In a recent ruling, the Mumbai bench of the Customs Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) quashed the impugned order and the appellants’ Customs Broker license was restored.
In this case, the appellant, M/s. Star India Logistics, is a customs broker holding a Customs Broker(CB) license issued by Mumbai Customs under Regulation 7(2) of the Customs Brokers Licensing Regulations (CBLR), 2018.
An investigation conducted by the Customs officers of Special Intelligence & Investigation Branch-Exports [SIIB(X)] found that red sanders and endangered species of flora and fauna were being attempted to be exported in one export consignment.
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On further adjudication of the report of SIIB(X), the jurisdictional Principal Commissioner of Customs (General), Mumbai, had reached the conclusion that the appellants had violated Regulations 10(d) and 10(n) related to their obligations as customs brokers. And that they have an alleged role in a smuggling attempt, where Red Sanders, which is prohibited for export, was disguised as craft paper in a shipment.
Later on, the inquiry authority in its report concluded that the charges framed against the appellants for violation of Regulations 10(d) and 10(n) of CBLR, 2018 have been proved. An order was passed by the Principal Commissioner of Customs that contained revocation of their CB license, forfeiture of their security deposit, and imposition of penalties.
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The applicant being aggrieved by the above order approached CESTAT for relief.
The counsel on behalf of the appellant contended that the appellants had made sincere efforts to verify the credentials of the exporter and that they did not fail to follow the mandated Regulations 10 (n) and 10(d) of the CBLR 2018.
The bench observed that since the appellant was not handling the export consignment, it could not be said that they had violated Regulation 10(n).
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The bench, comprising of S K Mohanty and M M Parthiban, directed to set aside the impugned order passed by the Commissioner of Customs (General), Mumbai, as it did not find any merit in revocation of the CB license of the appellants, for forfeiture of security deposit, and for imposition of penalty, as there was no violation of regulations 10(d) and 10(n) of the CBLR 2018.
The bench allowed the appeal in favor of the appellants.
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