TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2023 (1) TMI 556
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....ly allowed the appellant's appeal and modified the provisional release order dated 06.08.2020 passed by the Additional Commissioner of Customs, Inland Container Depot [ICD], Tughlakabad [TKD] to the extent of reducing the bank guarantee for provisional release of the seized goods to 10% of the value of goods. 2. The facts of the case are that the appellant imported some goods. Directorate of Revenue Intelligence [DRI] received intelligence that the goods were mis-declared in terms of value and also in terms of percentage of polyvinyl chloride [PVC]. During investigation, the goods were seized under section 110 of the Customs Act, 1962 [Act] by Seizure Memo dated 26.07.2019; the appellant sought provisional release of the goods under sect....
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.... pass supplementary modified order of release. The authorities may also consider giving an opportunity to explain to the petitioner as well before passing any such order. List for consideration on 15.01.2020." 3. On 15.01.2020, the High Court dismissed the writ petitions as infructuous. 4. The Additional Commissioner gave an opportunity of personal hearing to the appellant on 14.01.2020 but nobody appeared. Subsequently, the learned counsel of the appellant gave a written submission by letter dated 20.01.2020 stating that the differential duty has been deposited during the investigation. After considering the submissions made by the appellant the Additional Commissioner passed the following order of provisional release: ....
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....e case and in the interest of justice, and it is impossible for the Tribunal to decide what the Commissioner may deem fit. Secondly, the prayer is to set aside the order in appeal as well as the order in original with consequential relief. It needs to be pointed out that the order in original allows provisional release of goods, subject to some conditions and the order in appeal impugned before us in this appeal partially modified those conditions. If both these orders are set aside, there will not be any order for provisional release at all. This is not a case of confirmation of a demand or confiscation of goods or imposition of penalty and if the order of provisional release is set aside, there will be no provisional release at all. 8.....
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....ed. 10. Learned authorised representative opposes the above prayer. He submits that this is a case where the importer had imported PVC panels and filed bills of entry which, on investigation were found to be heavily undervalued. The fact of undervaluation was accepted by the appellant by its letter dated 23.07.2020 and 24.07.2020 and also in statements under Section 108 of the Customs Act dated 13.07.2019 and 16.07.2019. The appellant has not retracted these statements till date but had, on the other hand, requested for closure of the cases under Section 28(6). 11. Learned authorised representative He further submits that although the adjudication is still pending, it is to be noted that the goods were mis-declared in terms of value a....
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....y the learned counsel for the appellant, the High Court distinguished the case from other judgements of the same Court. The High Court observed that in the cases of T.L. Verma & Company and M/s Kundan Rice Mills the Court was satisfied that the importers had admitted fraudulent tactics which, prima facie, justified opinion for confiscation of the goods. The High Court further remarked that such judgement cannot be applied to every case of detention. 15. In this case, we find that there was allegation of mis-declaration of the value of the goods which has been admitted to by the appellant in letters and statements. The SCN demanded differential duty which the appellant has already deposited. The SCN has also proposed confiscation of the g....