Allanasons Private Limited Vs Commissioner of Customs (CESTAT Mumbai)
The appeals arose from an Order-in-Original dated 07.07.2025 whereby the Principal Commissioner of Customs denied the appellant the benefit of exemption under Notification No. 158/95-Cus., confirmed a differential customs duty demand of ₹45.82 crore, imposed a redemption fine of ₹6 crore, and levied penalties under various provisions of the Customs Act, 1962. The dispute related to the re-import of frozen buffalo meat that had earlier been exported under duty drawback claims.
The appellant, engaged in the export of frozen buffalo meat, exported the goods under various shipping bills and claimed duty drawback under Section 75 of the Customs Act. A small portion of the exported goods, approximately 0.22% of total exports, was subsequently re-imported due to commercial reasons such as rejection by foreign buyers because of packing issues, shortage of funds, price renegotiation, foreign exchange fluctuations, and similar commercial circumstances. At the time of re-import, the appellant filed Bills of Entry claiming exemption under Notification No. 158/95-Cus.
The Department alleged that the goods were rejected because of microbial contamination rather than commercial reasons, that the re-imported goods did not match the exported goods due to differences in production and slaughter details, quantities and other particulars, that no separate inventory had been maintained, and that the goods were mixed with general stock, preventing correlation between exports and re-imports. It also contended that the appellant could not subsequently claim the benefit of Notifications No. 94/96-Cus. or 45/2017-Cus. after allegedly making mis-declarations under Notification No. 158/95-Cus.
