Penalties upheld for removal of export goods without intimation, reduced pre-deposit amount. General Manager's penalty waived.

The penalties imposed on M/s. Tirupur Container Terminals Pvt. Ltd. for removing export goods without intimation to the proper officer of Customs were upheld, but the amount to be pre-deposited was reduced. The penalty imposed on the General Manager was waived as it was deemed unsustainable to impose a separate penalty for the same offense under the Customs Act.

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Issues:
Penalties imposed under Section 117 of the Customs Act on M/s. Tirupur Container Terminals Pvt. Ltd. and their General Manager for removing export goods without intimation to the proper officer of Customs.

Analysis:
1. The penalties of Rs. 10,000/- each were imposed on M/s. Tirupur Container Terminals Pvt. Ltd. and their General Manager for removing export goods from the ICD, Tirupur without intimation to the proper officer of Customs, which was considered a breach of Section 45 of the Customs Act. The penalties were upheld by the Commissioner (Appeals).

2. The appellants argued that there was a practice of bringing import and export goods to the Customs area before filing the Bill of Entry/Shipping Bill, as acknowledged in Public Notice No. 52/2004 issued by the Commissioner of Customs (Port), Chennai. They contended that this practice absolved them from liability under Section 117. However, the Department contested this argument, stating that the Public Notice did not cover cases of removal of export goods without intimation. The Tribunal found the appellants' reliance on the Public Notice to be doubtful and directed them to pre-deposit Rs. 5,000/- within four weeks.

3. The Tribunal observed that the Public Notice only addressed bringing export goods into certain specified areas before filing Shipping Bills and did not mention removal of goods. It was not established that the ICD, Tirupur fell under the areas/stations mentioned in the Public Notice. Therefore, the Tribunal deemed the reliance on the Public Notice by the appellants as not entirely convincing, and the Supreme Court's judgment cited by the appellants was deemed irrelevant in this context.

4. Regarding the penalty imposed on the General Manager, the Tribunal found that a separate penalty for the same offense under the same provision of law was not sustainable. As a result, the Tribunal waived the pre-deposit and stayed the recovery of the penalty imposed on the General Manager, Mr. Mahesh Devarajhan.

In conclusion, the Tribunal upheld the penalties imposed on M/s. Tirupur Container Terminals Pvt. Ltd. but directed them to pre-deposit a reduced amount. The penalty imposed on the General Manager was waived due to the unsustainable nature of a separate penalty for the same offense.

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