COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS (AIRPORT AND GENERAL) vs FLYOVER CARGO PVT. LTD.

Judgment text excerpt

$~69 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI Date of Decision: 18th March, 2025 + CUSAA 50/2025 & CM APPL. 13232/2025 COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS (AIRPORT AND GENERAL) .....Appellant Through: Ms. Anushree Narain, SSC with Mr. Ankit Kumar, Adv. versus FLYOVER CARGO PVT. LTD. .....Respondent Through: Mr. Prachit Mahajan, Adv. CORAM: JUSTICE PRATHIBA M. SINGH JUSTICE RAJNEESH KUMAR GUPTA Prathiba M. Singh, J. (Oral) 1. This hearing has been done through hybrid mode. CM APPL. 13232/2025 (for exemption) 2. Allowed, subject to all just exceptions. Application is disposed of. CUSAA 50/2025 3. The present appeal has been filed by the Appellant-Customs Department under Section 130 of the Customs Act, 1962 challenging the impugned order passed by the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (‘CESTAT’) in Custom Appeal No.55467/2023 dated 24th July, 2023. 4. The brief background is that the Respondent - M/s Flyover Cargo Pvt. Ltd. is a Customs House Agent (‘CHA’) who has been issued a Show Cause Notice dated 6th February, 2023 in respect of export of a consignment which included 500 ml of Triethanolamine. According to the CHA, the said chemical was being exported by its client (‘exporter’) for the purpose of soil Signature Not Verified Signed By:RAHUL CUSAA 50/2025 Page 1 of 12 Signing Date:22.03.2025 14:43:46 testing in a sugar factory. The destination consignee was M/s Pure Diets, Mozambique, South Africa. The Department noted that the chemical was one of the Specialised Chemicals, Organisms, Machinery, Equipment, and Technology (‘SCOMET’) items and it was capable of being used as a weapon of mass destruction apart from having industrial use as well. Thus, an export authorization is required from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (‘DGFT’) prior to the export of the