Venkata Sai Ram Traders Vs Customs (Madras High Court)
The writ petition challenged Order No. 34/2016-Cus dated 18.08.2016 passed by the Customs, Central Excise & Service Tax Settlement Commission. The dispute originated from a show cause notice dated 31.03.2014 issued by the Additional Director General, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Chennai. The notice demanded differential customs duty of ₹1,33,95,654 along with applicable interest. According to the notice, the goods imported by the petitioner did not match the declaration in the bill of entry. While the declaration described the goods as Solid Epoxy Resin, the authorities alleged that the imported goods were actually an insecticide identified as Abamectin. The notice proposed amending the description of the goods in the bill of entry dated 28.09.2013 and rejecting the value declared by the petitioner.
Following receipt of the show cause notice, the petitioner approached the Settlement Commission by filing an application on 11.11.2015. In the application, the petitioner admitted duty liability of ₹38,00,498 and interest of ₹4,21,582 and submitted proof of payment. The Settlement Commission entertained the application and called for comments from the jurisdictional Commissionerate, which were provided by the second respondent through a letter dated 11.01.2016.
Subsequently, by order dated 18.08.2016, the Settlement Commission exercised its powers under Section 127-I(1) of the Customs Act, 1962 and returned the matter to the adjudicating authority for adjudication in accordance with the provisions of the Act. The Commission held that the petitioner had failed to make a full and true disclosure of duty liability and had not cooperated with the Commission in the settlement process.
