Certificate of Origin verification dispute and interim restraint on final customs order pending further consideration

Customs authorities' power to question preferential duty claims based on a Certificate of Origin is examined against the treaty-based verification mechanism and the 2009 Rules, including retroactive check and verification visit procedures. The note also considers Section 28DA of the Customs Act, 1962, which preserves the importer's duty of reasonable care and permits further verification consistent with the trade agreement even where a certificate is produced. Pending further consideration, the adjudicating authority is restrained from passing a final order, although other pre-final steps may continue.

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Issues: Whether the show cause notice rejecting preferential duty treatment on the ground of non-fulfilment of the Regional Value Content requirement could be challenged as without jurisdiction despite the production of a Certificate of Origin; and whether, pending consideration, the adjudicating authority could be restrained from passing a final order.

Analysis: The petition raised a challenge to the competence of the customs authorities to question the Certificate of Origin otherwise than through the verification mechanism contemplated by the treaty and the 2009 Rules. Reliance was placed on the treaty framework governing dispute resolution, the certificate-based claim for preferential treatment, the retroactive check and verification visit procedure, and the statutory requirement under Section 28DA of the Customs Act, 1962 that submission of a certificate does not absolve the importer from the duty of reasonable care and permits further verification consistent with the trade agreement.

Outcome: Notice issued and the matter directed to be listed on 27.07.2026, with an interim direction that no final order shall be passed by the adjudicating authority, though other pre-final steps may continue.

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