Premier Marine Foods Vs Union of India (Kerala High Court)
Kerala High Court has set aside a Customs Department order, reaffirming that a personal hearing is a mandatory requirement under Section 28(8) of the Customs Act, 1962. The ruling came in the case of Premier Marine Foods Vs Union of India, involving a partnership firm engaged in import and export that challenged a demand of over Rs. 1.32 crore in duty drawback.
The petitioner, Premier Marine Foods, had undertaken exports against 397 shipping bills from January 1, 2020, to June 30, 2022. It was found that 22 of these bills showed a short realization exceeding 12.5% of the FOB value. Consequently, a notice (Ext.P1) was issued under Rule 18 of the Customs and Central Excise Duty Drawback Rules, 2017, proposing to recover the duty drawback already availed. The notice provided 30 days for the petitioner to submit objections.
The Customs Department subsequently finalized the matter through an Order in Original (Ext.P2), confirming a demand of Rs. 1,32,08,280/- against Premier Marine Foods. The department stated that this action was taken because the petitioner failed to respond to the initial notice. Premier Marine Foods then filed a rectification application (Ext.P3) under Section 154 of the Customs Act. However, without considering this application, a demand letter (Ext.P4) for the specified amount was issued, leading the firm to file a writ petition in the High Court.
