2016 (7) TMI 1148 - HC - Customs

Assessment of bill of entry - provisional release of goods - import of wire mesh - against the said B/L an alert had been issued by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence ( DRI ) - The first is that a mandamus be issued to the respondents to assess the goods imported by the petitioner against Bill of Entry No. 4767708 dated 31st March 2016. The alternative prayer is that the respondents should be directed to make a provisional assessment of the goods imported under Section 18 of the Customs Act 1962. Held that - The Court considers the request for further time to be unreasonable for the simple reason that the entire purpose of the Petitioner filing the present petition was to get the alert notice issued by the DRI removed and this petition itself has been pending since 25th April 2016. The demurrage charges have been mounting and for no fault of the Petitioner it is unable to proceed with the assessment of the goods by the Customs and the ultimate clearance of the goods. The following directions issued - (a) The Respondents will proceed hereafter on the basis that the alert issued by the DRI in respect of the two containers in question stands removed; - (b) The Customs will write to the CONCOR i.e. Respondent No. 4 not later than one week from today giving its no-objection for the physical inspection of the goods; and The Customs authorities will proceed with the assessment and complete it within a period of two weeks thereafter subject to the petitioner complying with all the formalities and requirements of Respondent no.4. - Decided partly in favor of petitioner.

Summary

Issues:
1. Mandamus to assess imported goods against Bill of Entry.
2. Provisional assessment under Section 18 of the Customs Act, 1962.

Analysis:
1. The petitioner, M/s Asia Huayu Metal Wire Mesh Products (P) Ltd., sought a mandamus for assessing goods imported against Bill of Entry No. 4767708 dated 31st March 2016. The petitioner had applied for and received an Import Export Code on 15th July 2015 for importing and trading metal wire mesh products. The goods were offered by a foreign supplier, Hebei Gaozheng Mining Equipments Co. Ltd., after being abandoned by previous parties. However, an alert was issued by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) regarding the goods, causing delays in assessment by Customs.

2. The DRI's alert created difficulties in the assessment process as it was not explicitly lifted, hindering Customs from proceeding with the assessment and physical inspection of the goods. Despite the petitioner's efforts to resolve the issue by requesting no-objections and amendments, the alert remained unresolved. The court noted the unreasonable delay in resolving the matter and directed the Customs to proceed with the assessment assuming the alert had been lifted. The judgment instructed Customs to provide no-objection for physical inspection to the Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) and complete the assessment within two weeks, provided the petitioner fulfills all necessary requirements.

This detailed analysis summarizes the legal judgment issued by the Delhi High Court regarding the assessment of imported goods and the provisional assessment process under the Customs Act, 1962.