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TMI Blog2024 (4) TMI 245X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... collusion among the several entities and persons. It is not the case of the respondent-Commissioner that the appellant had anything to do with the transactions beyond that of filing of bills of entry and coordinating clearance thereafter. Nonetheless, in the belief that obligations under the Customs Broker Licencing Regulations, 2013 had been breached, impugned proceedings got underway. The facts, as elicited during the inquiry, persuaded dropping of the charges pertaining to handling of imports without authorization from client and of failure to advise client to comply with statutory prescriptions. The appellant had, no doubt, undertaken know your customer (KYC) exercise which did not reveal anything untoward. However, the client claimed to be in the diamond trade which has its own peculiarities of confidentiality, of capital adequacy and of operating proximity and equations among its practitioners; all of these warranted a closer look at the antecedents of the client. It is not the defence of the appellant that the client was in the diamond trade and it is on lending of name , with its consequences, that the impugned transactions came in for adverse notice. It is that lack of dil ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 013 and, with the inquiry report absolving them of the first two charges, the last was found to suffice for the above detriments in order [order no 106/CAC/PCC(G)/SJ/CBS Adj dated 22nd November 2021] of Principal Commissioner of Customs (General), Mumbai. 2. The appellant had filed bills of entry for clearance of imports effected by M/s Shree Charbhuja Diamonds Pvt Ltd and M/s Yogeshwar Diamonds Pvt Ltd who were, however, found to be importers on record whose identity and import export code (IEC) were made use of by S/Shri Vijay Kothari and M/s Pawan Mehta and it was alleged that the handing over of the consignment to M/s BVC Logistics enabled the two to make multiple remittances. The allegation that sustained on conclusion of proceedings was the failure to verify the correctness, identity and antecedents of the clients as well as existence at the declared address by using reliable, independent and authentic sources. 3. According to Learned Counsel for the appellant, the finding on the single charge held against them is without basis inasmuch as compliance with know your customer (KYC) norms had been conceded owing to which it could not be held that they had not carried out necessa ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... f Importer and Exporter Code had been detected in the case. The decision of the Tribunal in Multi Wings Clearing Forwaring P. Ltd. vs. C. C. (General), New Delhi 1 [2019 (369) ELT 820 (Tri.- Del.)] does not also help the Department as it was found as a fact that the KYC documents were not available with the assessee at the time of visit of the Investigating Agency. from which it is clear that the facts on record did not justify the finding held against the appellant. It was further argued that the finding against the appellant was based on requirements that are not in the obligations stipulated in Customs Broker Licencing Regulations, 2013. 4. Learned Authorized Representative submitted that it is on record that the appellant had failed to verify the address at which the two clients operated and that requirement of know your customer (KYC) was entirely different. The prescription in regulation 11(n) of Customs Broker Licencing Regulations, 2013 required ascertainment of address of client and that operations of the client were indeed carried out at such place. He placed reliance on the decision of the Hon ble High Court of Patna in Bhaskar Logistics Services Pvt Ltd v. Union of Indi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... or. A customs broker is an intermediary between an agent of the State and international commercial interests; it is only reasonable to postulate that the compliance value evident in acts of customs broker is, in the eyes of the client, reflection of the compliance value of the customs formation concerned. The obligations stipulated for customs brokers are not, thus, about being in accord with the letter of the law and for customs broker to avail itself of redemption by falling back on lack of specificity, such as it is, in the obligation concerned. 7. That is the principal submission of Learned Counsel who has drawn upon the outcome in re Transpeed Logistics Pvt Ltd. We fail to see precedent value in decisions arising from proceedings under regulations governing customs brokers inasmuch as these stand on specific facts relating to compliance with obligations in relation to particular transactions. Furthermore, it is clear from 20. Before examining the violation of the various regulations noted in the order of the Commissioner, it would be necessary to keep in mind certain important facts. The offence report relates to certain importers who were mis-using the DFIA by importing maize ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... different here. 8. The appellant had, no doubt, undertaken know your customer (KYC) exercise which did not reveal anything untoward. However, the client claimed to be in the diamond trade which has its own peculiarities of confidentiality, of capital adequacy and of operating proximity and equations among its practitioners; all of these warranted a closer look at the antecedents of the client. It is not the defence of the appellant that the client was in the diamond trade and it is on lending of name , with its consequences, that the impugned transactions came in for adverse notice. It is that lack of diligence which was of significance to the finding in the inquiry report. The test of strict evaluation of prescriptive stipulation in a taxing law does not apply to special law emplaced in the same statute. The engagement of an importer or exporter with the customs administration should neither be inconsistent across time or discriminatory across persons and hence the need for lack of ambiguity and, in the event of ambiguity, to be interpreted favour the importer or exporter, as the case may be. Per contra, a customs broker is a creation of the customs statute and unlike importer or ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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