Shimwas hussain Vs Addl./Joint Commissioner of Customs (Kerala High Court)
The writ petition was filed by an importer challenging the proceedings initiated under the Customs Act, 1962, after customs authorities detained a consignment of “NATA DE COCO,” an edible product produced through cooking and fermentation of coconut water and coconut milk. The petitioner had imported the product from Vietnam and classified it under Customs Tariff Heading (CTH) 2007 9990, which, according to the petitioner, was the classification used by the exporting country and also reflected in an Indian Coconut Journal publication from December 2017. The petitioner asserted that the classification was made in good faith based on these documents.
However, customs authorities detained the goods and issued a seizure memorandum (Ext.P20) on the ground that there was reason to believe the goods were misdeclared. After a request for provisional release, the authorities issued an order (Ext.P21) requiring the petitioner to execute a bond equivalent to the value of the goods and provide a bank guarantee or cash deposit. A request to modify this condition was rejected, leading the petitioner to seek quashing of the seizure memo and the requirement for security. Additional relief was sought for future consignments to be cleared without insisting on bank guarantees or similar security.
