CESTAT upholds Forfeiture of Security Deposit of CB for mis-declaration of Weight of Pan masala on ground of Violation of Regulation 10(e) of CBLR [Read Order]

The New Delhi bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) upheld the forfeiture of the security deposit of Customs Broker (CB) for the mis-declaration of the weight of the pan masala on the ground of violation of Regulations 10(6) of the Customs Broker Licensing Regulation (CBLR), 2018. 

Durga Link Logistics (Pvt.) Ltd, the appellant assessee was a customs broker who filed the shipping bill online on the Indian Customs EDI System (ICES) and also filed the supporting documents such as invoice and packing list on the portal (e-sanchit) and filed Word copies of these documents which will be kept in a docket in the custom house. 

The assessee appealed against the order passed by the adjudicating authority for confirming the revocation of the customs broker license, forfeiture of the security deposit, and imposition of a penalty of Rs.50,000/-. 

L B Yadhav, the counsel for the assessee contended that the difference of weight in two separate packing lists was not to the notice of the assessee or his representatives. Hence violation of Regulation 10(j) of CBLR, 2018 had wrongly been confirmed and the assessee had duly maintained up-to-date customs-related records and had duly cooperated with the customs authorities. 

Also submitted that the order confirming the violation of Regulation 10(k) and 10(q) of CBLR, 2018 respectively was also alleged to be a wrong finding. 

Girijesh Kumar, the counsel for the department contended that the mis-declaration of weight of pan masala in all three of the shipping bills, being the custodian of the file had neglected their duties by non-uploading the proper documents and the assessee had failed to discharge his duties as a customs broker. 

The Bench observed that there was no evidence that the assessee was aware of the mismatch between the actual quantity of pan masala and still they declared the wrong quantity in shipping bills. The checklist/ based upon documents provided by the exporter, which were filed by the assessee, was also approved by the exporter and the regulation of 10(e) of CBLR was violated by the assessee. 

The two-member bench comprising Rachna Gupta (Judicial) and Subba Rao (Technical) held that the assessee was guilty of the violations under Regulation 10(a), 10(b), and 10(e) of CBLR and upheld the order of forfeiting the security deposit and imposing a penalty. 

To Read the full text of the Order CLICK HERE

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