Customs duty on imported goods remains payable despite disowning ownership; no apparent error was shown in the demand.

Customs duty remains leviable on imported goods even if the applicants disown ownership, because liability attaches to goods that have in fact been imported into India. The Tribunal found no error apparent on the record in the duty demand, noting that the impugned order did not require the applicants to pay duty in a situation where they did not redeem the goods. On that basis, the rectification plea failed and the confirmed duty demand was left undisturbed.

---

---

Issues: Whether the demand for duty could be said to suffer from an error apparent on the record merely because the applicants had disowned the imported goods and were held not to be the owners.

Analysis: The Tribunal held that duty is leviable on all imported goods under the Customs Act and that the goods had in fact been imported into the country and were liable to duty. It further noted that the order did not require the applicants to discharge duty in a situation where they did not redeem the goods. On that basis, no mistake apparent from the record was made out.

Conclusion: The rectification application was rejected, and the confirmation of duty demand was left undisturbed.

---