B. R. B Roy Vs Commissioner of Customs (Preventive) Kolkata & Anr. (Calcutta High Court)
Material Facts: On May 7, 2007, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officers intercepted trucks inside Haldia Dock carrying containers originating from Bhutan, route to Singapore via M/S Druk Wongden Export. Examination revealed prohibited Red Sanders wood and misdeclared white powder (declared as Talcum Powder under CTH 2526, falling under Chapter 33). Balmer Lawrie & Co. Ltd., a Government of India Undertaking, acted as the Custom House Agent (CHA) and cargo handler. B. R. B. Roy (Appellant) was a Manager at Balmer Lawrie. Containers were sealed in the presence of Royal Bhutan Customs and Indian Customs officers prior to transit. Appellant’s involvement stemmed from arranging containers for export based on instructions from Sanjay Singh (employee of M/S Jamphel Clearing & Logistics, Bhutan).
Procedural History: A Show Cause Notice under Section 124 of the Customs Act, 1962 was issued on November 2, 2007. The Commissioner of Customs (Preventive) held the Appellant acted negligently in a casual manner while accepting export work, imposing a penalty of ₹5,00,000/- under Section 114(i). The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), East Zonal Bench, Kolkata, affirmed the penalty on April 13, 2017, observing that the Appellant failed to produce Sanjay Singh as promised and failed to inform to whom earlier consignments were delivered, concluding active involvement in the smuggling racket. The Appellant challenged the CESTAT order before the Calcutta High Court under Section 130 of the Customs Act.
