Specialized Equipment to Be Released After Duty Payment; Customs Must Evaluate Demurrage Waiver Applications.

The HC directed the provisional release of secondhand specialized equipment imported before a prohibitive notification, contingent upon the petitioners' payment of enhanced duty. Customs must quantify the duty within one week, and upon full payment, release the goods within three weeks. The Court allowed further adjudication by Customs and ordered objective consideration of demurrage waiver applications. The Writ Petitions were disposed of without costs, and connected Miscellaneous Petitions were closed.

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Issues:
Release of Secondhand Highly Specialized Equipment imported before a specific notification.

Analysis:
The Writ Petitions were filed to direct the release of Secondhand Highly Specialized Equipment imported by the petitioners. The issue at hand was whether the petitioners were entitled to the release of the equipment imported before a specific notification was issued prohibiting such imports. The petitioners argued that the date of reckoning of import should be the date of shipment or dispatch of goods, not the date of arrival at an Indian Port, citing relevant clauses from the Handbook of Procedures issued by the DGFT.

The petitioners contended that the bills of lading for the imported equipment were dated before the issuance of the impugned notification, specifically dated 11.04.2024 in both writ petitions. Therefore, they argued that the notification should not be applicable to them as they had initiated the import process before the notification was issued. The Junior Panel Counsel agreed that the bill of lading should be considered the date of shipment and acknowledged that the bills of lading in the present cases were dated before the notification.

In light of the arguments presented, the Court referred to a previous order in a similar case and directed the respondents to consider releasing the goods provisionally upon payment of enhanced duty by the petitioners. The Court ordered the Customs to quantify the duty amount within one week of the order and for the petitioners to make the payment promptly. Upon receipt of the full payment, the goods were to be released within three weeks. The Court also clarified that this order did not prevent the Customs Department from proceeding with further adjudication. Additionally, the Court mentioned a previous interim order regarding waiver of demurrage charges, stating that any application for such waiver should be objectively considered by the respondents.

Consequently, the Court disposed of the Writ Petitions with the above directions, without any order as to costs, and closed the connected Miscellaneous Petitions.

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