Guru Kirpa Enterprises Vs Office of The Commissioner of Customs (Export) (Delhi High Court)
The Delhi High Court examined a writ petition challenging the rejection of an application for amendment of shipping bills under Section 149 of the Customs Act, 1962. The petitioner sought amendment of certain shipping bills to reflect payment of CESS, which had allegedly not been declared earlier due to an inadvertent omission, resulting in denial of refund. This was the second round of litigation. In the first round, the Court had directed the Customs Department to consider the petitioner’s representations along with supporting documents and take a reasoned decision.
Pursuant to that direction, the Customs Department passed an order dated 26 July 2025 rejecting the request on the ground that no CESS had been declared in the shipping bills and that no supporting evidence was available on the e-sanchit portal. The petitioner contended that this reasoning defeated the very purpose of the earlier order, as the omission to upload documents was the reason for seeking amendment in the first place.
During subsequent hearings, the Court noted a serious procedural irregularity. Although the impugned order bore the digital signature of one officer, it was later clarified that the order had in fact been passed by another officer, while a subordinate had merely communicated it. The Court expressed concern that the name and designation of the actual decision-making officer were not reflected in the order.
