Soni E Vehicle Private Limited Vs Commissioner of Customs ICD Tughlakabad New Delhi (Delhi High Court)
Delhi High Court reduced the pre-deposit amount bearing in mind the financial constraints and held that the question as to whether the imported components constituted E-Rikshaw themselves shall also be adjudicated by the CESTAT. Accordingly, writ disposed of.
Facts- The Petitioner is a company engaged in manufacture and import of E-Rikshaws. The Petitioner had filed certain shipping bills sometime between 2015 to 2019 for import of components for manufacture of E-Rikshaw and for domestic sale. Two consignments of the Petitioner were intercepted and a Show Cause Notice was issued on 13th August, 2019. Thereafter, the consignments were seized and a Seizure Memo was issued on 25th February, 2019 on the ground that the same were liable to be confiscated u/s. 111 of the Customs Act, 1962.
The case of the Respondent-Customs Department in the SCN is that since almost all the main parts of the E-Rikshaw were part of the imports, the same were not merely components but, in fact, constituted a complete E-Rikshaw. The department contended that the Petitioner had imported a total 142 incomplete e-Rikshaw in unassembled condition and therefore, the same ought to be classified under CTSH 87038040, but the same were classified by the importer under CTSH i.e. 87089900, 94042990, 83013000, 73209090, 40169990 and 42022290 etc.
