Appejay Infra Logistics Pvt. Ltd. & Anr. Vs Union of India & Ors. (Calcutta High Court)
The Calcutta High Court dismissed a writ petition challenging three demand notices for outstanding cost recovery charges and a consequential order restricting movement of incoming cargo to a Container Freight Station (CFS) operated at Haldia/Kolkata Port. The Court held that the operator of the CFS remained liable to pay cost recovery charges for customs officers deployed at the facility despite the absence of formal sanction of posts, applying the principle of “substance over form.”
The dispute arose from demand notices dated April 4, 2016, July 2, 2020 and November 10, 2020, along with a communication dated August 12, 2020 restricting movement of incoming containers and cargo to the petitioner’s CFS from August 13, 2020. The restriction was imposed due to alleged non-payment of Rs. 5,04,51,775 towards cost recovery charges for customs officers posted at the CFS for the period from April 1, 2016 to February 29, 2020.
According to the respondents, the petitioner company was notified as the operator of the CFS and appointed as a “custodian” under Section 45(1) of the Customs Act, 1962. Under the applicable regulations and public notices, the company was required to bear the cost of customs officers posted at the facility on a cost recovery basis. The respondents alleged that while the petitioner initially paid the charges, it stopped doing so from January 1, 2015 onwards.
