ASR India Pvt Ltd Vs Commissioner of Customs (CESTAT Ahmedabad)
Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) Ahmedabad, has quashed an order that revoked the authorized carrier registration of M/s. ASR India Pvt. Ltd. (a shipping line) and imposed a penalty of ₹50,000. The Tribunal’s decision clarifies that the Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations, 2018 (SCMTR), specifically Regulation 10(1)(l), does not mandate the waiver of container detention charges beyond a period of 60 days.
The case originated from a show cause notice issued by the Principal Commissioner, Customs House Mundra, to ASR India Pvt. Ltd. on November 25, 2024. The notice alleged violations of Regulation 10(1)(l) and 10(1)(m) of the SCMTR, proposing the revocation of their authorized carrier registration and the imposition of penalties. The allegations stemmed from ASR India’s refusal to waive detention charges for four containers that had been detained by customs for scrutiny, even after a No Objection Certificate (NOC) was issued by the Special Intelligence & Investigation Branch (SIIB) on September 25, 2024.
The shipping line argued that the containers were initially detained by customs on September 12 and 13, 2024. While SIIB issued an NOC on September 25, 2024, confirming the goods conformed to declarations, the actual transfer permission was significantly delayed, ranging from 43 to 49 days after the NOC. ASR India Pvt. Ltd. had already granted a full waiver of detention charges for the initial 60-day period, as per the SCMTR regulations, but maintained that any waiver beyond this period was at their discretion. They contended that the customs authorities’ directive to waive charges until “customs clearance” was improper, especially since their own internal information from Dubai Customs indicated potential undervaluation of the imported goods.
