The Delhi High Court has directed the Customs Department to consider and decide a representation seeking the release of bank guarantees furnished by an importer against provisional assessments, observing that the matter should be decided within one month after granting the petitioner an opportunity of hearing.
The Bench of Justice Anil Kshetrapal and Justice Shail Jain has observed that the writ petition could be appropriately disposed of by directing the Customs authorities to treat the petition itself as a representation made by the importer. The Court further directed the respondents to consider and decide the representation after providing the petitioner an opportunity of hearing.
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The petitioner approached the High Court seeking a writ directing the Customs authorities to release all bank guarantees that had been furnished against specific Bills of Entry during provisional assessment proceedings. According to the petition, the guarantees were submitted in connection with imports of certain gold items made during 2015. At the time, the consignments were provisionally assessed and released upon the furnishing of twenty bank guarantees between June 2015 and August 2016.
The importer contended that despite the lapse of nearly ten years, the Customs Department had failed to finalize the provisional assessments. On this basis, the petitioner argued that the authorities could no longer proceed with adjudication and sought the release of the bank guarantees that had remained blocked for almost a decade.
The Customs Department submitted that the imports in question were governed by the Customs (Provisional Duty Assessment) Regulations, 2011. According to the department, the applicable regulatory framework did not prescribe any outer time limit for finalization of provisional assessments. Consequently, the respondents maintained that the proceedings could still be completed despite the passage of time.
Rather than adjudicating the competing legal contentions regarding limitation or the validity of continuing the provisional assessment proceedings after such a prolonged period, the High Court adopted a limited procedural course.
Importantly, the Court fixed a timeline, directing the Customs Department to complete the exercise within one month from the date of the order.
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