Legal Reference Library

The Delhi High Court in Jatinder Kumar Sachdeva vs. The Union Of India And Ors, has clarified that when goods are seized/confiscated, the Customs Department must give a show cause notice under Section 124(a) of the Customs Act, 1962 (the ‘Act’) within six months or within the extended period of further six months, otherwise the goods have to be released to the person from whom they have been seized. Jatinder Kumar arrived from Dubai at IGI Airport Terminal T-3 and was intercepted by Customs officials at the exit gate where he was questioned for detainable goods being in his possession. His gold kara (bracelet) was seized on 11th Februar,y 2015, on the ground that it was imported from Dubai. Kumar sought release of the gold kara along with supporting documents to show that the said kara was his ancestral jewellery and was owned by him even before leaving for Dubai. His representation was not accepted and the kara had not been released till date. Kumar contended that since the Customa au...

Valuation of goods for Customs duty should be done only at the time and place of importation and it should not be based on the bill of lading but on goods arriving in India. The Supreme Court rejected the argument of the Commissioner of Customs that the quantity mentioned in the bill of lading should be the basis of payment of duty, not the quantity actually received in this country. The Customs appellate tribunal had upheld the view of the Customs authorities, but the Supreme Court said that the tribunal had "lost sight of the first principles". It stated in its judgment, in Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals vs Commissioner of Customs, that the tribunal was wrong in holding that a levy in the context of import duty can only be on imported goods, that is, on goods brought into India from a place outside of India. Till that is done, there is no charge to tax. Explaining the law further, the judgment stated that the taxable event in the case of imported goods is "impor...