TVS Motor Company Limited Vs Commissioner of Customs (Import -II) (Madras High Court)
The Madras High Court disposed of a batch of writ petitions arising from a common grievance concerning prolonged delay by Customs authorities in finalising assessments relating to imports covered under 32 Bills of Entry. The petitioner challenged the inordinate delay in completing final assessment despite provisional release of the imported goods having been granted as early as 2014 under Section 110A of the Customs Act, 1962, upon furnishing bank guarantees. The petitioner contended that the continued insistence on keeping bank guarantees alive for more than a decade was arbitrary, particularly when one guarantee had already been encashed in 2022 without prior notice, and that any further levy of duty or penalty after such delay would be illegal and contrary to the Customs Act and judicial precedents.
The respondents filed a counter affidavit but did not specifically address the issue of inordinate delay. Instead, they suggested that the matter could be remanded for fresh consideration and expressed willingness to pass final assessment orders within a time frame fixed by the Court, adhering to principles of natural justice. It was also noted that the petitioner had repeatedly requested the authorities, including in 2022, to finalise the assessments.
