The Punjab and Haryana High Court has imposed the Rs. 50 lakh cost on customs for delayed release of 89,420 Kgs of Kiwi.
The bench of Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma and Justice Sanjay Vashisth has directed that the petitioner/importer would be entitled to compensation calculated conservatively of Rs. 50 lakhs as the Kiwi worth weighing 89,420 kilograms were destroyed on account of delay in release by the respondents.
“We have granted the said amount as the Importer has already paid the same to the seller for the Kiwi and brought in India. Kiwi is a high valued fruit,” the bench said.
The bench stated that it is an example of red-tapism being followed by the government functionaries. The same needs to be creased out as it would result in discouraging the import of perishable goods. The Indian citizens also have a right to receive high- quality fruits which are available in different countries; however, if the approach, as adopted by the respondents, is allowed to continue, the importers would toe their line and release rotten fruits, vegetables, and perishable goods that have lost their freshness, and ultimately the public would be the main sufferer. A policy needs to be formulated by the concerned authorities so that testing labs, shipping companies, and Customs Authorities work in tandem and an atmosphere is created so that the imported goods reach the public as soon as possible.
The petitioner is engaged in the business of Import of “Food Items” at various Sea ports including “Mumbai” as well as “Mundra” and “Dry Ports at “New Delhi” and “Ludhiana” & “Pune”.
During the course of its business one consignment comprising of Kiwi fruit was imported in four containers from its foreign suppliers, namely, R.A. Logistics & Distribution LLC, Dubai, UAE. The imported food items were to be imported at the port of ICD GRFL, Ludhiana and the import documents issued by the shipping company i.e. Bill of Lading dated 16.4.2023 mentioned final place of delivery at Ludhiana.
A request was made by the petitioner online for filling of the bill entry under Section 46 of the Customs Act, 1962 (hereinafter to be referred as ‘the Act’) for clearance of the good items at port of ICD Ludhiana. Request was made for seeking permission to file manual bill of entry in terms of Section 46 of the Act and circular dated 04.05.2011. But the request was not acceded to.
The said goods had been dispensed with vide invoice dated 10.4.2023 which mentioned the details of the goods as well as the material particulars. Request for permitting to file manual bill of entry was made by the petitioner on 25.04.2023 as well as the amendment of IGM filed by the shipping line at Sea Port of Mundra on 26.04.2023.
Amendment of IGM was denied to the petitioner stating that the same can only be done by the shipping line. A request was made by the petitioner as well to the shipping line that the goods being perishable in nature, they may be allowed to file manual bill of entry. However, the same was not allowed by the respondents. Since the imported goods were food items having limited shelf life, the petitioner approached this Court with a prayer to direct the cusroms to permit filing of bill of entry under Section 46 of the Act manually.
The petitioner during the course of business, imported one consignment of “KIWI” from its foreign suppliers namely “R A Logistics” & Distribution LLC, Dubai UAE. Since the goods in the present case were accompanied with all the required export documents, the same were shipped in 4 Refrigerated Containers and transported by the Shipping Company, who had issued Bill of Lading, declaring the particulars in respect of the consignment in question, including the Port of Loading as well as Port of Discharge as well as Final Place of Delivery as “ICD Ludhiana”.
The petitioner contended that the customs having filed their reply to the writ petition as well as the applications at no point in time have been able to rebut to the submission made by the petitioner in respect of amendment of Import General Manifest filed under section 30 of the Act, in terms of Sub Section 30(3) the respondents were empowered to make amendment in the Import General Manifest filed by the Shipping Company.
The department contended that the goods imported by the petitioner were Perishable Food Items Comprising of “KIWI” which has limited shelf life, further the Act of the Respondent Customs in failure to amend the Import General Manifest is in the teeth of Section 30 (3) of the Customs Act, which directs the Proper Officer to amend the Import General Manifest.
The court noted that the fruits- Kiwi had got rotten and destroyed, being unfit for human consumption. If the fruit would have been allowed to be sold in the market, it would have affected the health of a large number of people. Once we find that the goods
The court noted that the goods have been destroyed, the customs cannot be allowed to retain the import duty as it would mean unjust enrichment.
Case Details
Case Title: M/s Prenda Creations Private Limited v/s Union of India & Ors
Case No.: CWP No. 9301 of 2023
Date: 4th April, 2025
Counsel For Petitioner: Saurabh Kapoor
Counsel For Respondent: Ajay Kalra
