The Madras High Court directed the customs department to dispose of the request of the petitioner on amendment of 42 bills of entry for the Countervailing Duty ( CVD ) exemption on silk imports under Section 149 of the Customs Act, 1962 as no action was taken by the department.
A single bench of Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy observed that “A request for amendment has to be considered in accordance with Section 149 of the Customs Act, including the proviso thereto, especially when such request is made after the relevant goods were cleared for home consumption. Therefore, a mandamus directing amendment cannot be issued at this juncture. Nonetheless, the respondent may be directed to consider and dispose of the petitioner’s request.”
The petitioner, M/s.Aditya International Ltd has filed a writ petition seeking the amendment of 42 Bills of Entry following their application for such amendments. The petitioner imported silk fabrics from China under these 42 Bills of Entry and paid approximately Rs. 60,00,000 in Countervailing Duty (CVD).
The petitioner asserted that they are entitled to a CVD exemption under Central Excise Notification No. 30/2004, dated July 9, 2004. Consequently, the petitioner, by a letter dated April 29, 2023, requested the respondent to amend the 42 Bills of Entry under Section 149 of the Customs Act, 1962. Due to the lack of action on this request, the current writ petition was filed.
Mr. J. Vasu, the junior standing counsel, accepted the notice on behalf of the respondent. He argued that the petitioner is not entitled to seek a directive for amendment through these proceedings.
The documents on record include the petitioner’s amendment request dated April 29, 2023. According to Section 149 of the Customs Act, any request for amendment must be considered, especially when such a request is made after the goods have been cleared for home consumption.
Therefore, the court noted that issuing a mandamus to direct the amendment at this stage would be inappropriate. However, the respondent can be directed to consider and dispose of the petitioner’s request.
Consequently, the High Court disposed of the writ petition by directing the respondent to consider and dispose of the petitioner’s amendment request dated April 29, 2023, in accordance with Section 149 of the Customs Act.
The court also directed that the request should be addressed within six weeks from the receipt of a copy of the order, ensuring a reasonable opportunity is provided to the petitioner. The petition was disposed of with no order as to costs.
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