The Delhi High Court has held that the conditions imposed by the customs department for provisional release of seized goods are ‘discretionary’.
The bench of Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Dharmesh Sharma has observed that the calculated amount for the bank guarantee would be substantial and may almost constitute 70-80% of the value of the goods itself. The imposition of conditions being a discretionary matter.
The bench opined that it would be just and fair that apart from the Bond which has been directed, the Bank Guarantee to the tune of 30% of the differential duty be furnished by the Petitioner.
The Petitioner/assessee imported self-drilling bars against four bills of Entry. The goods were seized by the Customs Department on the ground that they were wrongly classified by the Petitioner under Entry instead of 73.04 of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HSN) classification.
The Petitioner made repeated representations to the Customs Department for release of the seized goods. Finally, the Principal Commissioner of Customs (Import), provisionally release of seized goods subject to furnishing of UT Bond equal to assessable value and Bank Guarantee of 130% of the deferential duty.
The Petitioner challenge the onerous conditions of provisional release imposed by the Customs Department.
The petitioner contended that the the Petitioner is a regular importer of seized goods and the ld. Counsel for the Petitioner has taken the Court through the HSN classification. The conditions imposed for provisional release are extremely onerous and considering the value of goods, the conditions are making it difficult to get the goods released.
The court stated that parties ought to avail of the appellate remedy and not rush to the Court that too invoking the extraordinary writ jurisdiction. However, the Petitioner claims to be a regular importer of the seized goods. The seized goods have been lying with the Customs Department since May 2024. The present petition is also pending for the last six months. Relegating the Petitioner to the appellate remedy at this stage would cause further delays in the release of the seized goods itself. Ultimately the classification has to be decided by the Department.
The court held that apart from the Bond which has been directed, the Bank Guarantee to the tune of 30% of the differential duty be furnished by the Petitioner. Upon the same being furnished by the Petitioner, the seized goods shall be released within ten days.
Case Details
Case Title: Rocktek Infra Services Pvt. Ltd. Versus Principal Commissioner Of Customs (Import)
Case No.: W.P.(C) 12489/2024
Date: 06/02/2025
Counsel For Petitioner: Prabhat Kumar and Karan Kanwal
Counsel For Respondent: Mr. Harpreet Singh, Sr. SC with Ms. Suhani Mathur and Mr. Jay Ahuja
