CESTAT upholds Redemption Fine and Penalty imposed by Adjudicating Authority as it is Sufficient to meet Ends of Justice [Read Order]

The Kolkata Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), upheld the redemption fine and penalty imposed by adjudicating authority as it is sufficient to meet end of justice.

The facts of the case are that the respondent imported old and used worn clothing, completely fumigated which were assessed after value enhancement, confiscation and imposition of redemption fine and penalty.

The declared value was enhanced from US$ 0.45 per kg to US$ 0.60 per kg and redemption fine and penalty were also imposed on the ground that the old and used worn clothing articles are classifiable under Tariff Item No.63090000 of the First Schedule of the Act and is restricted item for import as per Para 2.17 of Foreign Trade Policy 2009-2014, read with ITC HS Classification of import and export items 2009-2014. Import of goods under Tariff Item No.63090000 is restricted and their import is allowed only against the valid specific license.

The Adjudicating Authority has imposed redemption fine and penalty at the rate of 19.5% & 7.8% of the assessed value respectively. In some of the cases where goods are not available, no redemption fine is imposed.

A Two-Member Bench of the Tribunal comprising Ashok Jindal, Judicial Member and Rajeev Tandon, Technical Member observed that “We hold that the redemption fine and penalty imposed on the respondents by the adjudicating authority is sufficient to meet the end of justice. Therefore, the redemption fine and penalty confirmed by the adjudicating authority are upheld.”

To Read the full text of the Order CLICK HERE

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