Sushil Sharma Vs Commissioner of Customs (Delhi High Court)
Delhi High Court held that penalty duly imposed on employee of Custom House Agent [CHA] for failure to ensure clean credentials of the importer. Accordingly, appeal dismissed and order passed by CESTAT upheld.
Facts- M/s. Digital Exports had imported a consignment. The same was inspected on 30th October, 2012 and the said bill of entry was filed by the Customs House Clearing Agent – M/s Dilip Kumar Thakur on behalf of the importer. The inspection of the consignment revealed that cigarettes of foreign origin were concealed in the declared cargo of mattresses and the total value of the said cigarettes was to the tune of Rs.3,40,74,000/-.
Thereafter, a Show Cause Notice was issued on 23rd April, 2013. Vide Order-in-Original dated 06th September, 2017, a penalty to the tune of Rs. 50 lakhs was imposed by the Original Authority upon three persons, including the two Appellants herein, namely Sh. Shakti Nath Jha, Sh. Sushil Kumar Sharma, and Sh. Shekhar, who were the Appellants before the CESTAT.
CESTAT reduced the penalty in respect of the two of the Appellants namely, Sh. Shekhar and Sh. Sushil Kumar Sharma, from Rs. 50 lakhs to Rs.10 lakhs. Insofar as Sh. Shakti Nath Jha is concerned, the penalty has been waived vide the impugned order.
