CESTAT rules in favor of the assessee

CESTAT rules in favor of the assessee

The tribunal observed that the importer had not made any wrong declarations deliberately

The Delhi Bench of the Customs Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that the penalty under the Customs Act, 1962 cannot be imposed on an importer for the mistakes in the Bill of Entry admittedly committed by the exporter.

The bill was assessed and marked for examination by the Special Intelligence & Investigation Branch (SIIB) on a first check basis. The goods were initially examined in March 2011 and the final examination was done in April 2011.

It was observed that there was a mismatch in the quantity and it also contained branded goods including the chargers of Nokia mobile phones. Also, undeclared travel chargers and AC adaptors were found, and accordingly, a penalty was imposed on the importer.

The appellant contended that since it was the first order through the UK-based Pama and Company Limited, the exporter/shipper had erroneously imported other goods that were not as per the purchase order.

The Judicial Member Anil Chaudhary observed that there was no case of a deliberate wrong declaration by the appellant importer.

The tribunal ruled, "The Bill of Entry had been filed as per the packing list and Bill of Lading. The shipper/exporter accepted its mistake that there was an error at the time of packing the goods at their end. This cogent explanation has not been found to be untrue. The appellant had already suffered a financial loss for the consignment to the shipper. Therefore, the penalty imposed under the IT Act is set aside. The appellant is free to appeal and shall be entitled to consequential benefit, in accordance with the law."