Mis-declaration: The department issued a show cause notice ...

Govt's contradictory reports and lack of evidence lead to dismissal of customs duty hike on imported printing paper.

Case Laws     Customs

October 19, 2024

Mis-declaration: The department issued a show cause notice alleging mis-declaration of imported goods as "printing paper" instead of "newsprint," based on a contradictory test report from CPPRI, Saharanpur, which found the ash content to be less than 8%. However, the ash content is irrelevant for the classification under Chapter 48.02, where the criteria is mechanical wood pulp content. The CPPRI report contradicted the department's own CRCL, Pusa report, which was initially accepted. The department failed to provide evidence supporting the CPPRI report, including details of sample testing procedures. The Tribunal held that the CPPRI report was an afterthought, obtained without following proper procedures and without giving the importer an opportunity to represent against it. Since the department had already acted upon the CRCL report and released the goods, and there was no justification to reopen the assessment, the Tribunal dismissed the department's appeal, finding no infirmity in the order under challenge.

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