The New Delhi bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) quashed the Customs duty demand on the import of antique finished rifles without verifying the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL).
Windlass Online Stores Pvt. Ltd, the appellant assessee filed a Bill of Entry for clearance of goods imported from an Overseas supplier – Denix S.A. C/Dels Bijuteers, Spain. The description, quantity, and value of the goods declared by the importer in the said Bill of Entry as per invoice.
The assessee appealed against the order passed by the adjudicating authority for confirming the customs duty demand and for the confiscation of goods under section 112(a) of the Customs Act,1962.
Anshuman Sahni, the counsel for the assessee contended that the re-valuation of the goods on the ground that the Department had not compared the imported price to any identical or similar imports but rather had simply relied on the suggested retail price on the internet by the manufacturer – supplier. Thus, the purpose of contemporaneous exports has been ignored, the impugned order is bad and the goods in question could not have been confiscated by the department.
M. Shukla, the counsel for the department relied on the decisions made by the lower authorities and contended that the customs duty demand was as per the law and liable to be sustained.
The Bench observed that the antique finished rifles cannot discharge a projectile in their present condition and these are not firearms as defined in the Arms Act, 1959. Though, it was submitted that after modification the same could be used as firearms, in the present state, they are not firearms as defined in the Arms Act.
The two-member bench comprising Binu Tamta (Judicial) and Subba Rao (Technical) quashed the Customs duty demand against the assessee.
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