Pellagic Food Ingredients Pvt Ltd Vs Commissioner of Customs (Madras High Court)
The petitioner challenged an order passed under Section 28(9) of the Customs Act, 1962 confirming a differential customs duty demand of ₹12,58,54,754 arising from reclassification and reassessment of imported goods under Section 28(8), together with interest under Section 28AA. The order also directed confiscation of the goods with an option of redemption on payment of a fine of ₹8,00,000 and im-posed consequential penalties.
The petitioner had imported goods described as “dehydrated dark and small seedless raisins (Vitis Vinif-era)” under Customs Tariff Heading (CTH) 08062010 and claimed exemption under Serial No. 32 of No-tification No. 50/2017-Cus. Prior to import, the goods had been certified by the Food Safety and Stand-ards Authority of India (FSSAI) and the Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage as de-hydrated dark and small seedless raisins. Based on these certificates, Customs authorities cleared the goods and extended the exemption. Subsequently, a show cause notice under Section 28(4) proposed reclassification under Customs Tariff Item 08062090, confiscation under Section 111(m), and recovery of differential duty.
During adjudication, the petitioner relied on the statutory certificates and an Advance Ruling issued un-der the Customs Act holding that dehydrated dark and small seedless raisins are classifiable under Tariff Heading 08062010 subject to certification by the Plant Quarantine Authorities or the FSSAI. The re-spondent declined to follow the Advance Ruling, stating that it was binding only on the applicant, and relied on a Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) investigation to conclude that the imported goods were currants rather than raisins.
