Order date: 09 November 2022

Key Pointers:

• The appellant, M/s Shree Simandhar Shipping Service, was handling clearance of goods against bills of entry dated 14.04.2012 and 12.07.2012 filed on behalf of M/s Siddhivinayak Corporation.
• M/s Siddhivinayak Corporation claimed entitlement to avail notification no. 40/2006-Cus dated 1st May 2006 and no. 98/2009-Cus dated 11th September 2009 issued for implementing the 'duty free import authorisation (DFIA)' scheme in the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) notified under Foreign Trade (Development & Regulation) Act, 1992.
• The bills of entry had been provisionally assessed under section 18 of Customs Act, 1962 before being finalized subsequently foregoing duty of ₹ 11,39,777 based on an expert opinion as well as finding of Tribunal in a similar dispute pertaining to another importer of Mangalore.
• The issue is whether benefit of notification no. 40/2006-Cus dated 1st May 2006 and no. 98/2009-Cus dated 11th September 2009 is correctly availed?
• The authorities observed that it cannot be approved that the ‘customs broker’ had not been diligent in ascertaining the correctness of information imparted to the client. The finding on breach of regulation 10(e) of Customs Broker Licencing Regulations, 2018 is also not sustainable on the given set of facts.
• Further, the allegation that the appellant had not discharged the duties of customs broker with utmost speed and efficiency and without any delay is based upon the same alleged misconstruing adopted to allege loss of revenue. The only ground for concluding that there has been loss of revenue is the reversal of the dropping of proceedings under Customs Act, 1962 by order of first appellate authority. Such appellate revision does not obfuscate non-leviability of duty opined by the assessing and adjudicating authorities which impedes a final conclusion, as yet, on that score.
• Thus there is no reason to uphold the finding of the respondent-Commissioner that regulation 10(n) of Customs Broker Licencing Regulations, 2018 had been contravened. 
• The appeal is allowed.