TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2022 (1) TMI 857
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....er-valued so as to make it importable. The issue is alleged overvaluation of said consignment at Rs. 505/- per Kilogram to get over notifications which prohibit import of black pepper valued at below Rs. 500/- per Kilogram. Show cause notice has been issued and adjudication is under way. 3. Mr.Isaac Mohanlal, learned Senior Counsel appearing on behalf of counsel on record for writ petitioner submits that the fourth respondent has given a certificate dated 08.06.2021 recommending release of the said consignment and more importantly the first respondent vide communication dated 16.06.2021 bearing reference number F.No.DRI/BZU/S-IV/ENQ-13(INT-NIL)/2021 has made it clear that the samples have already been drawn from said consignment, investigation is under way and the seized consignment may not be required for further investigation. This Communication dated 08.06.2021 from the fourth respondent reads as follows: 4. Aforementioned communication from the office of the first respondent dated 16.06.2021 reads as follows: (underlining made by this Court to supply emphasis, for ease of reference and for highlighting) 5. Learned Senior Counsel also draws the attention of this Court to an....
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....ions of overvaluation to get over notifications banning import of black pepper valued at less than Rs. 500/- per Kilogram. Show cause notice was issued and adjudication is under way. This by itself douses the first point urged by learned Revenue counsel. 9. The next point urged is regarding security. It is seen from the order made by other Hon'ble Judge that there is a directive to quantify the duty / bond amounts forthwith communicate the same to the writ petitioner and thereafter release the goods within a week on such remittance by the writ petitioner. This is articulated in paragraph 14 of the order made by Hon'ble Single Judge. As far as the demurrage charges are concerned, the question has been left open. This is articulated in paragraph 15 of the earlier order. Therefore, if a similar order (the order which has been complied with by the Customs Department) in a similar case is made in the case on hand that would serve the ends of justice. To be noted, there is no disputation that the case on hand (factual matrix) is not any different qua W.P.No.12454 of 2021. In this view of the matter, I deem it appropriate to extract and reproduce the entire order in W.P.No. 12454....
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.... duty at the rate of 8%. 5. Being of the view that the value of the consignments was in excess of what was the true value, investigation was undertaken by the DRI. The ongoing investigation takes note of various documents that appear to indicate that the pricing of the commodity was less than that revealed by the petitioner and also that full consideration had not been remitted to the supplier overseas. Moreover, the DRI states that it is in possession of information to the effect that sales of the consignments importer earlier had been undertaken by the petitioner in the open market at a sum less than the import value. 6. On the basis of the aforesaid material stated to have been gathered by the DRI, the apprehension that arose was that the goods had been consciously inflated in value merely to enable their import in terms of the Notification in question. This narration is captured in the communication of DRI dated 26.04.2021 issued to the Deputy Commissioner of Customs, wherein, in conclusion they say that investigation was under progress and that the report would be forwarded to the Customs Department, post completion. As far as release is concerned, the ball is placed in th....
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....s muppliers only to an extent of payment against DP terms as per the Commercial Invoice. However, he has not paid the balance amount to the overseas supplier even after the expiry of time period of 90-120 days. He has accepted all the imported Black Pepper without raising any objection with the overseas suppliers on quality issues, in sum, there is no reason recorded by M/s Global Metro to make the lower payments. ● As per the documents recovered such as Sales Contract, email communication recovered during the search of the premises of M/s Global Metro it is found that the actual unit price of Black Pepper imported by M/s Global Metro from Sri Lanka is between USD 3- USD 4 per Kg L.e. much below the declared unit price of Rs. 500 per Kg and less than the MIP specified in the FTP making the goods prohibited. ● On receipt of such imported black pepper from M/s Global Metro has sold them in the domestic market at a Unit price in the range of Rs. 300- Rs. 425/kg although the unit price of Rs. 502-Rs. 515/kg has been declared to the Customs authorities for the said imports. ● Further, the total value of import of Black Pepper by M/s Global Metro, as declared to C....