Umbar Marketing Pvt. Ltd. vs Commissioner of Customs (Port)

The grievance of the petitioner is that the goods in the form of textile, which were imported by the petitioner for industrial use, have been arbitrarily assessed to be cloth used for manufacturing umbrella by the Customs Authorities.

A show-cause notice was issued to the petitioner. The sample was sent for testing at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, but the petitioner claims that IIT did not have the authority to examine the goods. In any event, the petitioner says that it is arbitrary on the part of the respondent authorities to refuse the petitioner''s prayer for a subsequent test to be conducted on the goods.

The respondents say that neither the governing provisions nor the procedure adopted thus far by the respondents permit a re-examination of the goods to be conducted. The respondents reason that if a re-test were permitted to be conducted upon the previous test result not satisfying any person, the process could go on endlessly.

The issue here is as to whether it is reasonable that a solitary test be conducted in respect of any particular goods without there being any latitude for mistake. Indeed, there may be a case where the Customs authorities may be aggrieved by the result or where the result may have been tailor-made to suit the interests of the assessee. The important feature of the matter is that the applicable provisions do not prohibit the conduct of a second test. Thus, since the petitioner is dissatisfied with the test conducted on the goods by IIT, Delhi, a second test may be conducted. The parties have agreed that the same goods be sent for examination by the Textiles Committee Laboratory under the Ministry of Commerce.

W.P. No. 212 of 2016 is disposed of by directing the goods, or samples drawn therefrom, to be tested by the Textiles Committee Laboratory. All expenses for such repeat test will be borne by the petitioner by a substantial pre-deposit equivalent to thrice the cost for the re-examination, which will be refunded to the petitioner in the event the report justifies the petitioner''s description of the goods. In the event the test report goes against the petitioner, the amount deposited by the petitioner will stand forfeited.

The exercise of sending the goods or the samples to the Textiles Committee Laboratory under the Ministry of Commerce should be completed within a week from date and the result obtained within a fortnight thereafter.

There will be no order as to costs.

Urgent certified, website copies of this order, if applied for, be supplied to the parties subject to compliance with all requisite formalities.