Provisional release of ‘any goods’ which are seized are Permitted u/s 110A of Customs Act: CESTAT [Read Order]

The Chennai bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) held that the provisional release of any goods that are seized is permitted under section 110A of the Customs Act,1962. 

Sree Venkateshwara Bullion, the appellant assessee in the business of local trade of gold and silver bullion, jewelry, etc in which N.S. Balaji and his wife N.B. Anita are partners and registered with the Goods and Service Tax (GST) authorities and had been filing their returns with the G.S.T. authorities on local purchase and sale of bullion and jewellery without any default or let on their part. 

The assessee appealed against the order passed by the Principal Commissioner of Customs (Air Cargo), Chennai had passed the impugned order thereby again reiterating that the seized gold could not be provisionally released and thereby rejecting their application. 

B. Satish Sundar, the counsel for the assessee contended that the seized crude gold had been duly accounted for and informed to the Department in periodic returns filed by them and section 110A of the Customs Act permits the provisional release of ‘any goods’ which are seized. 

Rudra Pratap Singh, the counsel for the department contended that the gold seized from the assessee’s premises was allegedly procured from importers who had diverted imported gold to the local market contrary to the conditions and restrictions placed on such imports by the Government of India, the seized goods have become ‘prohibited goods’ in terms of Section 2(33) of the Customs Act. 

The Bench observed that section 110A of the Customs Act permits the provisional release of any seized goods which are not prohibited under section 2(33) of the Customs Act and here the seized good from the assessee was not prohibited goods and thus eligible for the provisional release. 

The two-member bench comprising P Dinesha (Judicial) and Ajit Kumar (Technical) held that the request filed by the assessee for the provisional release of seized gold is legally sustainable. 

To Read the full text of the Order CLICK HERE

Support our journalism by subscribing to Taxscan premium. Follow us on Telegram for quick updates