Today the Supreme Court will preside over the review petition filed by the customs commissioner against the Canon India Pvt. Ltd. vs Commissioner, Goods And Service Tax in which it was held that officers of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) do not have powers under the Customs Act ,1962.
The constitutional bench of Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra will decide the fate of 18 years old tax notices worth Rs. 20,000 to 23,000 Crores issued by the DRI and decide a issue whether an Additional Director General of the DRI who has been appointed as an officer of Customs, under the notification dated 7.3.2002, has been entrusted with the functions under Section 28 as a proper officer under the Customs Act.
Background – Canon India Pvt. Ltd. vs Commissioner, Goods And Service Tax
The batch of statutory appeals were filed by the companies like Cannon, Sony, Samsung, etc, the under Section 130E of the Customs Act, 1962 arises from a common final order of the Central Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT).
The CESTAT ordered an exemption of basic customs duty accorded to the Digital Still Image Video Cameras (DSIC) imported by the Nikon, Canon India, Sony and Samsung, in terms of exemption Notification No. 20/2005 dated 01.03.2005 came to be denied and the consequential confiscation of goods, demand of interest and imposition of penalty as provided for under various sections of the Customs Act, 1962, was upheld by the CESTAT.
The issue raised was whether after clearance of the cameras on the basis that they were exempted from levy of basic Customs duty under Notification No.15/2012, the proceedings initiated by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence for recovery of duty not paid under Section 28(4) of the Customs Act, 1962 are valid in law.
The Supreme Court held that the entire proceeding in the present case initiated by the Additional Director General of the DRI by issuing show cause notices in all the matters before us are invalid without any authority of law and liable to be set-aside and the ensuing demands are also set- aside.
Effect of Cannon Judgement On High Courts & Tribunals
In the light of the decision of Supreme Court in the case of Canon India, various High Courts and Tribunal all across India has quashed the notices along with the consequential proceedings initiated by the officers of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence for recovery of duty not paid under Section 28(4) of the Customs Act, 1962 were invalidated and quashed. The department being aggrieved by the orders of the High Courts filed the appeals before the Supreme Court which are pending consideration
As a result, many appeals against the orders passed on the basis of Canon India are pending in the Supreme Court.
Case Title: Commissioner Of Customs V/S M/S Canon India Private Limited
Case No.: R.P.(C) No.400/2021 in C.A. No.1827/2018
Date: 11/09/2024
Counsel For Petitioner: N. Venkataraman, ASG
Counsel For Respondent: Mukul Rohtagi, Sr. Adv.
