https://www.taxtmi.com/css/info/rss_sitemap/rss_feed.css?v=1746094055 https://www.taxtmi.com Business/Tax/Law/GST/India/Taxation/Policies/Legal/Corporate Tax/Personal Tax/Vat Law/Legal Information/Tax Information/Legal Services/Tax Services Tax Management India. Com / MS Knowledge Processing Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. One stop solution for Direct Taxes and Indirect Taxes https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=772581 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=772581 Upholding the re-assessment u/s 17(5) of the Customs Act, 1962 by changing the declared country of origin and consequent classification - imported 'dry dates' declared as originating from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were in fact of Pakistan origin, based on packaging and other circumstantial evidence or not - HELD THAT:- In case of any type of assessment, besides classification and assessable value of imported goods, the country of origin is also required to be determined in accordance with the provisions of Section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962 and the Customs Tariff Act, 1975. In the present case, it is found that the appellants had self-assessed the goods in terms of Section 17(1) ibid, by declaring the value of the imported goods as per invoice price. It is also on record that on the investigation conducted by SIIB, JNCH Customs officers in verification of such self-assessment in terms of Section 17(2) and 17(3) ibid, the appellants had submitted to the department, all the relevant documents for the supply of imported goods from the supplier's end at United Arab Emirates, such as those specifically issued for proving the country of origin i.e., Certificate of Origin No. 21180158 dated 13.12.2021 issued by the competent authority Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry. These facts bring out clearly that the appellants did not confirm his acceptance for change in country of origin proposed by the proper officer of Customs for re-assessment of goods under Section 17(4) ibid. Thus, the proper officer of customs was required for passing of a speaking order on the re-assessment of imported goods under Section 17(5) ibid. It is a fact that the packing material or the label of the packing material, that too found in part of the consignment, cannot be a reasonable basis to decide the country of origin for the online imported goods; and the packing of the imported goods is not the foolproof criteria to decide the origin of imported goods. Further, it is factually incorrect to treat the imported goods is also originating from that country of origin of packing material. The press reports published in public domain without any specific reference to the present imports cannot be taken to be a basis, when various documents such as Bill of Lading indicating the port of shipment as Jabel Ali, United Arab Emirates; commercial invoice, packing list were produced by the appellants importer showing the evidence of country of origin of imported dry dates as United Arab Emirates. Further, the Certificate of Origin issued by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry, clearly provide that the imported goods are of 'United Arab Emirates' origin and not of Pakistan Origin. The evidential documents placed on record which have been issued specifically declaring that the imported goods are of 'United Arab Emirates' origin forms sufficient reason to conclude that the imported goods are of 'United Arab Emirates'. Thus, there are no merits in the impugned order for upholding the order of original authority confirming that the imported goods are of Pakistan origin, without any proper support of documents for confirmation of adjudged demands and for imposition of redemption fine and penalties on the appellants importer. Further, it is not the case of Revenue that the imported goods did not comply with the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and labelling) Regulations, 2011 and therefore the action for confiscation and penalties were proposed. The Co-ordinate Bench of the Tribunal in the case of Doves International Vs. Commissioner of Customs, New Delhi [2018 (5) TMI 1372 - CESTAT NEW DELHI] have held that merely because of use of gunny bags showing that these bags are products on one country, cannot by itself enable that the imported goods also should be treated as though of the same country of origin to which the packaging materials belongs to. In the case of Sukumar Mondal Vs. Collector of Customs (Preventive) [1989 (11) TMI 178 - CEGAT, CALCUTTA], the Co-ordinate Bench of the Tribunal had also held the country of origin of the imported goods cannot be decided on the basis of marks found in some of the imported goods. Conclusion - Since there are no evidences to prove that the imported goods are of Pakistan origin and on the other hand there is substantial proof to show that the goods are of United Arab Emirates origin, it is considered appropriate to set-aside the impugned order. The impugned order is set aside - appeal allowed. Case-Laws Customs Fri, 06 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0530