Visa Steel Ltd Vs Commissioner of Customs (Preventive) (CESTAT Kolkata)
A recent order from the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Kolkata, has restored the original penalty against M/s. Visa Resources India Limited, now known as Visa Steel Ltd., in a dispute over the finalization of provisionally assessed Bills of Entry.
The company had 16 consignments of imported goods between 2011 and 2015, with eight Bills of Entry remaining provisionally assessed. The Adjudicating Authority, after considering the facts, imposed a penalty of Rs. 20,000 on the company for the non-finalization, taking what it called a “lenient view.” The department, however, appealed this decision, seeking to enhance the penalty to Rs. 4,00,000—Rs. 50,000 for each of the eight non-finalized entries—as per Regulation 5 of the Customs (Provisional Duty Assessment) Regulations, 2011. The Commissioner (Appeals) sided with the department and increased the penalty.
Aggrieved by this decision, Visa Steel Ltd. approached CESTAT. The company argued that it had submitted all necessary documents for finalization and that the delay was not its fault. To support its position, the company cited the judicial precedent of Jai Balaji Industries Ltd. Vs. Commr. of Customs (Preventive), a case from 2021 where the same tribunal upheld a nominal penalty for a similar issue.
