Customs exemption for Games broadcasting equipment upheld where substantive conditions were met despite procedural certificate defects.

Customs duty exemption under Notification No. 13/2010-Cus was available for broadcasting equipment imported for the Commonwealth Games 2010 where the substantive conditions were satisfied. The goods were certified by the Director (Engineering) of Doordarshan, used for the Games, and later re-exported; the missing Organising Committee certificate and the undertaking being furnished by the appellant were treated as procedural defects only. In light of the facilitative circular and the urgency of the event, absence of misuse or diversion meant denial of exemption was unjustified, and the duty and penalty demand could not be sustained.

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Issues: Whether the appellant was entitled to the benefit of customs duty exemption under Notification No. 13/2010-Cus, as amended, despite the alleged absence of the certificate from the Organising Committee and the undertaking being furnished by the appellant instead of Prasar Bharti.

Analysis: The notification was intended to facilitate duty-free import of broadcasting equipment for the Commonwealth Games 2010. The goods imported by the appellant were certified by the Director (Engineering) of Doordarshan, a constituent of Prasar Bharti, and the record showed that the equipment was used for the Games and thereafter re-exported. The absence of the precise certificate from the Organising Committee and the form of the undertaking were treated as procedural defects, particularly in the light of the contemporaneous circular issued to ease clearance and the urgency surrounding the event. Since the goods were neither misused nor diverted and the substantive conditions of the exemption stood satisfied, the denial of exemption was not justified.

Conclusion: The appellant was entitled to the customs exemption and the demand of duty and penalty could not be sustained.

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