Customs Act

Tekchand, a watch dealer, and his two sons made a voluntary disclosure of income under the Voluntary Disclosure of Income and Wealth Act, 1976 and obtained a certificate. After serving a detention order under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act (COFEPOSA), they were served no…

The petitioners challenged the preventive detention of Kantilal Nagar Das Shah under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974 after customs seized 141 slabs of palladium he had smuggled from Muscat. The wife argued that the detenu was denied legal representation before the A…

The case concerned the interpretation of Customs Notification No. 20/1999, under which the respondents claimed a concessional customs duty rate for imported vitamin E50 feed powder. The Customs department denied the benefit, classifying the goods under a higher duty heading, leading to a series of appeals up to the Sup…

The respondent was convicted under Section 135 of the Customs Act and the Defence of India Rules for smuggling 2015 tolas of contraband gold, receiving rigorous imprisonment and fines. On remand, the Bombay High Court granted him the benefit of Section 4 of the Probation of Offenders Act, citing confiscation of the gol…

Mis Commerce International imported 125 cartons of toners and declared their value based on an invoice and a certificate of origin. The Customs Department asked the importer to produce a price list, but the importer refused, citing the trading company's confidentiality. Customs obtained a price list from the manufactur…

The Commissioner of Central Excise, Bangalore filed appeals challenging several orders of the Customs, Excise and Gold (Control) Appellate Tribunal (CEGAT) that had disposed of cases by merely relying on earlier judgments without a detailed examination of the facts. The central issue was whether the printing on packagi…

The appellant (Accused No.2) and his co‑accused were convicted under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 for unauthorised export of alprazolam, lorazepam and nitrazepam, drugs listed in the Schedule of the Act. The appellant contended that the alleged offence should be dealt with under the D…

The Union of India challenged an ex parte interim stay order and a contempt rule granted by the Calcutta High Court in a writ petition filed by Oswal Woollen Mills Ltd. seeking to restrain the Union from enforcing a clause‑8B order under the Import Control Order, 1955, and to permit re‑export of a consignment of beef t…

The petitioner was convicted by a Presidency Magistrate for offences under IPC 120B, the Customs Act and related rules and sentenced to imprisonment of two to four years with a fine. The High Court set aside the conviction, but the Supreme Court restored it. The petitioner had earlier been preventively detained under t…

The appellant, a partnership firm, was awarded a government contract and obtained a Special Imprest Licence (SIL) to import raw materials duty‑free, subject to a bond and an export obligation. After fulfilling the export obligation, the licensing authority issued a forfeiture order, enforced a bond and denied cash comp…

The Union of India appealed a decision of the Allahabad High Court that struck down paragraph 7 of Central Excise Notification No. 175 of 1986, which excluded from exemption any small‑scale manufacturer that affixed the brand or trade name of a person not eligible for the exemption. The Court examined whether this amen…

The assessee, Prakash Chand Lunia, who dealt in silver, was found to have smuggled 146 slabs of silver which were confiscated by customs and a penalty imposed. He claimed the value of the confiscated silver as a business loss under Section 37(1) of the Income‑Tax Act, relying on the High Court's application of the Piar…

Sunila Jain appealed against a preventive detention order issued under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act (COFEPOSA) against her husband, D.K. Jain, who had been released on bail by the Special Court of Economic Offences on the ground that the alleged offence was bailable. T…

The appellant, brother of T.A. Sirajudeen, challenged his sibling's preventive detention under sections 3(1)(iii) and 3(1)(iv) of the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974 (COFEPOSA). The detenu had been caught with smuggled gold biscuits in November‑December 1986, but the de…

The appellant imported a consignment of bearings and, after customs seized the goods, sought to clear them without paying the port charges and demurrage claimed by the Board of Trustees of the Port of Calcutta. The High Court allowed removal of the goods without payment, but the Board exercised its statutory lien under…

The appellant's premises were raided by Customs officials, leading to the seizure of gold, silver, and cash and the filing of two criminal complaints under the Customs Act, 1962 and the Gold Control Act, 1968. After the trial magistrate closed evidence, the prosecution sought, under Section 540 of the old Code (now Sec…

Frick India Ltd., a licensed manufacturer of air‑conditioning and refrigeration equipment, cleared cooling coils, condensers and compressors for cold‑storage and ice‑factory plants and paid excise duty under Tariff Item 29A(3). The company claimed a refund, arguing that these parts were not excisable under sub‑item (3)…

The State of Tamil Nadu issued a detention order under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974 against Sheik Ahamed Hajee on 8 March 1988. The detenu challenged the order in the Calcutta High Court on 5 April 1989, obtaining an interim injunction that was later vacated on 1…

The State of Gujarat alleged that several accused, including Gadhvi Rambhai Nathabhai, were involved in large‑scale smuggling and distribution of foreign‑origin arms, ammunition and cash, and were charged under the Arms Act, the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1987 (TADA) and the Customs Act. The …

The Assistant Collector of Central Excise, acting as complainant, appealed to the High Court against the sentences imposed on V. Krishnamurthy and others for offences investigated by a Customs Officer, invoking Section 377(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The Supreme Court examined whether a Customs Department off…

