Appellate Tribunal rules in favor of appellant in Shipping Bill case

The Appellate Tribunal CESTAT MUMBAI ruled in favor of the appellant in a case involving mis-declaration in a Shipping Bill to claim a higher drawback. The Tribunal found that while there was an error in claiming drawback separately for different items, there was no mis-declaration of goods' description or value. As the mis-declaration was not willful and did not involve description or value, the penalty imposed under the Customs Act was deemed unsustainable. The Tribunal referenced legal precedents to support its decision and set aside the confiscation of goods and penalties, allowing the appeal.

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Issues: Mis-declaration in Shipping Bill for claiming higher drawback; Confiscation of goods; Imposition of redemption and penalty under Customs Act.

In this judgment by the Appellate Tribunal CESTAT MUMBAI, the issue revolved around whether the appellant had mis-declared the goods in the Shipping Bill to claim a higher drawback. The Commissioner (Appeals) had concluded that there was indeed mis-declaration, leading to the confiscation of goods and the imposition of redemption under Section 113(i) and penalty under Section 114(iii) of the Customs Act.

The appellant had exported Industrial Garments - Boiler Safety Suits Jackets and Cotton Pants, with a discrepancy in claiming drawback separately on the Jackets and Pants, contrary to the requirement of claiming drawback on an "ensemble" as per the drawback schedule. The Tribunal found that while there was an error in claiming drawback separately, there was no mis-declaration of goods' description or value in the Shipping Bill. The Tribunal emphasized that penalty under Section 113(i) could only be invoked in cases of mis-declaration of description or value, which was not the situation in this case.

Given the absence of willful mis-declaration by the appellant, the Tribunal deemed the penalty as unsustainable. The judgment cited the decision of the Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Northern Plastic Ltd. vs. Commissioner of Customs and Central Excise and a Tribunal case of ISGEC Heavy Engineering Ltd. vs. Commissioner of Customs (Exports) to support its stance. Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the Order-in-Appeal and allowed the appeal in favor of the appellant.

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