Customs Act, 1962 – Exemption from payment of Customs Duty availed on the basis of forged/fake documents – Knowledge of fraud – Effect on duty liability vis-à-vis imposition of the penalty – Order passed by Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal confirming the demand of Customs Duty from the appellant(s)buyer(s) – Appeal, dismissed by High Court – Held: The moment, the appellant(s) was/were informed about the fake DEPB licenses, they immediately paid the Customs Duty, may be under protest to avoid any further coercive action – The fact remains that the DEPB licenses/Scripps on which the exemption was availed by the appellant(s) was/were found to be forged, therefore, there shall be a duty liability and the same was rightly confirmed by Department, as also by the Tribunal and the High Court – On the principle that fraud vitiates everything and such forged/fake DEPB licenses/Scripps are void ab initio, it cannot be said that the Department acted illegally in invoking the extended period of limitation – Department justified in invoking the same – Further, whether the buyer(s) had knowledge about the fraud or the forged/fake DEPB licenses/Scripps and whether the appellant(s)-buyer(s) was/were to take requisite precautions to find out about the genuineness of the forged/fake DEPB licenses/Scripps which they purchased, would have a bearing on the imposition of the penalty, and has nothing to do with the duty liability – In the present case, the matter w.r.t the penalty proceedings has been remanded by the Tribunal to the adjudicating authority, which is pending –Adjudicating authority to complete the penalty proceedings.
M/s. Munjal Showa Limited v. Commissioner of Customs and Central Excise (Delhi (IV) Faridabad) Decision of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh in CUSAP No. 27 of 2008, Commissioner of Customs (Preventive) Vs. Aafloat Textiles India Private Limited and Ors. (2009) 11 SCC 18: [2009] 2 SCR 490 –
referred to.
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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