The appellant, Managing Director of an exporting company, was alleged to have misdeclared the value and description of alloy steel exports and to have routed excess proceeds through hawala, leading to investigations by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence. He was arrested in October 2003, released on bail in January…

Polish national Kubic Dariusz was arrested in April 1989 for possession of foreign gold and detained under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act (COFEPOSA). He claimed that the grounds of his detention were served only in English, a language he alleged he did not understand, an…

Shiv Ratan Makhlam was intercepted at the India‑Nepal border in November 1984 and two pieces of foreign‑marked gold were seized from his trousers. He was arrested, released on bail, and later, in April 1985, the Government issued a detention order under Section 3 of the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention o…

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence seized over 1.37 lakh tablets from four locations in Chennai, alleging they were psychotropic substances. Accused A-1, A-2, A-3 and A-4 (Bharat Chaudhary) were arrested; A-4 was detained based solely on statements of A-1 and A-3 recorded under Section 67 of the NDPS Act. A specia…

Harinder Pal Singh Shergill was arrested in August 1998 for allegedly possessing US$66,217 at Mumbai airport. He was granted bail, and a later application to cancel the bail was dismissed. On 17 November 1998, the government issued a preventive detention order under Section 3(1) of the Conservation of Foreign Exchange …

The State of Maharashtra charged Champalal Punjaji Shah with criminal conspiracy under S.120B IPC, S.135 of the Customs Act and Defence of India Rules after gold bars with foreign markings were discovered in his flat. The trial was protracted, with the accused contributing to delays, and the High Court acquitted him, c…

Prabha D. Kanan, an air hostess promoted to Deputy Manager at Indian Airlines Ltd., was arrested in 2002 for allegedly carrying undeclared foreign currency and her services were terminated on 9 August 2002 under Regulation 13 of the Indian Airlines (Flying Crew) Service Regulations, which allows discharge without enqui…

Suzlon Energy Ltd imported engineering design and drawing blueprints from its sister companies abroad for manufacturing wind turbine generators and classified them as "paper" goods for customs, claiming nil duty and arguing they were not liable to service tax. The Revenue issued show‑cause notices demanding service tax…

Rajinder Arora, an export‑house industrialist, was raided by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence on 26 May 2004 and detained, during which he alleged torture and coerced statements under Section 108 of the Customs Act. No prosecution was filed within the statutory 60‑day period, no show‑cause notice was issued, and…

Tofan Singh was convicted under Sections 8(c) r/w 21(c) and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act for allegedly trafficking 5.250 kg of heroin. The conviction rested primarily on a statement recorded by an investigating officer under Section 67 of the NDPS Act, which the appellant claimed was …

Customs authorities seized 78 gold bars in 1998, alleging clandestine import and issued show‑cause notices under Sections 111(d) and 112(a) of the Customs Act. The Commissioner initially ordered confiscation of all bars, but the Customs, Excise and Gold (Control) Appellate Tribunal set aside that order and remanded the…

Minerals and Metals Trading Corporation (M.M.T.C.) acted as the intermediary in a private barter scheme through which Ferro Alloys Corporation exported manganese and chrome concentrates. The parties executed contracts whereby title to the goods passed to M.M.T.C., which issued letters of credit, shipping documents and …

The Cochin Port Trust sought to recover ground rent for containers that had been destuffed but not cleared by the consignees, arguing that liability could be imposed on the steamer agents beyond the 75‑day limit set by the Tariff Authority of Major Ports. The Kerala High Court held that the Port Trust could only claim …

The appellants, Nabha Power Ltd. and its associate, bid for a mega‑power project under a Request for Proposal (RFP) that required bidders to consider the law as defined in Clause 1.1 of the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). They argued that a press release dated 01‑Oct‑2009 announcing Cabinet approval of modifications to…

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) sold canned computer software packages and was assessed sales tax by the Andhra Pradesh Commercial Tax Officer, who held that the software constituted "goods" under the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1957. TCS appealed, arguing that software is intangible intellectual property and…

The petitioners, the wife of a man detained under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange & Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974, challenged his detention order (s.3(1)) and subsequent declaration (s.9) before the Supreme Court under Article 32. They argued that the government’s delay in disposing a representation…

Lallu Jogi Patel was detained on 31 January 1980 under Section 3(1) of the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974 (COFEPOSA). He sought copies of the documents relied upon in the grounds of detention and permission for his lawyer to interview him. The State supplied the docume…

The Supreme Court examined the preventive detention of Jahaubar Moulana under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974. The detenu argued that the detaining authority had failed to furnish copies of documents mentioned in the grounds of detention, had delayed consideration o…

The Supreme Court examined the validity of a series of "abeyance circulars" issued under clause 8B of the Imports (Control) Order, 1955, which placed the licence applications of Liberty Oil Mills and 60 other concerns in abeyance pending investigation into alleged illegal import of beef tallow. The petitioners contende…

K.T.V. Health Food Pvt. Ltd. sought to continue operating a storage terminal and an underground pipeline for edible oil imported through Chennai Port. The Union of India, invoking the 2011 Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification under the Environment Protection Act, granted post‑facto clearance under paragraph‑4.3, …