The Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) New Delhi held that cancellation of license for default on part of courier agency justified to safeguard revenue. The bench consisted of Justice Dilip Gupta, President and P. Anjani Kumar, Technical Member. The appellants were represented by Ranjish Kumar and the respondents was represented by Nagendra Yadav.
The appellant( M/s Speedway Cargo & Courier Services) imported a shipment containing 80 boxes from Doha and another shipment of 98 boxes from Bahrain and later it was found that there were discrepancies in respect of seventeen consignments. Eight boxes were found to be consigned to States other than the seven.
The appellant submitted that the error occurred due to a technical problem in the software used for generating addresses in their respective offices hence the addresses were wrongly printed and the details of the invoices were not double-checked by their staff due to carelessness. The appellant requested the authorities to take a lenient view with regard to the cancellation of the licence. The penalty was enhanced under Section 111(l) and 111(m) of the Customs Act while giving an option to redeem on payment of Redemption Fine of Rs.80,000 and applicable duties and penalties of Rs. 7,000/- and Rs. 2,00,000/- were also imposed on the appellant under Sections 112 and 114AA of 3. the Customs Act 3 C/51027/2020 the Act. The appellants also submitted that there was no evidence of existence of mens rea on the part of the appellant to defraud Government Exchequer and negligence of trivial nature had occurred due to technical glitches in the software maintained by their offices and that only 8 packages showed defect.
CESTAT held that the Government has laid down rules in relation to imports by courier agencies and the courier agencies should with due diligence follow the rules mandated by the Government. Hence cancellation of license for default on part of courier agency justified to safeguard revenue.
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