Denial of benefit of Value Based Advance Licenses (VABAL) to the ...

Tribunal Rules in Favor of Transferees, Overturns Customs Duty Recovery and Penalties Due to Invalid Grounds.

September 11, 2024

Case Laws     Customs     AT

Denial of benefit of Value Based Advance Licenses (VABAL) to the appellants-transferees and the recovery of customs duty, along with the imposition of penalties. The key points are: The DGFT authorities took action on certain licenses, but there was no indication of cancellation by them for the three VABAL licenses in question. The impugned order directing duty recovery has no legal basis and is contrary to CBEC instructions. The Tribunal held that since the VABAL licenses were not obtained through fraud, the ratio of the Supreme Court case involving forged documents does not apply. The DGFT authorities issued amendments for the three licenses, indicating they were not found to involve forgery. Precedents establish that if licenses were valid at import time, subsequent cancellation on fraud grounds does not impact the transferee. The benefit of notification cannot be denied to the transferee on the ground of breach of conditions. Consequently, the impugned order confirming demands, interest, and penalties is unsustainable, and the appeal is allowed.

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