2025-VIL-321-CESTAT-KOL-CU
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CUSTOMS CESTAT Cases

Customs - Appeal, Import Policy, Restricted Goods, Penalty, Redemption Fine - The appellant was a regular importer of peas for trading purposes. It imported 11 consignments of green peas/yellow peas through the Kolkata port between January 29, 2019 and March 15, 2019. During this period, the import policy for peas was amended by the DGFT through various notifications, changing the classification from free to restricted. A show cause notice was issued to the appellant for confiscation of the goods under Section 111(d) of the Customs Act, 1962 for non-compliance with the DGFT notifications, imposition of penalty under Section 112(a), and redemption fine under Section 125 - Whether the appellant was required to make a pre-deposit to appeal the order before the Commissioner (Appeals) - HELD - The appellant had provided a security deposit of 10% of the assessable value towards probable fine and 10% of the duty towards penalty, as directed by the Calcutta High Court in an interim order granting stay on the DGFT notifications. This security deposit of Rs. 91,30,121 was more than sufficient to cover the pre-deposit requirement of Rs. 6,00,000 under Section 129E of the Customs Act. Therefore, the pre-deposit condition was satisfied, and the appeal could be taken up for disposal at the Tribunal level - the appeal is partly allowed - Whether the penalty and redemption fine imposed on the appellant were proportionate and reasonable - HELD - The facts in the present case were identical to the case of CCE Port Kolkata vs. Rahul Agro Industries, where the Tribunal had taken a view and reduced the penalty and redemption fine to Rs. 25 lakhs each, considering that the appellant was a regular importer and had challenged the DGFT notifications before the High Court, which had granted an interim stay - In the present case, the appellant had also challenged the DGFT notifications before the Calcutta High Court and obtained an interim stay. Considering the similar facts and the precedent set in the Rahul Agro Industries case, the Tribunal reduced the penalty and redemption fine imposed on the appellant from Rs. 60,00,000 each to Rs. 8 lakhs each, finding the higher amounts to be disproportionate to the transactions carried out by the appellant.
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