Ravi Dhanwariya Vs Commissioner of Customs Export ICD TKD (CESTAT Delhi)
The Delhi Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) allowed the appeal filed by a Customs Broker and set aside the penalty of Rs. 3,00,000 imposed under Section 114(iii) of the Customs Act, 1962. The case arose from an investigation into six shipping bills filed by the Customs Broker on behalf of an exporter. Customs authorities suspected that the export goods had been heavily overvalued to claim ineligible export benefits. Following examination and seizure of the goods, a show cause notice was issued to the exporter, the Customs Broker, and others. The adjudicating authority imposed a penalty on the Customs Broker, which was subsequently upheld by the Commissioner (Appeals).
Before the Tribunal, the Customs Broker pointed out that separate proceedings had already been initiated under the Customs Broker Licensing Regulations, 2018 (CBLR) based on the same investigation. In those proceedings, the Tribunal had earlier found violations only of Regulations 10(a) and 10(q), upheld a penalty of Rs. 50,000, and set aside the revocation of the licence. Importantly, the Tribunal had also recorded that there was no evidence showing that the Customs Broker knew about the alleged overvaluation of export goods.
