Court sets aside duty demand & penalty, remands for fresh decision due to delays in documentation.

The court set aside the order confirming a duty demand of Rs. 5,60,00,000 and a penalty of Rs. 25 lakhs imposed by the Deputy Commissioner of Customs, remanding the matter for a fresh decision. The petitioner, facing delays in obtaining necessary documentation due to external factors, successfully argued that similar cases had seen duty demands and penalties set aside under similar circumstances. The court found in favor of the petitioner, noting the circumstances beyond their control, and disposed of the writ petition without costs.

---

---

Issues:
Challenge to order confirming duty demand and penalty.

Analysis:
The petition challenged an order confirming a duty demand of Rs. 5,60,00,000 and a penalty of Rs. 25 lakhs imposed by the Deputy Commissioner of Customs. The petitioner had obtained an advance authorization for exporting three products but faced delays in obtaining Export Obligation Discharge Certificate (EODC) due to issues at the office of the DGFT. Despite the delay, the impugned order was passed, citing non-submission of EODC as the reason for the duty demand and penalty. The petitioner claimed they were unaware of the order until 2015. The court noted similar cases where duty demands and penalties were set aside when EODC was obtained post the impugned order due to reasons beyond the petitioner's control.

The court set aside the impugned order and remanded the matter back to the Deputy Commissioner of Customs for a fresh decision considering the EODC obtained by the petitioner. The judgment disposed of the writ petition and pending application with no orders as to costs.

---