Wrongful customs detention bars demurrage recovery when the importer is not responsible for the delay.

An importer was not liable to bear demurrage for the period during which fertilizer was wrongfully detained by Customs on an incorrect insistence on a laboratory certificate. The subsequent clarification from the Ministry of Agriculture showed that release of the goods was not conditional on obtaining that report, and the delay was not attributable to the importer. Because the detention arose from customs-driven delay rather than any fault of the importer, the Port Trust could not retain the demurrage collected. The amount paid was held refundable, and the writ petition succeeded with a direction to return the levy.

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Issues: Whether the petitioner was liable to bear demurrage charges for the period during which the imported fertilizer remained detained by the Customs authorities, and whether the amount already paid was refundable.

Analysis: The imported Ammonium Sulphate was detained by the Customs authorities on a mistaken insistence on production of a certificate from the Regional Fertilizer Control Laboratory. The subsequent clarification issued by the Ministry of Agriculture stated that there was no directive to withhold release of fertilizer until the laboratory report was obtained from the importer, and the goods were thereafter released. The detention thus stemmed from an incorrect customs insistence and not from any lapse on the part of the importer. The Port Trust's levy of demurrage was based only on the fact that the goods remained in its custody and the importer had not produced the certificate contemplated by the port rules, but the petitioner was not responsible for the underlying delay.

Conclusion: The petitioner was not at fault for the detention and could not be penalised by demurrage arising from the customs-driven delay. The amount of Rs. 25,85,403/- was therefore refundable.

Final Conclusion: The writ petition succeeded and the respondents were directed to return the demurrage collected from the petitioner.

Ratio Decidendi: An importer cannot be made to suffer demurrage for delay caused by wrongful detention of goods by the Customs authorities when the importer is not responsible for the delay.

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