The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal set aside...

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal set aside the order cancelling the public bonded warehouse licence issued to the Appellant u/s 58B(1) of the Customs Act, 1962. The Tribunal held that the delay in installing the audit trail facility in the computerized system was due to circumstances beyond the Appellant's control, and this alone did not warrant licence cancellation without providing an opportunity to comply. Regarding the theft incident, the Tribunal observed that one isolated incident cannot conclude inadequate security measures, and the Department can advise enhancing security instead of licence revocation. The matter was remanded for fresh examination and verification of the warehouse infrastructure's compliance with regulations before taking appropriate action.

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