2014 (1) TMI 1775 - AT - Customs

Penalty overturned for Customs House Agent in export goods case

M/s. Vinod Kumar Rana, CHA Versus CCE, New Delhi

The penalty of &8377; 5,000 imposed on the Customs House Agent (CHA) for his alleged involvement in an attempt to export goods against the provisions ... Imposition of Penalty under Section 114 of the Act ibid - penalty on CHA, who admittedly filed the referred shipping bills for export purpose - Held that: - the appellant authority has given findings in favour of the CHA. As such it cannot be appreciated that having held that CHA is not involved in the export freight, penalty of ₹ 5,000/- is being imposed upon him. Inasmuch as, as per the findings of Commissioner himself the CHA has not involved. I find no justifiable reason to impose penalty of ₹ 5,000/- upon him. The same is accordingly set aside - appeal allowed - decided in favor of appellant. Issues: Penalty imposed on CHA under Section 114 of the Act for attempted export of goods against provisions.Analysis:1. The main issue in this case was the penalty of &8377; 5,000 imposed on the Customs House Agent (CHA) for his alleged involvement in an attempt to export goods against the provisions of the Act. The Commissioner (Appeals) had to determine whether there was a nexus between the CHA and the exporter in the attempt to export the goods. The Commissioner found that the exporter admitted to fraudulent behavior in the export attempt, but there was no evidence implicating the CHA or his staff in this wrongdoing. The CHA had received the export documents from the exporter, who had signed them, and the issue of goods liable for confiscation arose from subsequent tests conducted by CRCL. The Commissioner concluded that the CHA had no role in the attempted export, and thus, a penalty of only &8377; 5,000 would suffice in this case.2. The appellate authority, Ms. Archana Wadhwa, upheld the findings in favor of the CHA, emphasizing that there was no evidence of his involvement in the export fraud. Therefore, she found it unjustifiable to impose a penalty of &8377; 5,000 on the CHA when he was not implicated in the wrongdoing. Consequently, the penalty was set aside, and the appeal was allowed with consequential relief to the appellant.In conclusion, the judgment revolved around the lack of evidence linking the CHA to the attempted export of goods against the provisions of the Act. The Commissioner and the appellate authority both concurred that the CHA was not involved in the fraudulent export scheme, leading to the penalty being overturned in favor of the appellant.