against the revocation of its Customs Broker licence, forfeiture of its security deposit and imposition of a penalty of Rs....

Exempt Basic Customs Duty Cannot Be Added To Import Value For IGST Calculation: CESTAT Mumbai

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Mumbai, has ruled that customs duty exempted under an applicable notification cannot be added at the normal tariff rate to the value of imported goods for calculating Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST), where the importer has satisfied the conditions for the exemption.The tribunal found that TGI International was entitled to exemption from Basic Customs Duty (BCD) under Notification No. 19/2015-Customs dated April 1, 2015,...

Mere Introduction To Freight Forwarder Does Not Prove Intent To Evade Customs Duty: CESTAT Chennai

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Chennai, on 15 October held that merely introducing an importer to a freight forwarder does not establish involvement in customs duty evasion or justify a penalty under the Customs Act, 1962. Technical Member M. Ajit Kumar set aside the Rs. 1 lakh penalty imposed on Chirag Jayant Shah, an assistant manager at A.E. Logistics Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, for allegedly facilitating the import of undervalued branded glass stones. The Bench...

CKD Electric Two-Wheelers Without Battery, Charger Not Eligible For Customs Duty Exemption: CESTAT Delhi

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate tribunal (CESTAT), New Delhi, has denied concessional customs duty to an importer of electric two-wheelers in completely knocked down (CKD) condition because the kits lacked components required under the applicable exemption notification.A Bench of Officiating President Dr. Rachna Gupta and Technical Member Hemambika R. Priya, however, upheld their classification as complete electric two-wheelers under Rule 2(a) of the General Rules for...

Freshly Manufactured Goods Cannot Replace Re-Imported Goods For Customs Duty Exemption: CESTAT Kolkata

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Kolkata has ruled that goods re-imported for repairs cannot be replaced with freshly manufactured goods to claim customs duty exemption, even if they match in description and quality. Dismissing Crescent Foundry Company Private Limited's appeal, the tribunal held that Notification No. 158/95-Cus. requires the same goods to be re-exported after repairs or reconditioning.“This condition makes it clear that the goods which are to be...

CESTAT Chennai Says Suzuki Hayabusa Imported Via Two Ports Form One Vehicle, Upholds ₹10.36 Lakh Duty

The Chennai Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) on 6 October held that importing a motorcycle in separate parts through different ports cannot defeat the customs duty and restrictions applicable to a complete vehicle when the evidence establishes that the consignments form a single motorcycle. A Bench comprising Judicial Member Ajayan T.V. and Technical Member M. Ajit Kumar partially allowed an appeal filed by R. Dewakar, proprietor of Sri Vinayaka...

Deletion Of Certain Parameters Does Not Make Refined Palmolein 'Crude Palm Oil' For Customs Duty: CESTAT Hyderabad

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Hyderabad has held that deletion of acid value and total carotenoid parameters from a customs exemption notification did not mean that refined or processed palmolein would qualify as “Crude Palm Oil” for concessional customs duty.The Bench of Judicial Member Angad Prasad and Technical Member P. Anjani Kumar observed that the exemption could not be denied merely because the goods failed to meet parameters that were no longer part of...

CESTAT Allahabad Sets Aside Value Enhancement, Finds Import Data Missing From Acceptance Letters

The Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Allahabad has recently refused to treat an importer's written acceptance of enhanced customs values as conclusive after finding that the letters did not contain the contemporaneous import data cited as the basis for the enhancement.“Given the language as noted in some of the letters as written by the appellant and placed above, there is a wide gap which has not been bridged by the Revenue, in the matter. The contents of this...

Disposable Cuvettes Can Be Classified As Parts Of Diagnostic Equipment: CESTAT Chennai

The Chennai Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that specially designed micro-cuvettes used with Roche Diagnostics India's Cobas c111 analyser are classifiable as parts of the diagnostic equipment. It ruled that the cuvettes' disposable nature did not by itself prevent such classification.A Bench of Judicial Member P. Dinesha and Technical Member M. Ajit Kumar held that the “Integra Microcuvetten, Micro Cuvette Segment” was not merely a plastic...