Provisional customs assessment prevents penalty under Section 112(a) until final determination is completed.

Penalty under Section 112(a) of the Customs Act, 1962 was treated as unsustainable where the assessment had only been made provisionally and had not been finally finalised. The Tribunal followed its earlier view that such penalty cannot be imposed before completion of final assessment, because liability under the provision depends on a determined assessment position. On the facts noted, the provisional character of the assessment meant the penalty could not be sustained, and it was set aside in favour of the assessee.

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Issues: Whether penalty under Section 112(a) of the Customs Act, 1962 could be imposed when the assessment remained provisional and had not been finally finalised.

Analysis: The penalty was challenged on the footing that the assessment was provisional. The Tribunal followed its earlier view that penalty under Section 112(a) cannot be imposed before finalisation of a provisional assessment, and held that the factual matrix did not justify sustaining the penalty.

Conclusion: Penalty under Section 112(a) was not sustainable in the absence of finalisation of the provisional assessment and was set aside in favour of the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: Penalty under Section 112(a) of the Customs Act, 1962 cannot be imposed where the assessment is still provisional and has not been finally determined.

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